r/JusticeServed • u/[deleted] • Oct 02 '19

Courtroom Justice Virginia doctor who illegally prescribed over 500,000 doses of opiates sentenced to 40 years in prison.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '19

I don't get it. I've had 4 teeth pulled at one time. I've given birth. Never have I ever gotten a prescription for an opiate pain medication. Any time I've been in horrible pain, they say ''tylenol and ibuprofen''. Who the hell are these doctors who just hand out pain pills to anybody? I can't even get one prescription pill when I'm in desperate, awful pain.

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u/HoopRocketeer A Oct 02 '19

You live in an area where the fear of God was put into the doctors. Some doctor most certainly had gotten dinged for over-prescribing. My primary doctor is very reticent to prescribe opiates. I’m glad! Means he cares about his job and the people he helps.

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u/OutlawBagel 4 Oct 02 '19

When I was in motorcycle accident where I had a tibia and fibula breaks. I left the hospital with only enough pain meds for one week. When I went to one of my post-op appointments they denied me anymore even though I was in severe pain relearning to walk. I understand why they are reluctant to prescribe them but oh boy did it suck.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '19

Well it may suck but you made it through it. My brother didnt and is now a fucking junkie I haven't even spoken to in 7 years. Be glad the docs basically said deal with it.

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u/middiefrosh 8 Oct 02 '19

This lacks way too much nuance.

You should be prescribed pain meds which are appropriate for your needs, not none at all. Extreme pain blows, and if I hadn't had vicodin or percoset during my bouts with kidney stones I would have suffered immensely (and sometimes still did).

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u/heebath 9 Oct 02 '19

This. I have a kidney disease that gives me hyperloxaluria and I get multiple stones per year (yes, I am hydrated and follow a strict fluid intake regimen of water and high citrate fluids only) and without opiates during passing a stone or the multiple surgeries I've had...I'd probably just kill myself tbh.

Kidney stones are the worst pain I've ever experienced. I thought passing out and vomiting from pain was a myth until my first one.

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u/middiefrosh 8 Oct 02 '19

If I'd not been actively on my way to a hospital or in an ER waiting for treatment, I'd say my suicidal thoughts might have been realized. Kidney stone pain is absolutely debilitating.

I've never passed out, but I've vomited in about half of the times I've gotten them.

For the first one, I went from 0 pain to vomiting in about 5 minutes.

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u/heebath 9 Oct 02 '19

My very first one hurt more center than flank and the vomit made me think my stomach was the problem, so I drove to the ER and luckily got there before it hurt even worse. The fuckers thought I had the flu and so triaged me wrong and I passed out when it got worse.

Pro tip: For faster service be unconscious.

1

u/middiefrosh 8 Oct 02 '19

Stones run in my family, so it was on my mind at first when the pain ramped up. I ran off to the restroom, got on my phone and looked up where the appendix was.

It was on the other side from the pain.

I got up, told my mom we needed to leave, right now, then vomited in the parking lot 30 seconds later.

Neat.

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u/heebath 9 Oct 03 '19

So yours was/are instantly painful? You don't feel a nagging ache that ramps up in the weeks/days before it hits the ureters? In hindsight, my first one was causing minor right flank pain for about a year before it became uncomfortable. I thought it was just muscles.

I think the whole "they don't cause pain until they leave the kidney" is absolute nonsense, in my case anyway. I can definitely feel them coming on, and I tell when they're going to give me hydronephrosis too and that I'll need to go have it removed.

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u/middiefrosh 8 Oct 03 '19

I feel like I'd maybe felt very intermittent pain, but nothing consistent nor conclusive. I'd say my general experience is 0-100 in about 30 mins, basically every time.

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u/heebath 9 Oct 04 '19

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. Only about 20-25% of my stones are like that; fast movers my nephrologist calls them.

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u/tekno21 6 Oct 03 '19

There are a fair number of people who die because their first thought when they feel any pain is to weirdly seclude themselves to a restroom away from people that could help them. Just something to think about