My wife as a 40-year history of low back pain. It’s been good lately,
but she stumbled and fell the other day. Now, she’s in intense pain,
can barely move. We’ve been icing and heating, ibuprofen and Tylenol,
not helping.Because of the opioid crisis, she cannot get stronger pain medicine
without a diagnosis. She can’t get a diagnosis without imaging (MRI).
She can’t get imaging without a doctor’s order. She can’t see her doctor
because she’s out of town. So today we’re going in at 6:00 p.m. to see
some new doctor hoping for an imaging order and some temporary pain
relief, a couple of Vicodin, just to get through the night.It’s insulting, it’s shameful, it’s infuriating that a senior citizen
must lie in pain because some bureaucrat is worried about junkies
getting high. If I knew where to get black-market Vicodin, I’d buy it
in a heartbeat. And don’t even get me thinking about sticking up – I
mean, peacefully protesting – my local drugstore. I’ve already got the
mask.Joe Doakes
I had some exposure to this issue during the session – I was involved with some friends, drumming up phone calls to help reform the “Reforms” that led to the situation Joe describes, “reforms” that made it possible for the authorities to destroy the careers of doctors who prescribed painkillers out of line with untrained bureaucrats’ recommendations.
Talking with Representatives on the subject – including my own “representative”, Rena Moran – was a truly horrifying experience. One got the impression that the original “Reforms” had been pure ass-covering for the legislators (and neither party was blameless, not that I’m going to give Moran any slack), and with asses covered, they were done discussing the issue.
I used to joke that for Ron Paul to achieve the goals for which he campaigned in 2008 or 2012, he’s have had to have staged a libertarian coup d’etat, and imposed liberty by force via an absolute libertarian dictatorship.
That’s becoming less and less facetious over time.
Yes, JD, I know from a similar family situation of what you speak.
One got the impression that the original “Reforms” had been pure ass-covering for the legislators
To me, this implies that the majority of voters are OK with these restrictions and will vote out any representative not complying. Is this an education issue that might be helped with a PSA? And/or is there some “dark force” that wants these restrictions in place? If yes, to what end?
Joe,
I know chiropractors get a bad wrap, I know one that helped several of my friends with similar issues. She doesn’t use the treatments that most chiros use, which makes her unique.
Maybe you could score some fentanyl here in Minneapolis?
boss, I don’t use chiropractors because they’ve never helped me when I used them. Moreover, the bad ones generally deserve the bad rap – however – I know of a few chiropractors who have helped people I know and these are worth their weight in gold.
Praying for you & your wife, Joe. Yes, strongly infuriating because what sane person would go to a politician instead of a doctor, but the regulations on painkillers amount to exactly that.
Part of me wonders if it might help your wife if she tried “funny weed.” I’ve got a personal friend who had long term back problems (weight, life as a cop, etc..) until he became a “tenther”; using about a tenth of a gram (about a third of a joint) daily. It gave him the relief he needed to get back on his feet, lose 150 lbs, and get his back working again. (yes, he was “rotund”, to be polite about it)
I’m no doctor, so ask someone who is, but I’ve at least got anecdotal evidence it can be a God-send.
JD, hope you wife gets better and soon. Sorry, but I cannot help you from TX.
JD, I’m sorry for your wife’s pain. I agree we have an over-controlled society. I would remind you that this is the “order” part of “Law and Order.” We over-reacted to the drug scourge in this country and passed a lot of laws seeking to control that scourge. This was one – I don’t like it either.