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Dr. Keith Ablow, FOX Medical A-Team, on what is sending painkiller usage levels so high in this country.
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Not facing our problems joining the company now is doctor Keith outlook for the -- -- eighteen.
Doctor before we go any further I got to tell you wasted a lot of emails on this subject many from people who say look.
We use and we need these painkillers these make our lives possible so -- that are reaches the email that we got all of a sudden doctor this is from Rebecca.
You do not use the -- make you do not suffer from the daily paid I am forced to live with.
And now you're helping President Obama to move in and eventually denying me the only thing that helps me to live a semi normal life we hear you Rebecca.
And I understand your position entirely but doctor -- come on comments on this all we -- addicted nation.
Listen this is not one problem it's more than one problem wrapped up in that statistic a hundred tons of -- he could own and Hydro could own.
Dispensed to North America.
These are heroin like substances now look absolutely some people need them.
Not only for pain relief physical pain but there -- some -- with anxiety.
Disorders they respond to nothing else.
Then those -- believe it or not no other anti anxiety -- seems to work small doses of those well managed seem to however.
Many many many people are addicted to those like you would be to heroin and they get them from doctors who aren't selective about who to give those prescriptions to and more than that -- here's the thing a lot of people sell.
That medicine they're given it because they're covered under different state programs health programs health insurers Medicaid and other things.
They sell it or they traded for cocaine or heroin.
And that's what's happening across this country.
Do these drugs deliver a sense of euphoria as well as pain relief.
That is the euphoria that becomes addictive is that a story.
Absolutely these give you a tremendous sense of well being.
-- -- Crush anxiety and depression temporary early.
But they're highly addictive and this is also part of and you correctly identified this is part of our escapist mentality in this country.
-- -- we deal with I really mean this literally until we deal with the fact that we have runaway deficits.
And unemployment that really needs to be cope with you're gonna see the rate of drugs of abuse skyrocketing because people wanna be and -- the ties.
The -- wanna look at the truth.
-- there -- isn't part of the truth the aging population right now.
For reason -- and we're seeing a spike in these painkillers I mean people are living longer and they have more ailments and their caring for them at longer periods of time.
Well look I mean.
Certainly it's possible but in general the elderly are the people taking he's not in the quantities that we're talking about we're talking one pocket that I see in my practice -- -- Seeing patients every day one pocket of those people who come in.
Who clearly have had a history of getting large quantity disease from other docs who may be now dependent on them.
There is another subset of people and this is a big problem who -- selling.
The medicines that are given to them for free because of there.
Prescription drug plans selling them either for cash or for other drugs of abuse it's a massive massive problem.
Kept it real fast -- I presume that you on occasion do prescribe these drugs for anxiety.
What kind of dosage would you give them for what length of time do you think is responsible abuse -- -- to -- this.
We know it it really depends on the person.
So you don't want Oprah approach -- dosage and what you wanna do is you never wanna see that there's increasing and increasing and increasing because what have you created you've created something you know an appetite you can't possibly -- what do you do if you do see the dosage required going up and up about what do you did.
You -- -- detox at that point they look and we got to take a break here we get a detox you and then start a new where your body's readjusted so it's not requiring.
This much requires maybe this much and look for alternatives there are alternatives to these indefinitely combinations of other agent again I'm real short on -- but is there an alternative.
With a drug that really does kill pain but which does not -- date with the euphoric feeling.
There are that there are alternatives but sometimes there seems to be no alternative there is a company now researching opiates that are non addictive.
They're messing with the molecule and they are close to coming up with a all right doctor Keith -- that's an interesting development if that happens and takes place doctor always appreciate it thank you so.
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