Do you think that the products such as Vicodin, etc will be banned?  My GP did not think so, but it's up for grabs.  And alot of us will be up for grabs, too, if they throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Thanks

Big Brother and it's war on drugs has made many Dr's feel like their hands are tied to help the Chronic pain patient with drugs that are pure of other ingredients like tylenol and leave them under treated for good. I had a friend who was denied pain meds until he was dying then they gave him fentanyl the last three days of his life. He spent over 5 years bed ridden and in bad pain for years and because he had no insurance Dr's would not give him pain meds with or with out tylenol, He was my best friend and I was getting pain medication with out tylenol and he was left with out any pain relief so he took over the counter pills too much for many years. He had a lot of bad disks in his back from working hard in a foundry grinding room he also had fibromyalgia and other painful conditions. He finally got bladder cancer and was not even sedated when they put in drain tubes into his back at St Joseph's hospital in Syracuse NY to by pass his bladder for his last 2 month on this world. His Daughter heard him screaming when they put the tubes in and she was a ways away from him, he told me about it later on. He was left at home in bed with some type of low dose codeine and tylenol that he was given and they did not work. My best friend was very much in pain and left like that and this was a big man who could take a lot of pain but in the ending weeks he was crying on the phone in pain sometimes when we talked. I moved to KY but I keep up daily calls to him sometimes a few calls a week. Big Brother and Dr's let this happen to him and I if I was left in pain and only could get over the counter pain medicine I would do it in a minute. Chronic pain let untreated will make people look anywhere they can for relief. I feel really bad that this is happening to many people with no insurance and the public need to know how under treated the uninsured are left to suffer because of cost and some get labeled pill seekers by Dr who have the power to do it and I know one my self who tried to do it to me. I am lucky I have the VA if I didn't the pain pills I was on were to expensive for what government aid would pay for after I lost my insurance I had the VA to fall back on. Many people you see on the street are chronic pain suffers who have fell though he cracks I know I have talked to many of them what do you do if over the counter is all you an get ? and who's fault is it ? Pointing the finger at people is easy to do but living with bad chronic pain and getting no help but over the counter drugs and damaging their liver is something a lot of people do not write about. Chronic pain is --- with out control.

RJ

RJ