TV Show

 There is a new show on A & E called the CLEANER, The show I watched was about prescripton drug abuse "oxycotin". The show's star is from the show Law and order  is a reformed drug user. The show centered around a High Class Group of mothers and one father that share there drugs and once a month go to several doctors to obtain narcotics. I found the show to be untrue as they showed the main character throwing up blood and still taking her pills then later teeth falling out as she was driving. Does taking oxycotin cause Your teeth to simply fall out ??  After vomiting up blood would You continue taking the pills right after vomiting ? The only thing I found true was the main character had memory loss and often forgot about Her childrens events.  Any one else see this ?

 

Ry,

I totally agree. Maybe we need to write to the show, but then it might now do a bit of good. OK, never mind. They ARE in the business of entertaining, not telling the truth.

Chutz

I don't get cable, so I haven't actually watched the show; but I'm not sure I would agree that only a "few" people are abusing prescription pain meds. Perhaps it varies depending on the part of the country you're in? Here in the Midwest we've seen numerous reports claiming that prescribed medications have become the biggest problem in the "War on Drugs".
I learned the consequences of this first hand after a string of burglaries in my parents' neighborhood left many people without their prescription meds (fortunately my parents have an alarm system). They live in a small, wealthy suburb where you would least expect anything like this to happen. Nothing was stolen from these homes *except* prescription meds -- jewelry, TV's, everything else was left. Some meds were leftovers from people's surgeries, others were from people in chronic pain who depended on them to get them through the day. What's worse is that one neighbor decided to lie & say there was a break-in at their house in order to get an extra refill. The police caught them which made it much worse on the rest of the CP people to try to prove that theirs really were gone & they weren't lying (good news, they did eventually catch the person, but most of the meds were already sold or reprocessed, so people were out all the money it cost to buy replacement meds). For some reason, wealthier individuals seem to be more involved in this than poorer neighborhoods, where around here at least, meth & heroin more common. Police in the urban area where I live are now recommending CP people never discuss what meds we're on with anyone other than immediate family & our doctor; plus, we have to get a safe or locked drawer to keep Actiq in because people steal it & sell it or steal it & mix it with other stuff to make heroin. I know it's hard to believe, but I've spoken teenagers and young 20-somethings who are deceived into believing that since they are FDA approved, they must be safer than traditional street drugs. I've also run across middle-aged women in their area that use pain meds to deal with stress or to "relax". That's not what they're meant for &, again, that can result in serious side-effects because their brains process the meds differently than CP brains would. They constantly need more & more. One of my former roommates got hooked on Vicodin after she broke her arm. She was taking 35-40 of them per day when it finally caught up to her & she had to drop out of school and check into rehab. As a result of her choice to "play the system", she will have serious health problems for the rest of her life. She said she had no idea they could cause so much harm.
The reality, as we've probably all experienced, is that there are side effects -- sometimes severe -- & that when pain meds are not properly titrated under a physician's supervision they can lead to life-threatening complications. There have been too many people who have bought meds off the street, taken too much & ... The police in my city have held monthly televised town hall meetings about the dangers of these meds (especially Actiq), but few people show up or tune in to watch them. Some of the families of these teens have talked about how they wished there would have been more information out there where it would actually reach people to address the potentially serious consequences of taking even a single dose (if too high) of prescription narcs. Yes, I'm sure Hollywood took some artistic license with the script, but at least it gets people thinking about, talking about & researching what the actual consequences of abusing narcs can be. To your specific point, pain meds -- especially in overdoses -- can cause nausea & the stomach acid that comes up eats away at your teeth. Anytime someone is constantly nauseous, regardless of the root cause, tooth decay & gum problems can result.
I agree that it's certainly a fine line between discouraging illegal use & abuse of pain meds and discouraging legal & proper use of them. IMHO, though, the more this problem can be brought out into the open & dealt with, the more likely people will think twice before stealing meds or conning multiple doctors into writing them overlapping scripts. When people do that it affects us all. Docs become more suspicious, malpractice insurance companies demand more testing & psych evals, disability providers set stricter guidelines. I for one think it would be great to live in a world where narcotic pain meds were never abused. Then maybe getting the treatment we CP patients need would be as stress-free as getting a prescription for antibiotics. Plus, I could dismantle "Fort Knox" and keep my pain meds by my bedside where they could be more readily available to me when I need them. :)

Just some thoughts.
Frances

I agree. I have not watched that show and refuse to for that very reason. My pain meds are not known by anyone except my immediate family and my PM doc other then them I have kept my medications to myself for fear that someone will try to break into my home when I am alone or gone and take my medications. Like all CP'ers I cannot afford to be without them and treat each medication with the up most respect as I know that they are very dangerous in lethal doses.

Mine are locked up in the safe and every time I leave the house the safe is locked so that no one can get into it unless they have one hell of a good back and can lift the 300 pound gun safe into their vehicle and carry it away to their lair LOL. Its just practical safety that leads us all to keeping our meds safe away from preying eyes and sticky fingers. So many are stolen for "Pharm Parties" and illegal uses in the US that I take the extra precautions of making sure that they are safe from anyone wishing to steal them from me.

Thank god for a heavy duty gun safe that keeps my medications away from these types of people and allows me to keep on track as I go through this painful life. Anyway that's my two cents. Sorry if I sound a little out of it, my meds are kicking in and I am finally getting relief from the stupid Realtor that decided 3 hours is enough time to allow me to straighten the house up so that prospective clients can come view it.

Yours in pain

Scarred

A Safe?
I can't believe my eyes!
A 300 Pound Gun Safe??
Wow!
I have 3 guard dogs an
electric fence and
direct dial to the police.
Our complex is
guarded every night
by patrolmen ...
but I never thought of a safe.
Good idea, Scarred.
PN

Yep Pam a gun safe! Its made by the main manufacture of gun safes and is special ordered by JD (John Deere) with their insignia on it. It's big enough for 10 guns and holds every last one of my important papers inside of it. Thought that it would be a good idea to put the medications inside for fear that they would be stolen. Not much goes on in my little town that most of the neighbors are aware of, so I've not had a break in since we moved in over 11 years ago. The doors get locked before we leave and so does the safe and I truly believe that if I did not have the safe I would be a little more leery of anyone entering my home.

The 300 pounds that I talked about is with everything inside of it intact and not taken out. Hubby brought it home having four guys from work helping him to actually bring it in the house and if I did not have such small hallways I would have put it in the back bedroom. But it was too wide to go down the hallway. I don't have such luck as to have guard dogs or patrolmen that watch the house so this was the next best thing

Pamela Neckpain said...
That show sure doesn't help us people with Chronic Pain. I took Oxycontin for
a couple of years. I went to a clinic in Santa Barbaba, the neurologist there
said, "tsk. tsk. You must go off that stuff. It's only for movie stars." I swear that
statement is true. The doctor was off the charts awful.
As far as Oxy for me ... It didn't help much at all but going off it nearly killed me.
Can't wait to read the responses.
Gotta get ready for another doctor visit now.
Pamela
later
OK... I'm back. Read a few responses. This thread needs to go to Oprah along with
a well written letter about Chronic Pain. I'd be willing to sign my name to the
letter, but I can't write it. Tom?

Hi Snuggle Bunny glad to hear from You. I was interviewed along with a bunch of others to do a show for Montel
and nothing ever happened. Based on what just happened to me could open Oprah's producers eyes but I would want the show to inform the public how had abuser's make our lives. Be more than happy to write but I would need the support of the forum. Right now i'm mentally too far gone, I expect my brain back from Uranus sometime soon. Love Ya, Your Honey Chile

Pam : Thanks for Your humor and wit ! Please continue ! Your pain friend Tommy