Nurses have been fired from their jobs for stealing them from the hospital storage cabinets. Drug addicts have been known to doctor shop just to get their hands on them. One operating room nurse told a patient undergoing surgery just to act like a man when the effects of his pain control were wearing off. Addicts of any influence have been known to buy doctors just to get their hands on them.
What is the controversy I am talking about it? The controversy started when the chief medical examiner revised the cause of death for our daughter. Initially, the ruling had been a pulmonary embolism resulting from below hip surgery. When she reexamined the evidence of the original autopsy she concluded that there was no evidence that our daughter ever had a pulmonary embolism. The real cause of death was her fatal reaction to the mixed narcotic medications she had been prescribed following her surgery.
She said something else to me. She said that she sees far too many young children with the same cause of death. Her opinion and the opinions of many of her colleagues are for these narcotic pain agents be completely taken off the market.
One of her colleagues was a well known pain doctor at Minneapolis Children’s hospital who had the same opinion. She said that many European countries no longer prescribes Codeine because of their dangerous side effects. The average consumer wouldn't know this information because we're not doctors.
When I spoke with the head pain doctor at Minneapolis Children's hospital I was told that he no longer prescribes Narcotic Codeine pain control to children because of their dangerous side effects.
What makes these drugs so dangerous is how they interact on the respiratory systems on kids of different cultural back grounds, kids with asthma or other breathing disorder. Because they are known respiratory depressants they are sometimes known for shutting down the breathing of these kids causing death.
One of her colleagues was a well known pain doctor at Minneapolis Children’s hospital who had the same opinion. She said that many European countries no longer prescribes Codeine because of their dangerous side effects. The average consumer wouldn't know this information because we're not doctors.
When I spoke with the head pain doctor at Minneapolis Children's hospital I was told that he no longer prescribes Narcotic Codeine pain control to children because of their dangerous side effects.
What makes these drugs so dangerous is how they interact on the respiratory systems on kids of different cultural back grounds, kids with asthma or other breathing disorder. Because they are known respiratory depressants they are sometimes known for shutting down the breathing of these kids causing death.
Why is this a controversy? The AMA continues to view these narcotic drugs as very effective pain agents and in the majority of cases they work, but in a very small number of cases they do result in death. I guess the rationale is if it works for most people why bother to take them off the market?
I would like to see changes made to make sure families are given appropriate information on the different pain control agents so they can make the most appropriate decision for their loved ones given their secondary conditions.
Right now families are not given that information and quite often are deferring to the prescribers who very often are being influenced by the pharmaceutical companies for their information on drug safety.
Right now families are not given that information and quite often are deferring to the prescribers who very often are being influenced by the pharmaceutical companies for their information on drug safety.
Although we can never bring back our loved ones who may have died from medication toxicity issues I believe we can make sure another family doesn’t have to go through the painful grief process with the passage of a medication informed choice bill.
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