Dangerously Addictive Painkiller Prescribed for Patients Who Shouldn’t Have Received It...

Dangerously Addictive Painkiller Prescribed for Patients Who Shouldn’t Have Received It, Says Whistleblower

It's called Subsys and it's a painkiller 100 times more powerful than morphine that was approved by the FDA for cancer patients whose agony can't be relieved by other narcotics alone.

NBC's Senior Investigative Correspondent Cynthia McFadden spoke with a former employee who said she was part of a scheme to get the drug Subsys to patients who never should have had it.

Nixon told NBC that her supervisor told her ways to trick the insurers into believing it was "medically necessary." "I would say, 'Hi, this is Patty. I'm calling from Dr. Smith's office. I'm calling to request prior authorization for a medication called Subsys,'" she told McFadden. Nixon says she would also mention oncology records that didn't exist and provide insurance companies with specific diagnosis codes, whether or not the patients had those conditions.

Insys, the manufacturer of Subsys, is based in Arizona, and spent a lot of money to defeat our marijuana decriminalization ballot proposition in the last election, and it's obvious why:

DEA OKs synthetic marijuana for pharma company that spent $500,000 to keep pot illegal

And what really boils my blood is that by law, Insys has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders -- not its patients, not safety, nothing but $$$. So screw our best interests -- even our lives are expendable if it means more $$$ for the shareholders.

Sarah Fuller was one of the patients who was prescribed Subsys even though she didn't have cancer.

In her case, it was chronic neck and back pain from two car accidents. And when her doctor prescribed Subsys, an Insys sales rep was sitting in the room with them, her father Dave Fuller told NBC News.

Within a month, Fuller's prescription was tripled. And 14 months after she started using the drug, she was found dead on a bathroom floor.

What killed her?

"Well, technically fentanyl," Fuller's still-grieving mother said. "But a drug company who couldn't care less about a human life. And, apparently, a doctor who didn't either."

And for those of us who are not killed by their deadly synthetic poisons, we'll pay through the nose for everyone taking it via higher insurance premiums to cover those who do (until they're killed, of course):

Subsys is not cheap. A 30-day supply costs anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000.

Obamacare was never about healthcare, much less our health. It was all about controlling our access to medical care -- and medicines -- and who will pay for a crony capitalist medical industry that puts profits before patients' best interests... including our very lives.

Do we have a right to health care? Damn right we do!!! We have an absolute inalienable right to life, and therefore a right to nurture, nurse and treat ourselves with all the fruits of the earth. There is no virtue -- only vice! -- in a government that interferes/intervenes in the name of safety and causes even more harm than letting people take care of themselves.

Going forward in the healthcare reform national dialogue/debate, such issues as this must be addressed if we don't want more of the same.

We do not have the right to health care. You don't have a right to something someone else has to provide to you. Down the route lies slavery.

You do have the right to do what you can to keep yourself as healthy as you possibly can.

originally posted by: ketsuko
We do not have the right to health care.

Yes, we do.

You don't have a right to something someone else has to provide to you.

And I never said otherwise -- as I'm sure you well know. It's the government interference/intervention which forces us to rely on others. And it is exactly that government interference/intervention that needs to get the hell out of our way.

Down the route lies slavery.

Bull. First and foremost, demanding that government get the hell out of our way so that we can provide our own healthcare is exactly the opposite of demanding the services of someone else. Second, there is no reason to suggest that anyone would be forced to provide healthcare. Third, there is absolutely no reason to suggest that people providing healthcare should not be paid a fair wage for the labor/service.

You do have the right to do what you can to keep yourself as healthy as you possibly can.

And we have to right to treat ourselves when our health suffers -- not just prevention.

The price is astronomical considering the price and availability of blackmarket Fentanyl, flooding the streets from Chinese labs.

a reply to: Boadicea

Are we surprised?

America is #1 in health care costs-and #37 in health outcomes-behind Columbia.

originally posted by: aliensanonymous
The price is astronomical considering the price and availability of blackmarket Fentanyl, flooding the streets from Chinese labs.

It sure is! And the worst part of that is that it was Big Pharma who largely creates the addicts which creates the black market for the drugs. If there were no demand, there would be no market. Basic principles.

a reply to: Boadicea

The profit motive in healthcare is just wrong. So is private prisons.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: Boadicea

Are we surprised?

America is #1 in health care costs-and #37 in health outcomes-behind Columbia.

"It is well known that facts have a liberal bias."

No thank you, I'll pass on that if it is prescribed. I don't do so well with pain relievers anyway. Coffee and a cigarette releive my pain pretty well, one aspirin works too. I'd rather eat a piece of blueberry pie than taking an aspirin too.

I think Pharma makes way too much from making us believe in medicines. They have spread rumors for many decades to get us to stay away from natural chemistry to treat things, I research the potency of foods as far as medical benefits. Some of them are pretty strong. Also if we just avoided food that stimulate inflammation a bit then we wouldn't need pain relief. It is not what you eat to neutralize something that matters, it is finding out what combinations of foods to avoid.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: Boadicea

Are we surprised?

America is #1 in health care costs-and #37 in health outcomes-behind Columbia.

I'm only surprised that so many people will defend and protect the practices that created this horrible medical industry -- and then too often claim we have the "best healthcare in the whole wide world!!!"

Unfortunately, society has been frightened into believing that we need others to take care of us and that we cannot take care of ourselves. There will always be a place for medical professionals, and thank Heaven we have them, but there is much we can do for ourselves -- and do it better! -- if given the education and resources to do so.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Boadicea

The profit motive in healthcare is just wrong. So is private prisons.

Definitely -- especially when that motive is the driving force and we have no legal choice.

The private prisons are an excellent analogy. Another national dialogue/debate that needs to happen -- or not. I'd be happy if all private prisons were criminalized without a national discussion! Unfortunately, doesn't look like Trump is so inclined, much less our congress critters.

a reply to: rickymouse

No thank you, I'll pass on that if it is prescribed. I don't do so well with pain relievers anyway. Coffee and a cigarette releive my pain pretty well, one aspirin works too. I'd rather eat a piece of blueberry pie than taking an aspirin too.

I'm with you. My body does not like pain killers -- ends up causing me more misery than the original pain! My go-to's are pineapple and turmeric, especially when inflammation is involved... works for me.

originally posted by: Boadicea

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: Boadicea

Are we surprised?

America is #1 in health care costs-and #37 in health outcomes-behind Columbia.

I'm only surprised that so many people will defend and protect the practices that created this horrible medical industry -- and then too often claim we have the "best healthcare in the whole wide world!!!"

Unfortunately, society has been frightened into believing that we need others to take care of us and that we cannot take care of ourselves. There will always be a place for medical professionals, and thank Heaven we have them, but there is much we can do for ourselves -- and do it better! -- if given the education and resources to do so.

The worst thing is they convinced the people to ignore their parents specific dietary needs because there was no evidence to back that it was effective. Actually the only reason there was no evidence was because these Pharma companies and medical agencies did not test if it worked. They set the stage, over generations they created a need for their services this way. We need to be our food doctor, it is necessary to go talk to some of the older people with similar genetics as we have to identify what they are doing right because they are healthy and in their eighties and nineties. As long as they still have all their marbles. I have done quite a bit of that over the years, it is surprising what these old people know yet they do not actually know they know it. Remember, one different genetic variance can make what they eat a problem with you, pay attention when doing this.

a reply to: Boadicea

There is money in it.
I was thinking about how many pills I have taken since I was 21.
It's a disgusting amount and really opened my eyes. Keep in mind these were all prescribed legally and I'm just talking opiates. I bet I have taken 20,000 pills in 18 years.
I sure wish I could use medical mj which is legal in my state but I have random drug tests.
That is a legit figure too.

a reply to: Boadicea

Agreed,

I only have 2 questions for those who champion our system with full horse blinders on.

How long is this system going to last?

Was Hillary right in the 1990's?

originally posted by: Boadicea
a reply to: rickymouse

No thank you, I'll pass on that if it is prescribed. I don't do so well with pain relievers anyway. Coffee and a cigarette releive my pain pretty well, one aspirin works too. I'd rather eat a piece of blueberry pie than taking an aspirin too.

I'm with you. My body does not like pain killers -- ends up causing me more misery than the original pain! My go-to's are pineapple and turmeric, especially when inflammation is involved... works for me.

The pineapple has bromelaine in it, it actually thins the slime and destroys some of the damaged cells because it is a proteinase. I use the supplement about three times a week, it works great. Beer is clarified with bromelain or papain, that is active too, but I get a hangover easily so do not like to drink beer very often anymore. If you exercise, the proteinase also helps with remodeling the muscle cells so you can get stronger.

There are some bad parts to bromelain though, it also tears apart lipase which is also an enzyme. Bromelain is actually a mixture of enzymes, so it has a little lipase effect in it too. A couple of pieces of fresh pineapple will take away my milk headache within minutes, it also helps with the clogged nose I get from milk and the thick mucus that I get from milk products. I can't help it, I like ice cream and milk. I get a craving for milk occasionally and will drink two glasses.

No opiate that's measured in micrograms should be pushed on the general public like this. It's a recipe for disaster.

It's no surprise it's pushed like it is though, fentanyl is completely synthetic and doesn't require the importation of opium or poppies to manufacture so it's cheaper to make, and with all the controversy around oxy being prescribed the drug companies are constantly looking for the next opiate to push on people.

While I believe that all drugs should be legalized, it's wrong to push things like these super strong opiates on people who don't already have a tolerance. When you get into opiates that are active in microgram doses, the danger increases, especially when a substance is as short acting as fent.

a reply to: rickymouse

The worst thing is they convinced the people to ignore their parents specific dietary needs because there was no evidence to back that it was effective. Actually the only reason there was no evidence was because these Pharma companies and medical agencies did not test if it worked. They set the stage, over generations they created a need for their services this way.

This ^^^ is what more people need to understand. The system is organized in such a way that only those medicines that will generate huge profits will be studied and therefore receive the necessary FDA approval. Who's going to study and test Vitamin C when it cannot be patented and cannot generate huge profits for their shareholders? Even marijuana is only studied for how it can be synthesized and therefore patented and therefore marketed for maximum profit -- NOT maximum health benefits. Even if the corporation knows that marijuana in its natural form is healthier and safer and provides greater benefits than whatever synthetic form they come up with, their fiduciary responsibility precludes them from revealing that to the world. It's not only "legal" to do so, to do otherwise would be illegal.

We need to be our food doctor, it is necessary to go talk to some of the older people with similar genetics as we have to identify what they are doing right because they are healthy and in their eighties and nineties. As long as they still have all their marbles. I have done quite a bit of that over the years, it is surprising what these old people know yet they do not actually know they know it. Remember, one different genetic variance can make what they eat a problem with you, pay attention when doing this.

I have seen how this works with my own family -- especially my husband and kids. I'm pretty much English and Welsh. My husband is Mexican/Apache/Irish. My kids are obviously a combination of all. But to one extent or another, we all react very differently to foods, alcohol, and medications. It's something I want/need to study further.

originally posted by: Boadicea

originally posted by: aliensanonymous
The price is astronomical considering the price and availability of blackmarket Fentanyl, flooding the streets from Chinese labs.

It sure is! And the worst part of that is that it was Big Pharma who largely creates the addicts which creates the black market for the drugs. If there were no demand, there would be no market. Basic principles.

To true! No corprate dependency would exist if the controll of plants man has used for thousands of years to treat pain etc. Was given back to the people.

As rickymouse stated a natural holistic aproach to healthcare is what is needed. Healthy use of plants, fungus, food, water and environment are all that is needed, every treatment already evolved or was created (depending on your perspective) to manipulate our systems beneficialy. Life is becoming increasingly synthetic.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
a reply to: Boadicea

There is money in it.
I was thinking about how many pills I have taken since I was 21.
It's a disgusting amount and really opened my eyes. Keep in mind these were all prescribed legally and I'm just talking opiates. I bet I have taken 20,000 pills in 18 years.
I sure wish I could use medical mj which is legal in my state but I have random drug tests.
That is a legit figure too.

My heart goes out to you. That can't be easy... probably absolute hell!

For what it's worth, I believe that current medical cannabis research will soon result in strains with little to none of the psychoactive effects but greater medicinal effects, and eventually these despicable drug tests will be obsolete and unnecessary -- at least for cannabis. I hope it's not too little too late for you.