Tag: doctors

Dangers of opiates

Prince Died From Accidental Overdose of Opioid Painkiller http://nyti.ms/1RRwNyx

After 6 plus months of hospitalization, I have an education in pain killers, I never thought I’d have. I understand debilitating pain after my stroke severely intensified a rotator cuff tendinitis that was pre-existing. Unfortunately Tylenol affects me negatively, and doctors don’t want to give ibuprofen, so I allowed myself to be talked into trying morphine  … a horrid, out of control feeling, and finally dilaudid. Dilaudid is a powerful opiate, so you don’t need much. I was taking no more than 2 milligrams at one time, 2 to 3 times per day. Almost impossible to get addicted at that level. The weening off was easy. But that’s me,a control freak with trust issues regarding prescription drugs.
In my 3rd month at hospital, I was in a ward with 3 other women, one of whom was a nurse with a heavy addiction to more than 6 separate  pain killers including methadone ,that she was now getting free whenever she wanted.  Not to mention the 3 types of opiates she brought from home that they trusted her to mention when she took one (misplaced trust ). I counted her pain pill intake one day as 63. This is the kind of dangerous situation that is ripe for legal minds.
Since coming home, I have found the best pain killer for me is half of one gummy bear made with medical Marijuana. Takes away the pain completely and I still function well.
Message here ask what they want to give you for pain or sleep, research the potential dangers and decide for yourself if it’s worth the risk. Though
I’m still greatly saddened by the sudden  loss of such a musical genius , his beautiful music lives on.

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What’s stopping you?

 

 

The Occupy Movement seems to have spawned an odd backlash from rich people who are saying they want to be taxed more. In the United States both Warren Buffet http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20092380-503544.html and Bill Gates http://www.mediaite.com/online/bill-gates-endorses-raising-taxes-on-the-rich-thats-just-justice/ have made this claim publicly. In Canada, last week, a group of doctors is saying the same thing http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mds-propose-tax-increases-wealthiest-canadians-starting-100-040307538.html

While I think that it’s great that there are rich people who are on board with paying higher taxes, what I wonder is…

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?

What’s stopping you from writing an additional cheque to the government above and beyond your current tax payment along with a note stating that this is an additional tax payment because I am rich and feel that I should be paying more? Or even go one further and let the government know what you would like this additional cheque to go towards, like healthcare, the deficit, defense etc.

I can’t imagine that either government would turn down the extra cash and you could be proactive instead of just complaining that you’re not currently paying enough.

It’s all well and good to propose tax plans for yourself and your cronies when you know that your government likely won’t take you up on your offer, but why not put your money where your mouth is? Sure, the publicity your getting now is creating some good will, but imagine what kind of good will actually doing something would create.

It’s a crime (part three)

Bill Maher has this great bit about being pro death. “I’m pro death. I am pro-death penalty.  I am pro-choice.  I am pro-assisted suicide, pro-regular suicide. I am for anything that gets the traffic moving faster” While this is a funny way of expressing his views, he’s still expressing his real views.

I too am pro death, especially when it comes to assisted suicide. I don’t understand why this is a crime. I mean why needlessly prolong someone’s suffering. You wouldn’t do that to a family pet, so why do it to your grandmother? Of course the family pet hasn’t named you in his will, so there’s not all of that legal crap to worry over. I’m not suggesting that assisted suicide should be allowed if the person assisting is a family member, there’s too much temptation possible in that scenario and the consequences would be too legally messy. However, if a dying person, who has no chance at a quality existence decides they would rather not continue living, I don’t understand why their doctor cannot help them out of their pain. The doctor doesn’t even have to be the one to administer the final blow. Leave it in the hands of the patient, by allowing them control of the morphine drip. They can just press the button until it’s over. Isn’t it preferable to die without pain? To give the patient some control over his/her last moments? To allow this person to die with dignity?

I haven’t even gotten into the fact that the healthcare industry would save millions of dollars every year if people were allowed to choose this option, rather than be kept alive with expensive machinery and drugs. In countries like Canada, that has universal healthcare, it makes no sense not to allow assisted suicide. In the United States, however, where healthcare is a for profit industry (don’t get me started on the moral issues this raises), I suppose assisted suicide takes food out of the mouths of the doctor’s servants. Getting back to civilized countries, as the Baby Boomers (the most populous generation on the planet) are aging and governments are facing spending multiple millions of dollars on their healthcare, it only makes fiscal sense to allow the OPTION of assisted suicide.