Former UF WR Kyle Morgan commits suicide

[Tay Bang]

In Florida opioid prescriptions are very tightly controlled. My GP can’t even write them and it pisses him off because he can’t even give his older patients a 5 day supply. You have to go to a pain clinic and they control it too. They can’t write more than a certain amount each month and they do random urine tests.
Even if you were to get the scripts the pharmacies check the database and won’t fill more than the monthly limit.
The pendulum has swung and it has become a little over board with control of sleeping pills like Ambien.
As my GP says nobody breaks into a pharmacy to steal Ambien.

Your GP can legally write narcotics in all likelihood. He or his organization just chooses not to. As do a lot of Physicians. Writing narcotics is a nightmare. 95% of the prescriptions are for the high or resale cash, not for pain. That number may be low.

I am leaving the short-term post-operative patients.

 

[Tay Bang]

Truly and honestly, the doctor is hamstrung. They can’t write topicals because topicals aren’t covered. The patients are in pain and they have to give them something to relieve the pain. We are starting to see a little bit of a turn in the tide with legalization of marijuana. That will go a long way. There are a lot of things that could be researched and done to relieve pain. But there’s no money in cures. Only treating symptoms.

See my comment above J. Easily 95% of patients receiving prescriptions in the pre-reform days were not actually in pain. I’m leaving out the obvious short-term post-operative patients from that estimate.

 

[gatormandan]

See my comment above J. Easily 95% of patients receiving prescriptions in the pre-reform days were not actually in pain. I’m leaving out the obvious short-term post-operative patients from that estimate.

Just curious, are you in the medical field?

 

[deuce]

I hear that a lot especially from people who have never suffered from chronic pain on a daily basis. I had back surgery and they did a 4-5 lumbar fusion. They completely removed a disk and installed a cage with cadaver bone and installed rods and screws to fuse the bone together. I was supposed to be fixed and pain free. I have never been the same and I have chronic back, leg and foot pain 24/7 365 that makes sleeping extremely difficult and limits everything I do. They (the V.A.) will not help me and when I did take pills some time ago, I was treated like crap by anyone in the medical field who knew it. If I could somehow transfer my pain into my doctors body for a few hours, he would be throwing prescriptions at me.

Very sorry for you.....

 

[Malaka]

Just curious, are you in the medical field?

I am and while I agree with you for the most part, for profit medicine along with big pharma is responsible for a great deal of prescription pain meds that otherwise wouldn't be needed. The heavy stuff has been reeled back with the advent of EFORCE and the revelation that Florida in one year prescribed more oxy than all the other states combined. Florida once prescribed 30 million oxy pills in one year while the next closest state was Ohio I believe at around 1 million. Even now though tramadol was given to anyone who came in with a work comp injury whether it be a pinky finger sprain or a fracture. Ridiculous but if you don't you lose the customers uh I mean patient's business

 

[gatormandan]

I asked my doctor a straight forward question. I said, are you more concerned with the patients (me) well being or the pressure your under? He answered honestly. The pressure. The patient comes second. The V.A. is a joke anyhow. Some of the worst health care available.

 

[gatormandan]

Very sorry for you.....

Thank you but I certainly don't seek sympathy and I am not saying you think I do. I just have first hand experience with the opioid crisis because like guns, idiots have made it hard for the law abiding folks to own them and those who are in real pain are treated like criminals. The answer is just suffer. Even if they don't actually say just suffer, the message is very clear.

 

[GR8 2B]

I asked my doctor a straight forward question. I said, are you more concerned with the patients (me) well being or the pressure your under? He answered honestly. The pressure. The patient comes second. The V.A. is a joke anyhow. Some of the worst health care available.

Doctors are being prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison for drug trafficking in cases in which they prescribed what the government felt was an inordinate amount of opiates. Some of the cases I've read certainly sound like abuse by the doctor of his/her prescription power; others sounded more like the DEA decided it knew better than the doctor whether that doctor should have written the prescriptions he/she did. With apologies to you, Dan, and deep sympathy, I can see why doctors might be more concerned with the pressure being applied to them by the federal government than with their patients' pain. The government should not be telling doctors how to practice medicine under threat of prison. That's where the problem lies for patients like you with a legitimate need for more pain medication than the government has decided is appropriate for people in general. You're treated as as a member of a group (a number), rather than as an individual.

 

[gatormandan]

I completely understand the pressure. If doctors don't want to be prosecuted than don't over prescribe people meds who don't need them. When you have a patient who has a half a dozen MRIs on file with hardware in their back and 12-15 years of medical records that show physical therapy, massage therapy, water therapy, acupuncture therapy, zero record of ever seeking more pills elsewhere, never once asking to increase the dosage or never showing up in the ER asking for meds and being 60 years old and no record of any addiction including alcohol, cigarettes or anything else I believe the doctor can make the right decision for the well being of the patient. When I even mentioned to the doctor that I considered seeking medical marijuana they sent me Narcan in the mail. WTF?

 

[MJMGator]

It’s been going on for decades. I got hooked on pain pills 30 years ago for back pain. Doc would refill them on demand. Decided quickly to stop taking them and just learned how to deal with the pain. It’s all a legal drug cartel.

 

[GR8 2B]

I completely understand the pressure. If doctors don't want to be prosecuted than don't over prescribe people meds who don't need them. When you have a patient who has a half a dozen MRIs on file with hardware in their back and 12-15 years of medical records that show physical therapy, massage therapy, water therapy, acupuncture therapy, zero record of ever seeking more pills elsewhere, never once asking to increase the dosage or never showing up in the ER asking for meds and being 60 years old and no record of any addiction including alcohol, cigarettes or anything else I believe the doctor can make the right decision for the well being of the patient. When I even mentioned to the doctor that I considered seeking medical marijuana they sent me Narcan in the mail. WTF?

I agree completely, Dan. I'm 100% on your side. I think doctors are prescribing now with an eye as to how their prescription numbers might look to a federal law enforcement officer, who almost assuredly has not gone to med school and wouldn't understand everything in your file even if he/she had any desire to read it. i'm sure there are seminars that teach doctors how to avoid drawing the attention of the DEA. The smart doctors are probably practicing medicine with a "cover-my-azz" mentality due to the prison sentences they've read handed down to other doctors. Notice that nothing in those aspects of the practice of medicine mentions or is directed towards the needs or well-being of patients. Not sure what the answer is, because there have been abuses and people have died. To say it's a tough situation all the way around doesn't begin to describe the problem.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Your GP can legally write narcotics in all likelihood. He or his organization just chooses not to. As do a lot of Physicians. Writing narcotics is a nightmare. 95% of the prescriptions are for the high or resale cash, not for pain. That number may be low.

I am leaving the short-term post-operative patients.

Yeah I don't know why he says he "can't". It pisses him off though. Maybe it's just not worth the hassle. He went to UF med school and we usually spend 5-10 minutes shooting the breeze. He's fed up with all the regulations and what it's costing him. Resents that Tallahassee politicians are dictating how he practices medicine.
In any case, like I said, it's pretty tightly controlled these days at the pharmacy level. Even with a script they won't fill.

 

[GatorFL]

He was a good friend of mine in college. We lost a great guy. His brother gave this post on FB to raise awareness to the situation...

My wife just got home from a business trip, one of the first things she mentioned was Kyle. She has a coworker, apparently her daughter dated Kyle for a long time. Very sad, RIP.

 

[alcoholica]

I hear that a lot especially from people who have never suffered from chronic pain on a daily basis. I had back surgery and they did a 4-5 lumbar fusion. They completely removed a disk and installed a cage with cadaver bone and installed rods and screws to fuse the bone together. I was supposed to be fixed and pain free. I have never been the same and I have chronic back, leg and foot pain 24/7 365 that makes sleeping extremely difficult and limits everything I do. They (the V.A.) will not help me and when I did take pills some time ago, I was treated like crap by anyone in the medical field who knew it. If I could somehow transfer my pain into my doctors body for a few hours, he would be throwing prescriptions at me.

Back pain sucks. Completely debilitating. Sorry dude.

I am and while I agree with you for the most part, for profit medicine along with big pharma is responsible for a great deal of prescription pain meds that otherwise wouldn't be needed. The heavy stuff has been reeled back with the advent of EFORCE and the revelation that Florida in one year prescribed more oxy than all the other states combined. Florida once prescribed 30 million oxy pills in one year while the next closest state was Ohio I believe at around 1 million. Even now though tramadol was given to anyone who came in with a work comp injury whether it be a pinky finger sprain or a fracture. Ridiculous but if you don't you lose the customers uh I mean patient's business

Wasn't there a major drug mill, for lack of a better term, in SE FL that basically caused reform with drug reps? The comps these doctors were getting was ridiculous.

 

[GatorStud]

Well Kyle, may you be forgiven by your deity of choice, understanding your rational mind was synthetically altered over time and enjoy what we all hope is next, an anguish-free eternity of fun. Healing to the family.

 

[T REX]

Copied from another board:

gatorfan228 said: ↑
From Kyles brother Jimmy:

Thank you all for your prayers. It has been a sad, sad few days. In light of our tragic loss, our family requests privacy but we felt it was important to share some details of Kyle’s death.

Kyle was the best - an incredible athlete, a loyal friend, and the life of any party. Several years ago, Kyle sought relief from chronic pain associated with old football injuries. He was prescribed opioids and the slow decline began. Prescription opioids compromised his decision making process. Kyle needed help and wanted help, but the overwhelming shame and emotional pain he felt impeded his ability to communicate with family and friends. When we confronted his behavior, he deflected blame and told us what we wanted to hear. If you were to see Kyle out on the town or at a wedding, you would have never known the internal battle he was fighting. Kyle took his own life after losing that battle.

Prescription opioids can have devastating impacts on those who use and abuse them. It’s an epidemic that isn’t just someone else’s problem - it was Kyle’s problem. It’s our problem. Our family hopes that you can prevent it from being your loved one’s problem.

Just heart breaking. So sorry to hear this news. Prayers for him and the family.

 

[GBHOR]

I asked my doctor a straight forward question. I said, are you more concerned with the patients (me) well being or the pressure your under? He answered honestly. The pressure. The patient comes second. The V.A. is a joke anyhow. Some of the worst health care available.

I hear that alot, but honestly i have had nothing but a good experience with VA since retirement and have most of my former military friends. There are problems with all health care institutions and I'm sure there are people that have serious issues with the VA. I'm just saying that every clinic and VA hospital are different and staffed with different providers. My wife( retired as well) and I have had nothing but positive experiences with the VA, just seems that the negatives are always accentuated and those of us that have a good experience don't make for good news stories.

 

[Gator515151]

Mrs51 is addicted to pain meds. Neither one of us drink and she has never in her life smoked pot but pain killers is a whole different story. I have gone in and threatened 2 of her pain doctors in the past. She has ODed several times and has a couple of DUIs on prescription meds. Now that I am retired I can keep a closer eye on her but it is sad what these doctors do to people. I could tell dozens of stories, when I had my shoulder surgery the doc prescribed oxycodone which I only took a couple the next day. About 2 weeks later I re-injured my shoulder and went to get one of the pain pills and they were all gone. That's how bad it gets.

 

[Sec14Gator]

Mrs51 is addicted to pain meds. Neither one of us drink and she has never in her life smoked pot but pain killers is a whole different story. I have gone in and threatened 2 of her pain doctors in the past. She has ODed several times and has a couple of DUIs on prescription meds. Now that I am retired I can keep a closer eye on her but it is sad what these doctors do to people. I could tell dozens of stories, when I had my shoulder surgery the doc prescribed oxycodone which I only took a couple the next day. About 2 weeks later I re-injured my shoulder and went to get one of the pain pills and they were all gone. That's how bad it gets.

Good luck with your family’s battle ahead. Sorry to hear you’re going through this difficulty.

 

[Gator515151]

Good luck with your family’s battle ahead. Sorry to hear you’re going through this difficulty.

It's an ongoing thing, she was a pro bowler and threw a 15lb ball pretty much a man sized ball. 15 years of a 100lb woman slinging a 15 lb ball for 18 games a day took it's toll on her back.