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177036 tn?1192286635

I pulled this off the top of this page...Oxycontin lawsuit

I pulled this off the top medhelp...Oxycontin lawsuit

OxyContin has been a top selling painkiller, but it is also highly addictive.
Did taking Oxycontin devastate your life? If so, you may have a legal claim.

The manufacturer of Oxycontin, Purdue Pharma, began selling Oxycontin in 1996. The drug company, however, found it had a major obstacle to overcome when it began selling Oxycontin. Oxycontin is a narcotic drug, in the same class with heroin and morphine. Purdue Pharma realized most physicians would not want to prescribe Oxycontin if they believed their patients could become easily addicted, so the drug company invented a clever lie. Purdue Pharma sales representatives were coached to tell doctors that Oxycontin was less addictive than other narcotic painkillers. The reason, Purdue claimed, was that Oxycontin is a time release drug, making Oxycontin less addictive than other similar drugs. Although Purdue knew that the claim was false, it worked. Oxycontin rose to become the number one prescribed narcotic pain killer in the U.S. Between 2000 and 2005 it netted Purdue over a billion dollars per year.

During this same time, Oxycontin addiction grew to epidemic proportions. Oxycontin became known on the street as OC, Oxy, Oxycotton, or hillbilly heroin. The U.S. Attorney
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Avatar universal
Yes that is true as I worked in medical field a long time. A lot of people are posting how to get off Suboxone and I can tell you this is another lie. Most people I know trying to get off Suboxone can't because of withdrawal is so severe. I keep up medically with the latest information on the issue and have found that they really do not have the information or knowledge of how to get people off it. The doctor loves your monthly income to him so he's really not wanting to take you off, the pharmaceutical company loves their monthly income from you for the drug and the withdrawal is just about deadly. Narcan is the drug Blocker in Suboxone and was originally created for a critical situation of overdose. A brainiac in Austin Texas came up with the drug Suboxone to use to prevent withdrawal from opiates. A lot of people have been on Suboxone now for 5 years plus and say the withdrawal is beyond hell and they can't get off. The only answer I have found is baclofen and NAC. Baclofen must be prescribed and I would ask my primary doctor to help me with that and the NAC can be bought at a health food store it's a supplement. You must take that combination for 6 months and then you can be off Suboxone. I do not use Suboxone however, I have a family member that does. Unfortunately he is developed for dental but that's the least of it neurological symptoms looking and mimicking Parkinson's comes along with long term use of Suboxone as well. Funny because baclofen is a treatment for Parkinson's. Unfortunate but doctors and drug companies are businesses now and you're just a guinea pig to them. You think the FDA would have required some type of weaning therapy before they let the drug companies Market this drug the way that they did and now you have million people on Suboxone that don't know how to get off period warning please do not try it alone it's very very difficult.
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Sorry about my answer when I went back and read it it has a lot of these characters I did not include in this. Sorry about that don't know how that happened. LOL.
401095 tn?1351391770
There was a discussion at work yesterday bout a spouse suing the tobacco company for her husbands death from cancer...converstation persued and different viewpoints..i was thinking...alcohol has killed many people..i see it all the time..bloated up and die with bleeding from every orifice..so do they sue Budweiser?  or Johnny Walker?   ...now McDonalds did get sued for someone's obesity and claimed it was McDonalds fault..and they won!  But I can not say I think that is right..to me it just is not..I agree with red on this one...I see people come here and say "My doctor got me addicted"  or "My doctor kept prescribing them to me long after I need them"   duh?  why did the person not tell the doctor she no longer needed them?  people can kill themselves with a variety of drugs if not used as prescribed...granted..saying it was less addictive may not have been correct...but if taken as directed, time release drugs are not supposed to be as habit forming/less potential for abuse because pain is controlled better and the patient doesnt pop so many pills a day...only 2 or 3...instead of 8 or more a day for pain relief..but that is if it is used as directed...chewing them, shooting or snorting them, buying them when u run out early...none of that is "As directed"  I believe people have to take responsibility for themselves at some point...Suboxone may have a suit coming against them soon too i guess cos they have done mass education that the drug is not addictive and has no wd..and seems as tho it does...people who take ambien...50 mgs when 5-10 is prescribed, then drink on top of it when it clearly states "do not drink" has a law suit pending cos of a blackout a lady had driving that caused an accident..after drinking a 6 pack of beer and taking 5 ambien???  I would imagine the company that marketed tramadol is in trouble now as well?? or soon...dont know....everyone is different with different opinions..taking responsibility for my own actions is important to me
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1 Comments
I agree with you and sadly the ones that do need these medications that have conditions that are terminal and painful extremely painful can't get the medications they need. The problem is nobody is accountable for their own actions anymore. I do think drug companies and tobacco companies and even alcohol companies should be held accountable to a point as they have study these things and hide a lot of fax from us. Then the FDA approves these things and use us as guinea pigs to find out if something works. I hate to say this but in my opinion are on government allows pharmaceutical companies to get away with murder and use people to test drugs with skewed testing. When I ask pharmaceutical reps show me the test, it would be a test including 600 people. I hardly call that a test considering the amount of people in America. These are things that people trust the Judgment of the doctors to do what is in their best interest for you as a patient however, now the pharmaceutical companies put money in doctors Pockets to do testing. In my opinion your own government allows the biggest lobbyists in Washington, the pharmaceutical companies to do pretty much what they want. The ones that cost the most are the patients that need the most and they are the ones that are not being helped and dropping dead on a daily basis. I can't believe a lawyer will take a suit against McDonald's for obesity and actually win and drug addicts getting Oxycontin win the lawsuits but patients dying of cancer can't get pain meds. Sad.
765775 tn?1366024691
I understand your point and it is well taken. My point is that people used this drug illegally or improperly and want the drug company to be responsible for their actions.
At the same time you have the drug company agreeing to a settlement in the interests of profits which is not right either.

In the end who suffers in all of this? The patients that need the drug and use it as directed. Alot of doctors are now afraid to prescribe it because of all of this. Pharmacies are limiting their supply or dispensing what they have left and making you wait for them to order it if you need the medication.

There are no winners in this.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Your use has been resposible and your statements ring true. You are one of the good patients.

However - there is a lot of historical background to this issue. Qualudes were quite effective at inducing sleep. But they were also diverted as a party drug.  It eventually became so horrendous a problem that the very methqualone formula was made illegal. No Doc scripts - unavailable for prescription. many other drugs do just as well for sleep (dalmane is one, restoril), gobs of alternatives.

Morphine itself is less abused than oxycodone. Your observations are valid as far as I can see ......  but you may be forgetting the vast number of people that lack your will power and discipline. They dont get it and they dont make it.........
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765775 tn?1366024691
I am sorry you were offended. It was not my intention to offend anyone. You point out that the drug company lied to the doctors yet this drug is still prescribed (with caution) by doctors everyday.

My point being once again if you take the drug as directed, no harm no foul im my opinion.

I used to be a heavy drinker. I'm sure that I have taken years off my life because of that. I don't throw blame at Johnnie Walker. I made the choice to drink and must suffer the consequences of that choice. I later made a choice not to drink anymore.

Again, I'm sorry you were offended. I was stating my opinion.






































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700244 tn?1272650756
I really take offense to your post Red931, but then again, you're right - I DID make all those choices so it is my fault.

But that DOESN'T make what Purdue did right.  Their actions were fueled solely by greed; NOT your best interests.  They blatantly lied to doctors AND the general public.
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765775 tn?1366024691
This medication (Oxycontin) was not put on the market to be crushed and sniffed up one's nose. There are many people that this drug helps if taken as directed. I am one of them.

People make choices in their lives. Sometimes they are bad choices. I don't know that I agree that the drug company should be sued by people that use the drug improperly or don't follow their doctor's instructions.

There are alot of things in this world that are addictive. Some people are addicted to food and become obese to the point that their health is in serious condition. If they eat 100 Hershey Bars a day should they be permitted to sue Hershey because they didn't tell them that excessive amounts of their product would clog your arteries?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Unbelievable but why is the goverment getting the money. Should it not be the people whos lives have been ruined by this drug. Legalised drug pushers, thats all they are
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Avatar universal
this is still great news. it is about time!
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700244 tn?1272650756
I wouldn't even consider a slap on the wrist.  It's a joke.
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Avatar universal
It seems they still end up on top. 634 million is a drop in the bucket when you have been making 1 billion / year for the last 10 years. It's just a slap on the wrist for misleading and killing many people.
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183879 tn?1189755823
Thanks Fishmeal... I didn't know this. I appreciate the info.
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Avatar universal
Nite fish!
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177036 tn?1192286635
good nite!
Helpful - 0
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