Are Opioid Drugs Worth the Pain.
A recent article in Fortune Magazine, November 2011, questions whether Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin - a leading brand name for prescription pain killlers sold in North America, is worth the pain it causes in terms of side effects and opioid addiction.
As always the problem looms, if not OxyContin – then what can we use.
One of the issues with OxyContin, that consists of the active ingredient oxycodone, is that when it was introduced, in 1996, it was not then a “new” drug on the market.
In ’96, oxycodone had long been used as a narcotic pain reliever for people with terminal conditions, in extreme pain, suffering from illness such as cancer.
Oxycodone was known to have severe side effects, including easy addiction. It was never used, nor recommended for use otherwise than as an effective narcotic for people who were terminally ill.
The product OxyContin was not new as regards its content. What got Purdue Pharma DEA recognition, and into a multi million dollar drug market, was a purported new method of opioid delivery, an extended slow release, that would negate to some extent the addictive and debilitating side effects of oxycodone, making it safe to use long term for people with severe acute and chronic pain.
It later was realized that Purdue had, intentionally, or otherwise, misled the regulators. OxyContin delivered a powerful punch, and left users in withdrawal, instead of the represented oxycodone sustained release.
Purdue Pharma was subsequently charged, plea bargained and paid a fine – and continued with its intention to supply OxyContin for profit to people with severe and chronic pain.
As the Fortune article makes clear, OxyContin has always been flawed, not doing the job as described by its manufacturers.
The result has been widespread overdose, addiction, harm and death, that has caused a public outcry and reaction, but public health authorities remain on the fence. Sure, Oxy is widely abused, but if not OxyContin, then what else do we use.
In 2010. Purdue Pharma introduced Oxy Neo that was the same drug again but in a coating said to be more resilient to abuse. It would appear that determined drug abusers have already found ways around it. It could be three years or more before Purdue has developed up an alternative pain killing drug to Oxy.
Although Purdue has ploughed back money, to provide pharmacy support, and drug education, widespread Oxy diversion means widespread violence, abuse and overdose, related to Oxy addiction.
Maine is a State in the USA that has experienced first hand the human, social and financial cost of OxyContin addiction.
Of all the US States, Maine has always been pro active to seek out a basis for the safe administration of OxyContin, to curb illicit use, to bring OxyContin under control.
It was Maine US Attorney who in the year 2000 first began warnings about the dangers of OxyContin.
Maine today is a State that is about to implement a plan of action against the two- edged sword of OxyContin, a drug that many see as being an essential medical tool, that others see as the downfall of the nation.
To overcome what is considered to be a lack of self regulation by those on the Oxy bandwagon, it is the intention of Maine city to implement laws that hopefully will ease the Oxy monkey off our backs, by putting a tighter lid on the OxyContin box.
LD1501 is the proposed law – An Act to Reduce Opioid Overprescription, Overuse and Abuse.
The Act basically looks at tightening up the issuing of OxyContin, so that it is less available for abuse.
The proposed Act still works from the position that OxyContin is necessary for intense pain relief.
An example of intense pain is that suffered by those addicted to drugs, upon withdrawal from their drug. Comprehensive drug free addiction recovery centers use a method of drug detox that provides a protocol for withdrawal that does not use pain killing drugs.
People on comprehensive programs find their withdrawal pain to be tolerable because of the many health giving options that recovering addicts are offered as an alternative to drug therapy for pain that maximize recovery, with effective pain reduction.
Fully understood, pain represents a complex expression by the body that something is out of order.
By discovering what the real problem is, and by using drug free, natural methods for pain relief, addicts begin their drug recovery from day one, in surroundings that are supportive, gentle and thorough in their resolve to enable people to become totally free of drugs and drug addiction.
The continued use of synthetic drugs instead of using methods that mobilize the natural painkilling potential of the body is holding healthcare today to ransom.
Healthcare needs to fund natural pain relief methods or continue to bear the pain and cost of illicit diversion of prescription opioid drugs.
I would like to see 1 out of 10 people live with the chronic pain that I do without opiate medication it is the best safest less harmful to the body that there is-if not abused. It is a blessing, like marijuana which is not a narcotic though they treat it as such all for political reasons not pharmacutical or medical ones and like the poppy could be grown in he back yard and used wisely like folk medicine none of this fuss would arise-we create this fuzz with all the buzz glorification and indeed money made due to illegality-Prohibition of any susbstance is really a fools game-Didn’t Al Capone teach us anything?
RR
if only people new or felt what i have to go through everyday, i have nerve damage plus lower disc degenerative disease, the nerve damage was from a semi truck at fualt!! in a head on collision ,my life has been changed since then often my ciatic nerve throbbes from one leg to the other and down my back ” OXYCONTIN” is why i am still here today . it saved my life. and i would be glad to go toe to toe with anyone to whom is negative about there effects. whats next china white heroin