Posted on Jun 16, 2015
Are our Veterans hooked? Senator to VA: End mindless narcotics prescriptions now
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Jason Simcakoski is one of countless post-9/11 veterans under VA care who have died by accidental overdose since at least 2005. The families of former Marine Sgt. Rob Richards, Senior Airman Anthony Mena, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Bachus, Marine Cpl. Nicholas Endicott, Marine Cpl. Andrew White and others share the inescapable memory of either finding their loved one deceased or of receiving a devastating phone call.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/06/16/tammy-baldwin-legislation-protect-veterans-from-overprescribing-opioids/71262276/
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/06/16/tammy-baldwin-legislation-protect-veterans-from-overprescribing-opioids/71262276/
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Health
Drugs
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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It seems to be the general response: put him on something & if that doesn't work, try it again for a couple times. Then we'll address the bigger picture. They need to treat the disease, not the symptoms!
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1SG (Join to see)
To compound this problem, if the initial drug or dosage doesn't work properly, the time between initial visit and the follow up visit can be ridiculous.
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SSgt (Join to see)
I had to threaten to sit outside the local director's office until I got an appointment last year. My primary physician left for private practice & they had not assigned me a new one (mind you, my physician left in 2013, so they had plenty of time to find a replacement). Finally they offered to have a Med student intern perform the physical in order to make sure my benefits continued. I still don't have a primary care physician. I'm supposed to get one in October when my annual comes around.
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To a great extent Yes. 1.VA does not do Tier 1 drugs, when I went from a private Dr to VA, my prescriptions went from 3 to 8. 2.The Sand Kids are leaving the VA with quite truthfully a large gift bag of prescriptions. 3. When the VA started treating my PTSD and Major Depression I had to literally fight my doctors to start at the lowest dosage of the lowest level drug available to the VA. 4. Many of the prescriptions are issued by more than 1 Doctor, and they do not always talk to each other, particularly when your primary sees you maybe every 6 months, and you may see the mental health every 4-6 weeks.
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Suspended Profile
If anyone is looking for a basic overview of opioids, please take a look at this article that we put out--it also has a solid list of resources at the end as well. http://prismhealthadvocates.com/opioid-epidemic-creation-addiction-treatment-rehabilitation/
The Opioid Epidemic: A Look at Opioid Creation, Addiction, Treatment and Rehabilitation - Prism
Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. Synthetic opioids such as Heroine play a major factor in these cases.
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