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Addiction and athletes: Who's to blame?
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Anonymous | 5:00 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
Pain-killers are beginning to sound an awful lot like the "forbidden
fruit."
Mark in AZ | 5:12 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
I've just gone through 11 dark and awful months of withdrawal from a drug
doctors hand out like candy for anxiety and for sleep - lorazepam. It is called
benzodiazepine withdrawal. It had been prescribed or promoted to me by five
different doctors. The biggest part of the blame for these tragedies lies with
the medical profession, who are creating the 21st century's black plague.
"It's not working as well? Just take MORE!" I can't talk
with anyone about it who hasn't had a tale to tell of themselves or someone
they know.
Anonymous | 5:39 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
As a former pharmaceutical representative (who is ashamed at my 10-year stint in
that industry) I can tell you that the Doctor prescribes what the rep. tells
him. And the state of Utah docs really like to prescribe uppers and downers.
Why? It makes them feel better.
Comments continue below
Anonymous | 8:28 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
Many commenters believe that the problem of prescription drug abuse in athletics
isn't unique to BYU. That may be true, but this is BYU. If any program
should be above reproach, it should be BYU. Yet, with tragic consequences the
issue of abuse of painkilling medications has been repeated at BYU over the
years.
In the light of the publicized problems that BYU athletes have had with painkillers, Tom Holmoe's comments on measures taken to address the problem seems a little hollow. Ecclesiastical endorsements are part of the screening process? Have ecclesiastical leaders been trained on their screening responsibilities?
Bronco Mendenhall came to BYU claiming he would raise the bar for BYU football. If BYU were serious about the problem of drug abuse and its consequences, they should refuse to adminsiter painkilling drugs for purpose of allowing a player to compete.
If BYU acknowledges the problem associated with painkilling medications and fails to take aggressive steps to address the problem, then they become nothing more than part of the problem.
So much for 'raising the bar'.....
In the light of the publicized problems that BYU athletes have had with painkillers, Tom Holmoe's comments on measures taken to address the problem seems a little hollow. Ecclesiastical endorsements are part of the screening process? Have ecclesiastical leaders been trained on their screening responsibilities?
Bronco Mendenhall came to BYU claiming he would raise the bar for BYU football. If BYU were serious about the problem of drug abuse and its consequences, they should refuse to adminsiter painkilling drugs for purpose of allowing a player to compete.
If BYU acknowledges the problem associated with painkilling medications and fails to take aggressive steps to address the problem, then they become nothing more than part of the problem.
So much for 'raising the bar'.....
desertprincess | 9:48 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
The problem of prescription drug addiction has been devastating. My 65 year old
father abuses prescription drugs, has been hospitalized several times to get him
off the drugs and my mother doesn't seem to realize that it is a terrible
problem (she enables and ignores the signs). I appreciate Deseret News for
running this article, and I would like to see them run a series of articles
about prescription drug abuse. Most specifically how to see the warning signs
and emphasize the illegality of getting someone else's prescriptions and
how you could help them with tough love by turning them in to the police.
Jarid in Cedar | 11:14 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
"Doctors love to be "heroes" and dispense a pill that makes the
patient feel better. Then they can "bring them back in" to check the
dosage and more money for an office visit."
"The biggest part of the blame for these tragedies lies with the medical profession, who are creating the 21st century's black plague."
Quotes like this make me ill. I am a practicing physician for 6 years. I have been sued twice (neither successfully) for not treating pain and suffering. Dealing with drug seeking patients consumes more time and headache for myself and my staff than any other section of my practice.
For the blogger who received lorazepam from 5 different physician: Why did you accept or even seek the prescription in the first place? Did you tell each of the physicians that you had received prescriptions from other doctors? Why did you seek care in the first place? Was it because you couldn't sleep? Or were you "too stressed out" and needed some help to "get through the rough stretch"? It is easy to blame others for your problems, but you should cast stones in glass houses.
"The biggest part of the blame for these tragedies lies with the medical profession, who are creating the 21st century's black plague."
Quotes like this make me ill. I am a practicing physician for 6 years. I have been sued twice (neither successfully) for not treating pain and suffering. Dealing with drug seeking patients consumes more time and headache for myself and my staff than any other section of my practice.
For the blogger who received lorazepam from 5 different physician: Why did you accept or even seek the prescription in the first place? Did you tell each of the physicians that you had received prescriptions from other doctors? Why did you seek care in the first place? Was it because you couldn't sleep? Or were you "too stressed out" and needed some help to "get through the rough stretch"? It is easy to blame others for your problems, but you should cast stones in glass houses.
Jarid in Cedar | 11:19 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
To finish, the issue is addiction. It affects all races, creeds, socioeconomic
classes, religions equally without prejudice. All it takes is exposure to an
addictive substance for the addiction to take hold; even if the medication is
given for legit reasons. I tell people that all you have to do is sit in any
room of 100 people and about 20 of them have to potential of becoming addicted
to any potentially addictive substance.
As far as the drug database, it is present and we use it almost continually, but it is about 6 weeks behind current date, so you cannot find out if someone has recently recieved other medications. You can find out after the fact, but it does not help you at the point of care.
As far as the drug database, it is present and we use it almost continually, but it is about 6 weeks behind current date, so you cannot find out if someone has recently recieved other medications. You can find out after the fact, but it does not help you at the point of care.
Jarid in Cedar | 11:36 p.m. Oct. 29, 2007
To finish: The issue is addiction. It does not disciminate by race, sex,
religious affiliation, profession, or socioeconomic class. It only requires
exposure to a substance, whether it is obtained illegally, legally for legit
reasons, or legally by "drug seeking" behavior. I tell patients that
if you sit in any room of 100 people about 20 will have the potential of
addiction.
Jenn in Cedar | 1:14 a.m. Oct. 30, 2007
The only reason this article caught my eye, is because Brad Marin and I were in
the same class in highh school. I disagree that he died due to his drug abuse.
He died of natural causes and waiting for a toxicology report. There has never
been any proof printed or otherwise that he died due to his addiction to pain
killers.
Pain sucks! Trust me. We can't judge, but we can be informed. We need to be proactive about pain killers; their side effects, addiction probility, etc. We hear about these doctors who hand out pain killers like candy, but are you following the directions correctly? Are you honest about the severity of the pain? If you feel that you may be becoming addicted are you telling your doctor? If the pills are not helping, are we seeking other avenues?
If docotor's are not prescribing medacine properly, they need to be investigated. Remember medacine has their purpose if used correctly. I understand as an athlete there is a lot of pressure, but one needs to recognize what's most important. Sadly, we want to place blame, but all need to take accountability. Too often lives are lost and destroyed
Pain sucks! Trust me. We can't judge, but we can be informed. We need to be proactive about pain killers; their side effects, addiction probility, etc. We hear about these doctors who hand out pain killers like candy, but are you following the directions correctly? Are you honest about the severity of the pain? If you feel that you may be becoming addicted are you telling your doctor? If the pills are not helping, are we seeking other avenues?
If docotor's are not prescribing medacine properly, they need to be investigated. Remember medacine has their purpose if used correctly. I understand as an athlete there is a lot of pressure, but one needs to recognize what's most important. Sadly, we want to place blame, but all need to take accountability. Too often lives are lost and destroyed
I like my car | 4:45 a.m. Oct. 30, 2007
If you were driving in your car, and a red light started flashing and buzzing,
indicating that something was wrong in the engine, what would you do. How
insane would it be to get out, open the hood, find the cable that was causing
the buzzing and red light, cut it, and then proceed to drive. I don't know
anyone who would EVER treat their precious car this way. How sad that our
bodies get so little respect from us.
Anonymous | 9:41 a.m. Oct. 30, 2007
Sorry Jarid, in my 10 years of pharmaceutical rep. experience, I quickly learned
that the number of docs I would trust would be only one percent of them.
The rest are people with the business aspect of their profession held paramount. When you do run across that one percent, however, it's a good thing.
The rest are people with the business aspect of their profession held paramount. When you do run across that one percent, however, it's a good thing.
BYU88 | 2:52 p.m. Oct. 30, 2007
A lot of very judgmental posts and a whole bunch of finger pointing. It is easy
to judge but extremely hard to examine your own shortcomings. I played at BYU in
the mid 80's and became addicted to pain medicaion and have been battling
it (successfully) everyday since. There is no need to blame BYU, the medical or
training staff, or the coaching staff. I made really poor choices that I have to
live with the rest of my life, blaming someone will not take away the horrible
decisions. The problem needs to be addressed through prevention and education.
Compassion is rare in today's society, finger pointing, name calling, and
eventually brushing the problem under the rug is more common. God bless you if
you have never had to deal with a problem of this magnitude (either personally
or through a loved one) and God help, bless, and love you if you ever do.
external vs internal | 5:10 p.m. Oct. 30, 2007
Addiction is when a person THINKS they need something or they'll go insane
or spontaneously combust or something like that(worst case scenario).
But mostly it is the pleasant high they get when they get their "fix" and they do it again and again and ...
Unfortunately, when an external substance is introduced relief is always temporary. The real work starts when sorting through the problem(s) from the inside out.
But mostly it is the pleasant high they get when they get their "fix" and they do it again and again and ...
Unfortunately, when an external substance is introduced relief is always temporary. The real work starts when sorting through the problem(s) from the inside out.
California | 8:44 p.m. Nov. 11, 2007
Addiction is the UNCONTROLABLE seeking and using substances in the face of
tremendously adverse consequences. Addiction is not imaginary; it is as real as
hypertension, asthma or diabetes, and shares many common characteristics with
them and other chronic, incurable diseases. Recent advances in brain imaging
have demonstrated that addiction reflects a change in brain neuron structure. I
was also under the misconception that addiction was not real until I began to
work extensively with addicted people in the criminal court system. Addiction
is a disease of the natural pleasure system which is designed to help us
survive, individually and as a species. One of the effects of addiction is
suppression of the ability to rationally consider the effects of drug use. It
causes one to disregard the detriment and over-value the benefits of using a
drug. Addicted users never get "high," they just seek to avoid the
dysphoria (depression, pain) from withdrawl. Unfortunately, the public is
generally ignorant of the causes and nature of addiction. Even more tragic,
physicians receive almost no training about addiction, even though they treat
addicted people on a daily basis. Our society is in critical need of greater
comprehension of addiction.
shelby | 12:48 p.m. Jan. 31, 2008
why do so many good athletes have to ruin their career by drugs and ather stuff
m so upset with people i dont think anyone should do drugs!!
Anonymous | 12:47 p.m. Jan. 31, 2008
does anyone know why all these good athletes ruin their career by doing drugs???
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