Actiq Lollipop Addiction Scandal

[concerned grandparent]

jimbo wrote:

I am sick and tired of the people without pain telling the people with pain what they should or should not be taking...I have suffered wiyh chronic back pain for the past seven years..i have had 2 back surgerys (including a fusion) and every injection known to mankind,now that i am finally on some strong pain medications including actiq i can live a fairly normal life..the problem is it is hard to find a doctor to write scripts for these medications..there r 2 many people that fake there pain in order 2 obtain these medications to either get "high" or make financial gains on the streets..this makes it tuff for the doctors and for the TRUE pain sufferers...

i too am in the same position as you , what meds does your dr. give u?

[g-man]

I have been using actiq 400mcg 4 times a day for 9yrs
It has done a remarkable job for the pain & has enabled me to live a normal life, and finish out my career. It has also destroyed my teeth at an accelerated rate in part due to oral radiation destroying my salivary glands

[Nathan Davis]

Watch intervention, the saddest thing i have ever seen, this lady named Linda was addicted to Actiq Lollipops, she was a star and had stared in over 200 movies and tv shows, she was so pretty until she became on pain medication... she was on demerol but then that wasnt working so she switched to fentanyl lollipops, it was the worst intervention i had ever watched. No one should have fentanyl lollipops or and kind of the drug including patches unless they are a cancer patient or a terminal patient of some illness... this lady was taking over 8 Actiq lollipops a day, she had this crazy theory about radiation and electricity ... (she had eds) which is a horrible pain... but she had all these theories about how radiation and electricity in the body and on random objects made her joints come out of place, but that was all from the fentanyl. This drug should ONLY be perscribed if you are terminally ill or are a bad cancer patient, they have also had kids die of this medicine before thinking that it was candy. This drug is VERY DEADLY... and HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.

[Samantha From Ct]

Ok we all see that this is an addictive medication, but tell me what pain medication isnt? I think that if you abuse your medication and go over the dose that you are perscribed that is your own fault. I am 24 and have multipule chronic pain conditions. I cant live a day normally without my pain medication. Is my BODY addicted to the medicaiton? Probably! But I wouldnt know because I do not abuse my medications and run out of them. I am sick of seeing people who dont have any pain issues tell us who have 24/7 chronic breakthrough pain how to live our lives! You have no clue what its like not being able to get out of bed because your in so much pain, play with your children or help them with their homework because the pain is so mind numbing. I rememeber when I was not on the right pain medication and even though it took the edge off, I still could not go to a grocery store and walk down a isle before having to sit because my pain was breaking through the medications. I am not on Actiq and I do not plan to go on it unless I really have to, but I would never sit here and judge the people who do take it. I am sorry for the people who LET Actiq ruin their lives, but there are people in this world WHO DO NOT HAVE CANCER, whos lives are better because they have proper pain medications. Yes Actiq is deadly to children just like any other pain medication but if you have children around your house why are your Actiq pops in a spot that your children can obtain them? You have to be carefull with this medication and I am sure the people who properly use this medication know that. I know what it is like to want to die rather than live your life with uncontrolled pain. I would not wish it on my worst nightmare. Has anyone ever had dry sockets from getting a tooth pulled? The pain is pretty unmanigable right? Well imagine that 10x worse all day every day and then tell these people how to live their lives. I pray that this medication WILL be approved for those of use who DO NOT have cancer. People with this kind of pain should not have to jump through hoops to prove it just because of people who abuse it. The people who were taking 15+ pops a day can sit and talk till their face is blue and say that it was not their fault that they were taking that many a day but obviosly it is. Once you started going over your perscribed amount you should have spoken to your DR about this. I understand you are trying to warn these people, but I am sure they already know how this medication, just like any other pain medication can ruin ones life. Remember having chronic pain ruins lives too and can casue other mentall illnesses like depression. People have killed themselves over being in pain and people have killed themselves from being addicts. Just be smart thats all I have to say.