72Fury
Senior Member
I bet you've never heard of this multibillionaire family.
The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis
The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis
Sackler family = opioids
- Thread starter 72Fury
- Start date
Saw it on the news.
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
Remember this the next time George Soros funds a drug legalization campaign in your state... nothing new under the sun.
The War That Made Asia: How the Opium War Crushed China
The War That Made Asia: How the Opium War Crushed China
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
I'm sorry but blaming the developer is a little misplaced. In order for people to have gotten the drug in the first place was via a Rx from their physician. Doctors, who were writing out those orders as though they were just prescribing something similar to Tylenol with codeine, were the first line of defense. The doctor is supposed to be the one who determines the appropriate drug to moderate pain, the dosage, the duration and the possible side effects and contraindications. The doctor must also be able to be firm with the patient when they demand a drug that may not be in their best interest despite the patient demanding it. This part is hard as some doctors will cave.
There have been numerous times in my career where patients have come in asking for an antibiotic for their eye infection. Problem is bacterial conjunctivitis is rare in adults. One is more likely to have a viral infection, an inflammatory reaction, or an extreme allergy reaction yet bacteria is all people know. They do not get an antibiotic from me, which won't work, but are told how to resolve their situation depending on an anti-viral, steroid or strong allergy medications to name a few.
In the above case many doctors dropped the ball big time.
There have been numerous times in my career where patients have come in asking for an antibiotic for their eye infection. Problem is bacterial conjunctivitis is rare in adults. One is more likely to have a viral infection, an inflammatory reaction, or an extreme allergy reaction yet bacteria is all people know. They do not get an antibiotic from me, which won't work, but are told how to resolve their situation depending on an anti-viral, steroid or strong allergy medications to name a few.
In the above case many doctors dropped the ball big time.
72Fury
Senior Member
No bets with Bob!
You must not have read the entire article. Did you miss the part where Sackler and his marketing people lied to the doctors about the opium content and the low risk of addiction regarding the Oxy medications? And not to mention the FDA approval guy they bought and paid for. . .
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
First off I have no proof.
I do believe that we will see a increase in liver and kidney problems in the future not only from opioids but from a increase in people being on a lifetime of pills.
My mother died from liver cancer, she was on long term medication for myasthenia gravis.
A friend of my wife's died at 43 from liver cancer after a solid run of prescription drugs from her teens.
This "here is a pill for whatever ails you" has yet to come home to roost.
I do believe that we will see a increase in liver and kidney problems in the future not only from opioids but from a increase in people being on a lifetime of pills.
My mother died from liver cancer, she was on long term medication for myasthenia gravis.
A friend of my wife's died at 43 from liver cancer after a solid run of prescription drugs from her teens.
This "here is a pill for whatever ails you" has yet to come home to roost.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I believe that and I have resisted taking meds for the most part.
The last conversation I had with my pain management/spine doc, he told me that over the counter meds are doing the most damage. I'm sure some of that is taking too much and too frequently.
Of course, then he gave me some Gabapentin to try... That didn't go well at all.... I woke up one morning wondering why the hell the dog was outside my bedroom door and not upstairs chasing the gorillas out. I live in a ranch house, so there's no upstairs....
From what I'm seeing, the docs (at least mine) are being very vigilant with policing their patients. Before her back surgery, the docs had my wife doing regular urine tests to be sure that she was taking her drugs and nothing else. They also do "pill counts" where you have to bring your unused portions of your prescription drugs so they can verify that you aren't over using or selling them.
But back to opiods... There's big money in drugs... and heroin use is at epidemic levels around here. The newest money maker are the treatment centers. Many are riding the wave of the court orders for first offenders to keep them out of jail. A "boutique" type center operates just south of here... You best have good insurance too. $20K buys you 3 weeks there and they only take BC/BS. I had a conversation with a gentleman that works finding treatment for users. Nice, sincere guy... He told me that some places are just there for the money and don't care about the results. Then there are a few that do... He works with those places and yep, he gets a commission.
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
I did and once again it is incumbent on the doctor to see through what they are told. Hell, I knew that once I started 35 years ago. I don't believe anything told to me by any drug manufacturer or supplier. My receptionist would always tell reps good luck which would puzzle them until they saw my facial expression when talking to me. I always tell them leave their information and I would verify it through my sources. I knew marketing people lie they always do in all fields so how come those other doctors didn't know. Of course that was also back in the days when they could also spend money on meals and trips to woo doctors which is now illegal. I have always turned all those down to the point the rep was not even allowed to bring me a cup of coffee back in the days. I call it ethics while others say what is the harm. In the end it is still the fault of the doctor for either not being suspicious enough or for being ignorant.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
That's why they use hot chicks as reps. No services just eye candy.
I don't know... The one I dated (I was between wives) was the smartest woman I ever met. She made huge $$$ too.
She was smart enough to drop me like a hot rock.
stubs300
Senior Member
Time to go to Lester's Methadone Clinic!
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
It is the amazing the amount of expertise and knowledge a board like this gathers in one place. I'm enjoying this thread with the insightful comments the very informative articles. I agree doctors are the first line of defence but I suspect many who are perhaps 20 years out of medical school take the easy route and rely on information provided by drug companies for newly developed treatments. A friend of mine is prescribed these drugs for a serious back problem and they allow him to have a close to normal life style. He of course is responsible and takes them as prescribed and only when required. It is noteworthy that cigarette companies have had their ability to market their product severely curtailed. Why couldn't similar steps be taken with the producers of these drugs?
Last edited:
All i’ll add is if you have family living alone out of state facing surgery, either bring them home or have someone go stay to monitor things. You need the staff to know family is all over them. The elderly in particular are susceptible to lax care.
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
It is called having a patient advocate. Very important especially since many seniors may not really grasp what they are being told. My father generally does very well when he goes to his doctor. If he has any questions he has me to fall back on. When he has gone into the hospital twice I showed up to visit and covertly see what is being done. When the nurses come by to administer medications I ask them what they are giving him. Naturally they try to say what the doctor ordered and then I mention who I am at which point the tenor changes quickly.
Yeah, the folks always felt “they didn’t want to be a bother”. Once i saw dad’s condition after two bad back surgeries in Florida we brought him straight home. Turns out he didn’t even need the surgeries. He just had a pinched nerve. He spent four months on his back, in bed, at 84 yrs of age for no reason.
stubs300
Senior Member
It's called, Better living through chemistry!
My girlfriend has had multiple back surgeries, has fused vertebrae, and has been taking pills for years. She however only takes painkillers only when she needs to. Had a bottle of Vicodin for over 5 years and only used a handful. Thanks to the surgeries, which she probably didn't need, she's not getting any better, pain is up and movement is slower a d limited. She was prescribed Gabapentin, that's a great drug to try to stop! I don't think it's helped her, and it seemed like she has to stay in it now, or she feels like crap if she tries to get off of it.
A long time ago I stopped taking over the counter drugs whenever I had a sniffle, I feel a lot better, I let my body do it's job!
I had a best friend fall off the deep end with pills, he had his own copy of the PDR, not your usual reading material. He was excited as a get out when Oxycotin came around and with the Advent of the internet, he was able to buy them online from foreign sellers. He cared more about his pills than anything, hut he kept a full time job and didn't turn into a criminal. But it was all about the pills. I learned more about them from his constant babbling than any other source. He did finally decide to clean up, and called a doctor after quitting cold turkey didn't work. He was on a lot of pills, some he could just stop, but he had to ween himself off the rest. I'm glad he cleaned his life up. He's married and had a kid last I heard.
Dad had been prescribed Oxy and stronger pain meds. In his lucid moments he was concerned about becoming dependent on them. The good news is his surgeon back home here fixed him up. Therapists had him up on his feet within a month. Only time he went back to Fl. was for the trial.
Similar threads
