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Legal Opiate Overdoses Now The Leading Cause Of Injury-Related Deaths In Ohio

Pinkie

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Prescription opioids (pain medications) are associated with more fatal overdoses than any other drugs. And unintentional overdoses have become the leading cause of injury–related deaths in Ohio, exceeding auto accidents.
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'Legal' opiate drugs can kill you - but teens and pre-teens take them at parties | cleveland.com

Holy cow, am I glad I am not responsible for a kid these days. I can easily imagine being blissed out on vicodan, etc., after a broken bone and not realizing that my kid (or my neighbor's kid) is diverting some of my meds. Hell, I remember getting a script for some pain med back in the 1980's and hanging on to it for years in case I ever went camping, so I could add it to the first aid kit.

I'm just flabbergasted that this type of overdose death happens so often, and even worse, that kids have parties where they grab a handful of God-Knows-what prescription meds and chase it down with alcohol. Doesn't anyone explain to them how dangerous that is?
 

There's a new one to replace Oxycontin.. I think its called Opana.. and can be lethal.
 
sharon said:
There's a new one to replace Oxycontin.. I think its called Opana.. and can be lethal.
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I'd imagine any combination of a pain or anti-seizure med and alcohol could be fatal.

And apparently, frequently is. What a horrible way to lose a child.
 
Pinkie said:
I'd imagine any combination of a pain or anti-seizure med and alcohol could be fatal.

And apparently, frequently is. What a horrible way to lose a child.
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I saw it up close when I worked in So FL for a couple of years. A neighbor's son with lots of tats and piercings.. somewhat artistic but not educated. He had some quack doc and was into the pill mills.

His mother took half his drugs..

He talked to me several times .. and the day before he died he was so excited about the King Tut exibition.. He was working as labor.. and thought he would be able to travel with the exhibit.

The next afternoon.. he was really loaded up and cut his own throat. Tears your guts out.. He was 23.
 

OMG, what a horrendous waste.
 
Oxycodone is at least one, that should be withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer.

It's not like there is no other drug for pain, and we can get along without oxy.

This should be treated like they did Quaalude back in the 80's--take it off the market either voluntarily or have the government use its power to eliminate a public menace.
 

Why that drug and not the others, Henry? Is it more addictive or something?
 
i was given a scrip for vicodin when i had a wisdom tooth removed. i didn't take the medicine, because i'd prefer not to open that door. if i ever have serious pain, i will consider such pain medication, but not until then. i'm fairly sure i wouldn't abuse the medicine, but i just prefer having no idea what it's like to take it.

conversely, i fully support anyone with pain issues having full access to any pain relief measures which are effective for them. i'd rather have addicts than people dying in agony.
 
I see similar things all the time. People get their oxycodone filled and literally down a pill in their car. It's also fairly common to receive a prescription for hydro/oxycodone where the prescriber has written for a toxic dose if the patient took it routinely (we write not to exceed X tabs per day when that happens and tell patients about it). Prescription drug abuse is becoming a huge problem.
 
Pinkie said:
Why that drug and not the others, Henry? Is it more addictive or something?
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From my experience, anecdotal evidence, stories from friends and newspaper stories in my small town, it seems that Oxy is the culprit in all the overdose deaths experienced by so many young people. At least here, daughters, sons, cousins and so forth become hooked on the Oxys and either OD or ruin their lives with a criminal conviction.

With so many youngsters being killed by the stuff, it seems that the costs to society are much greater than the benefits received by patients. I've taken the stuff myself, and do not like it. Yes, it certainly stops the pain, but so do other drugs.

Just my 2 cents. I can remember when Quaaludes caused similar problems--mostly automobile accidents from DUI. Anyway, eventually the product was removed from the market.

Unlike pot or meth, these drugs require sophisticated laboratory equipment and procedures, and cannot be made at home.
 

Well, I'm certainly no chemist, but I'm allergic to coedine. A few years ago, I had some heavy pain and was prescribed vicodin, oxycotin, etc. I kept having the same reaction -- itching, shortness of breath, no pain relief, etc.

Eventually, my pharmacist told me that all the drugs I had been given were essentially different formulations of coedine, and I quit looking for anything that would help.

Digsbe will know -- but I think these drugs are chemically similar.
 

This sure makes one stop and think.

Hydrocodone is used to relieve cancer pain. Of course, it's also used for other pain, but not in the dosages used for, generally, a terminally ill cancer patient. One gradually develops a tolerance to it, as one's liver goes into overdrive trying to detox. The instructions on the bottle are rarely (in my experience) the actual dosage a cancer patient may take. As one builds a tolerance, the dosage is gradually increased. Has to be in order to be effective.

It is a Godsend for the cancer patient. I think it's probably over-prescribed. We live in a world were we believe all pain should be medicated away. I've had a hydrocodone "mix" (with Tylenol, if I recall) prescribed for a minor surgical procedure for which I didn't even need a pain reliever.

Having said that, the solution is that adults not leave this medication in the bathroom or sitting on one's dresser. Sounds to me like it's little different than offering up a loaded gun from a pile sixty.

I can only imagine the heartache a parent would feel knowing that his carelessly-left-about prescription meds caused the death of his child (or any other).

I remember when I was, probably, about 10 years old coming home with some candy I'd bought at the store called (something like) Happy Pills. My dad took one look at that box and raised the freakin' roof. He took it and threw it down the toilet, yelled at me to within an inch of my life, and said, "Don't you EVER bring that into this house again!!!" and got a ten-minute lecture at Mach Ten about "happy pills." I was a sensitive little girl, I still remember it . . . I cried my eyes out. And thought dad had gone nuts. It took a few years before I really understood.

Parents!! Secure your meds from your children just the same way you would secure a loaded gun from a toddler!!
 
The synthetic opiate/acetaminophen-paracetamol combo is a common one, as it combines analgesic relief (which is most effectively done by opiates) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory action to deliver a one-two punch at many types of injury. In low doses opiates knock out pain well, in higher doses (much higher than prescribed for analgesia) it can produces a sedated euphoria.

Trouble is, some people are in chronic pain and need high doses of synthetic opiates to manage this pain. The mix with acetaminophen is good for low levels of pain, but to take enough opiate to dull higher pain requires a dangerous amount of acetaminophen. These patients NEED big doses with NO acetaminophen.

The problem mainly lies with pill mills and quack doctors willing to write scripts for anyone with the right amount of money. THAT'S where the problem really lies, not the mere fact that these drugs exist.

I hope someday they will be able to come up with a way to make custom drugs that will properly interact only with the person to whom they are prescribed. Genetic engineering and bioscience, I am sure, will develop such drugs in the future.
 

They are all in the same class called the opiates. I learned this recently, but hydrocodone is actually a pro-drug for morphine, meaning that enzymes in your body actually convert the hydrocodone molecule into active morphine (that is what gives the pain relief). You probably have an allergy to opiate drugs. Just an FYI in case this ever happens, some opiate drugs can be found in non-pain relievers (an example is codeine cough syrup). As long as your allergy is documented with your pharmacy then the pharmacist should know what is safe or unsafe for you to take when prescribed something.
 

I have had morphine and it has not caused me an allergic reaction, but it was an injection at the ER along with something (also an injection) for nausea.

As I age and grow more arthritic, I am so not looking forward to having zippedy-doo-dah to take for it, other than aspirin, but that is not really why I wrote this Op.

BTW, there has to be a huge uptick in the sheer volume of opiates and anti-seizures drugs in Ohio to cause this drastic increase in overdose deaths. What's happening here, if you know? Did they just give script authority to nurses or something?
 
Abuse of prescription pain medicine is pretty common. I know people who will use it as a boost to their drinking buzz. There is just too much of it out their to stop without taking it out of the hands of people who need it.
 
Fisher said:
Abuse of prescription pain medicine is pretty common. I know people who will use it as a boost to their drinking buzz. There is just too much of it out their to stop without taking it out of the hands of people who need it.
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You actually know people who do this?

Don't they realize what a risk they're taking? Damn, I had a roommate nearly die on me from drinking and doing qualludes, back in the day. She was the ONLY person I ever met who'd risk her life for a cheap high.
 

IIRC, prescription drug abuse is the leading form of drug addiction/abuse in our country currently.
 
Ikari said:
IIRC, prescription drug abuse is the leading form of drug addiction/abuse in our country currently.
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Holy ****. I guess we need to do more to protect kids than just using childproof caps.
 
Pinkie said:
Holy ****. I guess we need to do more to protect kids than just using childproof caps.
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Sadly in our overmedicated America, prescription drugs are well easier to obtain that illegal drugs.
 
I've been described Lortab and/or Hydrocodone on several occasions for pain (gallbladder surgery, kidney stones, wisdom teeth, car accidents, etc., etc., etc.). Last time I took them as prescribed was when I had my gallbladder surgery (2005). I stopped filling prescriptions for opiate pain killers after that surgery because (1) I'd been a bit of a pill head as a teenager, and danced the line on addiction, and (2) I was made so physically ill from the medication after my gallbladder surgery that it wasn't worth it to even try to use them for pain relief.

Since 2005, I've taken hydrocodone one time. I took 200mg in an effort to stave off a massive migraine. Ended up clearing out the majority of the pain, but I also ended up making out with the toilet for a few hours. Just wasn't worth it.

It is unlikely that my (hypothetical) kids will have access to opiate pain killers in my home. Neither my boyfriend nor I are fans and avoid them 99% of the time in favor of OTC/therapeutic pain management. Warning them of the dangers of drugs outside of the home is another story entirely. No idea how to address that.
 
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