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Thank you all for this thread and your comments. There is a wide, fuzzy line between medicines and drugs, isn't there?
My doc said that as long as I take it according to directions, or less if I don't need it, I'm okay. I take tramadol now but doc warned me that it can start 'losing its effectiveness' if taken every day so I don't take it on Sundays - I suffer on Sundays. If I ever don't suffer on Sunday, I will be aware that I don't need tramadol any more so I will stop taking it.
I have written to my governor because pharmacies, doctors, insurance companies, and Medicare have restricted some of the medicines that real patients need to the extent that it's hard for real patients to get our medicine.
I found out that health insurance companies in my state will not cover me (except for the 'replacement' insurance companies) because I take gabapentin and tramadol. Their rule is: You have to not fill a rx for gaba or tram for one year before they will accept you. What could we take instead? I have not found anything else that works. Gaba and tram are the right medicine for some of us who have neuropathy/epilepsy. Those insurance companies are discriminating against people who have neuropathy and epilepsy. I don't have a reply yet.
I understand that addicts who take medicines for diseases they don't have can feel "high", but the same medicines make real patients feel normal.
We all need to complain to our governors, doctors, insurance companies, representatives, and the media, when we are discriminated against or our medicine is withheld from us.
PS: I know a former addict who says that his doctor gave him pain killers after some surgery. He took one, after an hour he felt okay, so he took another one (!), and the whole bottle was gone in a few days. That is addiction. When we take our medicine as prescribed, it's medicine.
Peggy
Replies to "Thank you all for this thread and your comments. There is a wide, fuzzy line between..."
It’s not the government or senators it’s the healthcare industry and specifically FDA, DEA who decide with drug manufacturers the safest and minimally effective amount of a drug to make and distribute. Clinical trials for most drugs are done double-blind to ensure safety and data accuracy. For the 2 specific drugs you mentioned, tramadol and gabapentin, they are both noted in drug information to “monitor closely” due to each drugs ability to increase the effect of the other. They can be a dangerous combination if taken concurrently. Your healthcare providers, insurance company and pharmacy are trying to keep you safe in spite of yourself. I’m glad you found a combo that works for you but you should be glad the system works and limits your ability to harm yourself unintentionally.
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You are exactly right. My sister asked me years ago how I felt when I took my xanax, which I started taking in 2011 after I had a brain aneurysm and was in neurological ICU at Shands in Gainesville FL for 8 days, I said I feel normal. She's a former nurse and replied with "well then, you're taking it for a valid reason". If the drugs don't change the way you feel then like pain meds, if there is pain there to kill, you'll feel normal. If there is no pain to kill then you get that high and that's what keeps people coming back and needing more to experience that high because their body got used to the dosage. The urine test that my doctor does every visit tells him the level of medication in my system. If it's more than what my RX is for, he'll know I'm taking more than necessary. If it's too low, he'll assume I'm selling them so those urine tests are for more than looking for other drugs you have no RX for. They are to make sure you are taking your meds as prescribed.