4 ms·

A friend recently had a minor procedure (he took a couple of ibuprofens after and that was all). But the doctor gave him about a dozen of narcotic pills that ev

A friend recently had a minor procedure (he took a couple of ibuprofens after and that was all). But the doctor gave him about a dozen of narcotic pills that eventually ended up in the trash. Another friend had a persistent cough getting over a cold and was given oxycodone in liquid form "to help sleep." She never took it. Both of these were at major facilities in the Bay Area. Thinking at least some of the blame falls on the docs.

cgsmith 7y ago
I'd like to blame the docs but I am always reminded of saying from my parents: "Only you can be your own advocate for your ____".
- smt88 7y ago
  No, you can blame the docs. You can't be your own medical advocate because you can't just decide to go to medical school. You pay a doctor to have your best interests in mind and give you advice. You have no way of knowing whether the advice is good. When the doctor is misinformed, or their incentive is to please pharmaceutical companies, your trust is betrayed without any warning. My friend is a psychiatrist and says that any night of any week, she can go out and get a $100+ meal free from pharma reps. Organized meals have speakers that are marketing drugs to them. Informal meals just have the sales rep saying the same talking points. If anyone thinks she or her coworkers can make unbiased decisions about what the describe, they're very naive.
paulddraper 7y ago
Medicine is one of those weird cases where "the customer is always right" doesn't hold up.
- TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
  In corporate medicine, the patient is not the customer - the patient is the livestock that's being farmed.
ceejayoz 7y ago
I'd imagine that's the same phenomenon that gets antibiotics prescribed for viral colds. You're a lot less likely to get a 3am page from a patient demanding "I'm not getting better yet! Do something!"
- alkonaut 7y ago
  Doctors prescibing antibiotics for viral colds should have their licenses taken away, it's pretty simple. Countries where antibiotics can be had over the counter for people with viral colds should be shut out of international trade. Countries where giving antibiotics to healthy livestock is allowed should be shut out of international trade. These aren't even controversial measures.
zaroth 7y ago
The cough syrup was probably codeine, which is a very effective cough suppressant. In the past I had a persistent cough bad enough that it keep me up several nights. Mucinex would do nothing. Vix did nothing. Eventually each coughing spell was causing head splitting pain. Codeine was a crucial treatment option. I have a feeling getting hooked on codeine cough syrup would be extremely difficult given a single bottle with perhaps 10 doses. It should not be inappropriate to prescribe codeine cough syrup to an adult who actually has a serious persistent cough.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
helloindia 7y ago
I often get prescribed pain relievers, because I tell my symptoms to doctors, so that they can diagnose the main illness better, not because I need a medication for the pain. . I have started to explicitly also mention, that I'd like to manage my pain without medication.
matwood 7y ago
> ibuprofens after and that was all Recent studies are pointing to this being a better pain solution than opioids.
- mirimir 7y ago
  Pray that you'll never have a severely abscessed tooth.
  - matwood 7y ago
    https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-ibuprofen-acetaminophen-effective-opioids-dental.html https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-ibuprofen-acetaminoph... I'm not saying opioids should go away, but they are not always the best option.
    - mirimir 7y ago
      There's no way to know a priori what the "best option" is, in any situation. Arguably it's whatever works. And that's something everyone should have the right to determine. With consultation, as they see fit. But otherwise, it's not for anyone else to say.
decoyworker 7y ago
I had wisdom teeth removed and never even filled my Vicodin prescription- shredded it. I was told by a family member that I should have filled it since, "It's good to have that on hand." No thanks. This attitude toward this stuff makes me think that most just don't realize how bad it is. Most people mean well but don't know any better.
tantalor 7y ago
> ended up in the trash Disposing medicines like this is irresponsible. You should always use a drug disposal service. Local sheriffs can take narcotics off your hands. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-drug-take-back-locations https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you...

cgsmith 7y ago

I'd like to blame the docs but I am always reminded of saying from my parents: "Only you can be your own advocate for your ____".

smt88 7y ago
No, you can blame the docs. You can't be your own medical advocate because you can't just decide to go to medical school. You pay a doctor to have your best interests in mind and give you advice. You have no way of knowing whether the advice is good. When the doctor is misinformed, or their incentive is to please pharmaceutical companies, your trust is betrayed without any warning. My friend is a psychiatrist and says that any night of any week, she can go out and get a $100+ meal free from pharma reps. Organized meals have speakers that are marketing drugs to them. Informal meals just have the sales rep saying the same talking points. If anyone thinks she or her coworkers can make unbiased decisions about what the describe, they're very naive.

paulddraper 7y ago

Medicine is one of those weird cases where "the customer is always right" doesn't hold up.

TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
In corporate medicine, the patient is not the customer - the patient is the livestock that's being farmed.

ceejayoz 7y ago

I'd imagine that's the same phenomenon that gets antibiotics prescribed for viral colds. You're a lot less likely to get a 3am page from a patient demanding "I'm not getting better yet! Do something!"

alkonaut 7y ago
Doctors prescibing antibiotics for viral colds should have their licenses taken away, it's pretty simple. Countries where antibiotics can be had over the counter for people with viral colds should be shut out of international trade. Countries where giving antibiotics to healthy livestock is allowed should be shut out of international trade. These aren't even controversial measures.

zaroth 7y ago

The cough syrup was probably codeine, which is a very effective cough suppressant. In the past I had a persistent cough bad enough that it keep me up several nights. Mucinex would do nothing. Vix did nothing. Eventually each coughing spell was causing head splitting pain. Codeine was a crucial treatment option. I have a feeling getting hooked on codeine cough syrup would be extremely difficult given a single bottle with perhaps 10 doses. It should not be inappropriate to prescribe codeine cough syrup to an adult who actually has a serious persistent cough.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

helloindia 7y ago

I often get prescribed pain relievers, because I tell my symptoms to doctors, so that they can diagnose the main illness better, not because I need a medication for the pain. . I have started to explicitly also mention, that I'd like to manage my pain without medication.

matwood 7y ago

> ibuprofens after and that was all Recent studies are pointing to this being a better pain solution than opioids.

mirimir 7y ago
Pray that you'll never have a severely abscessed tooth.
- matwood 7y ago
  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-ibuprofen-acetaminophen-effective-opioids-dental.html https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-ibuprofen-acetaminoph... I'm not saying opioids should go away, but they are not always the best option.
  - mirimir 7y ago
    There's no way to know a priori what the "best option" is, in any situation. Arguably it's whatever works. And that's something everyone should have the right to determine. With consultation, as they see fit. But otherwise, it's not for anyone else to say.

decoyworker 7y ago

I had wisdom teeth removed and never even filled my Vicodin prescription- shredded it. I was told by a family member that I should have filled it since, "It's good to have that on hand." No thanks. This attitude toward this stuff makes me think that most just don't realize how bad it is. Most people mean well but don't know any better.

tantalor 7y ago

> ended up in the trash Disposing medicines like this is irresponsible. You should always use a drug disposal service. Local sheriffs can take narcotics off your hands. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-drug-take-back-locations https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you...