Soma

[smith]

My 41 year old sister died one year ago today at 2 p.m. CST from a SOMA overdose. She had been addicted to SOMA's for 3+ years. She was prescribed 90 pills on Monday 11/15/04 and she died exactly 48 hours later. The doctor who prescribed these pills is a Louisiana doctor whom I believe knew he was prescribing SOMA's to an addict who did not have a medicinal need for this drug. I am appalled at the ease of obtaining this pharmaceutical legally and from information received, illegally ("street" sources) also. My sister had been clean for 3 months from this drug and through rehab more than once. The only option we had left was to seek involuntary commitment for mental health reasons. Regretfully, I did not move through the judiciary system to try the last hope of saving her life soon enough. She died in vain unless someone else reads this and thinks twice about using any drug, prescription for an illegal purpose or otherwise "street drugs". She left two children, one of whom was 10 years old and the pain that she ended for herself has only begun for the rest of the family she left behind.

PLEASE READ THIS REPLY

Doctors who prescribe narcotics for people complaining of pain control DO NOT MAKE JUNKIES... people do it to themselves.

There has been PLENTY enough information about the dangers of addictive substances out there so that NO ONE can claim ignorance when it comes right down to it. "My sister got hooked because she didn't know OxyContin was so addictive and certainly didn't know that she couldn't chew it up or snort it for a mega high" just won't fly anymore these days. Your sister, I'm sorry to say, knew exactly what she was doing over the years as she increased her Soma use. Ninety Soma in a month is a VERY conservative amount, in my opinion, yet when she downed the whole bottle, you blame him for her decision! Classic. If the patient takes the medication exactly as prescribed, there is very little risk of addiction or overdose even for harder narcotics. When it comes to Soma and Tramadol (Ultram), the risks for addiction and overdose is even lower than for narcotics (in 12 years, I've seen none of my patients hooked on either drug, and only two who felt psychologically dependent on Ultram... but rehab for them was NOTHING like the horrors of what people go through with heroin or other hard core narcotics addictions.

No, your SISTER chose to abuse and then OD on Soma. That is not the doctor's or Soma's fault. We live in a society that puts the blame anywhere but where it belongs. Your sister could have gotten Soma sent to her via a black pharm site with little more than a forged prescription, or less. The only reason she targeted the doctor is because of his/her sympathy for you sister's claimed chronic pain, muscle spasms, or whatever. It was cheaper for her to hit him up for the Soma and charge it to her insurance (if she had insurance) than to get it through a black pharmacy or the street, but I am absolutely sure that she'd have gotten her fix and her suicide one way or another with or without this doctor's prescription for Soma.

It is sort of like blaming McDonalds for one's obesity, a hand gun for committing murder, or cigarettes causing your lung cancer (after it was firmly known that cigarettes extremely increase the risk for lung cancer). Take responsibility people and when you get help, like rehab, stick to the program. Sure, temptation is more easily succumbed to if the item is easy to get, but YOU make the decision to walk into your doctor's office with your sob story and ask for the darn pain killers. It is YOU who decide to take more than prescribed to get your buzz.

Doctors like me get hammered from both sides. We're told by physician pain specialists and pain research experts that we are doing a miserable job at adequately treating/controlling our patient's pain. On the other hand, we have people like you who feel that we're about the level of street drug dealers. We're also told by the feds that we give too much controlled drugs as a group. To even prescribe narcotics we have to pay extra money to get the license to do so and we are monitored very closely by the DEA on our patterns of narcotics prescriptions. Do you know how many of my patients in a single day see me because of pain problems? At least 70-80%! Pain is very often what will bring the most ardent anti-medicine, anti-doctor person into the office. These patients are people, for the most part, who've already tried multiple over the counter pain killers like Tylenol, Advil, Aleve, etc. Now, their pain is past the point of anything but stronger drugs. Soma, Darvocet, and Ultram are the next step, and one step short of true narcotics. Your sister's MD was not being careless with her, he was being WISE to not give her harder drugs like Lortab, morphine, or oxycodone. I doubt I'll change your mind, but I hope to give you a glimpse of what is going on in your doctor's head when you come in for pain relief.

However, in your case, you might could still blame your sister's doctor for her death. After all, maybe, like in my case, her pain was so severe that Soma wasn't controlling it. Chronic uncontrolled pain is a COMMON cause of suicide. Maybe she felt ashamed having to ask the doctor for Soma so often or that she was trapped having to take pain meds her whole life. Maybe she felt shamed by family and friends who thought of her as a junkie and let her know it, when she really did have uncontrolled pain. Maybe she felt like a complete failure, having gone through rehab and broken her vows to herself and others by getting Soma to relieve her pain. I get ticked when people point fingers and tell another person that they "don't need pain medication." How the hell would you know that? Maybe, just maybe, her suicide had absolutely nothing to do with the doctor or Soma at all! Unless she left a note blaming her suicide on the addiction to Soma and that hideous doctor who was her supplier (against her will), we'll never know. Surely, you don't believe she took 90 Soma just to get a little bit better high! Her suicide wasn't some kind of accident, it was deliberate.

Doctors at least TRY very hard to find objective data to support the patient's claim of chronic pain before we treat them with pain killers. The system isn't fool proof, however (see story below). Unfortunately, family and friends don't usually give their loved one even the courtesy of looking objectively at the situation. They label them "addicts" and often try to convince them that their pain doesn't really exist or that they shouldn't be taking a narcotic (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly). They often tell the patient that they should be relying on God for all their pain control. Who do they think gave us the ability to create drugs to help people in pain????
Hence, maybe your sister committed suicide to escape her chronic pain situation (which by the way, she could easily have done with a bottle of Tylenol or a gun... so why attack the Soma or the Physician). Maybe, just maybe her suicide had absolutely nothing to do with the doctor or Soma at all! Unless she left a note blaming her suicide on the addiction to Soma that she couldn't control and that hideous doctor who was forcing her to take it, serving as her supplier, we'll never know. Surely, you don't believe she took 90 Soma just to get a little better high! Her suicide wasn't some kind of accident, it was deliberate. God only knows her real reasons for taking her own life and for you to presume it is all the doctor's fault just isn't fair.

However, the good news is that you can still sooth your anger and the painful loss of your sister by blaming the Doc anyway. He could have caused your sister's death by not giving her enough pain relief, telling her this was her last prescription for Soma, asking her to leave his practice because he didn't feel like he should prescribe it anymore, etc. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't treat her pain. I know, because I fight the same battles EVERY freaking day.


I don't believe you'll ever read this, but if you do, please understand that I'm not trying to put you down. I realize that when you suffer such a horrible loss, you want to find someone to blame. You can't blame the one who's dead and get any satisfaction, so what do you do? You target the doctor, friends, etc. who might have ever given her a narcotic in history. Truth is, I feel a lot of sympathy over your loss of your sister. Is the doctor blameless? I don't know. Sure, he could have made a mistake, but chances are that he was really and truly trying to do what he became a doctor for... to relieve human suffering (and to feed his family at the same time, of course). Why not give him the benefit of the doubt or at least go and talk to him about your anger face to face and hear his side of the story. It is cowardly for you to put him down without at least doing that. I've been the victim of the patient or family anger plenty of times, and it isn't pleasant, trust me. Usually, when I hear a patient or family is mad at me, I try my best to schedule them an appointment, free of charge to come and air their anger so that I can tell them what was going on at the time whatever problem occurred. You might find that the doctor was doing all he could to help you sister's pain, SHORT of writing her true narcotics... especially if he knew about her addictions in the past.

Should we doctors refuse to give any of the stronger pain killers to relieve pain in people who are addicts or just let them suffer (not those after it purely for a high, but with real pain, but a history of misuse of narcotics in the past)? That's a question bigger than I have time to cover. CH

[smith]

Sorry for several mistakes in the post above, as I was writing very fast and I had to cut and paste a lot when I went over the word limit. Therefore, there are some references to actual cases I had to cut out and an accidental double paste of one passage, but you'll get the jist of what I'm talking about. CH

[13ghosts]

There are sloppy doctors out there--I know, I've abused plenty--and they knew what they were doing as much as I did. But I think they are the minority and I agree with your post. If a patient lies about pain in order to get drugs, why should the doctor be blamed. At a certain point, the doctor needs to believe in his/her patient. There has to be trust. And there are too many pillheads out there who have mastered the art of doctor shopping, lying, faking it, and getting away with it. Again, I speak from experience.

Thank you for your honest post from the physician's perspective.

[13ghosts]

Should we doctors refuse to give any of the stronger pain killers to relieve pain in people who are addicts or just let them suffer (not those after it purely for a high, but with real pain, but a history of misuse of narcotics in the past)? That's a question bigger than I have time to cover. CH

Smith,

This is bigger than a lot of us have time to answer, but important just the same. Your question hits the nail on the head. As a former pill addict who had cleaned up with suboxone, I had a fear of ever being in such pain that I need strong meds again and being denied them because of my past. God knows I can't get life or disability insurance. So I hoped that I could get by on tylenol and ibuprofen. A few years ago I developed knee pain that no OTC drug could alleviate. Nor could 800 mg motrin. I tried ultram, thinking it was 'safe' because I had never abused it ever, and didn't really find it to provide much of a high.

I maintained 2 50 mg a day for a few years, then started abusing vicodin again, as noted in a much-too-long post in another thread.

I forget that there is pain under the abuse, until I try to quit. Then it returns. But I still feel guilt for taking the meds, perhaps because of my past junkie behavior.

I am grateful for my doctor, but mortified at the thought of letting him I know I am addicted, for fear he would cut me off. And I think that makes it worse, because I want to level with him and say, "Look, you were wrong about the ultram, they are addictive, or at least cause dependency, and when I try to quit I get sick. Now I have moved up to vicodin and ms-contin, and...well, let's work something out to get me off this stuff, slowly."

I can't do it, though, because of that fear.

I have been thinking of seeing an addiction doc who can help with suboxone, but am again fearful of him wanting to know my primary so he can tell him. Is this paranoia, or can I trust a good addiction doc to simply treat me (suboxone again, since it worked before) and maintain confidentiality?

I need to get off the opiates, have knee surgery (or vice versa), and get on with life.

Please let me know what you think.

[MaisieC]

I have been thinking of seeing an addiction doc who can help with suboxone, but am again fearful of him wanting to know my primary so he can tell him. Is this paranoia, or can I trust a good addiction doc to simply treat me (suboxone again, since it worked before) and maintain confidentiality?

I need to get off the opiates, have knee surgery (or vice versa), and get on with life.

Please let me know what you think.

My addiction doctor never asked about my primary care physician. He wanted to know if I was seeing a therapist and/or going to meetings. A good addiction specialist understands the complexities of the world you live in.

Good luck!

[Robert_325]

Maisie is right. Addiction drs deal with nothing but addicts and their families all day and night. You will be hard pressed to give them a story they probably haven't heard before. They won't be calling around trying to find your primary care dr to talk about you. They don't have the time for that. God bless.

[Robert_325]

Hi Doc ... I agree with a lot that you said. I do question one thing and that is the dr/patient relationship and the responsibility that carries. It's like a parent and a child. Sure the patients lie. We all know that. I did it too at one time. I was good at it and don't hold my prescribing drs responsible for my decisions.

My question is, "Shouldn't doctors who deal with drug addicts day in and day out be able to an extent, just due to the number of drug seeking patients they see regularly, be able to knock off more of these people who are just scamming for drugs?"

I can pick one out of a crowd without even speaking to them. Why is it so difficult for drs to not just run these people off? I am serious about that. Drs don't have to treat patients who they have good reason to believe are drug-seeking do they? They can certainly refer them elsewhere. It would seem that this would make life better for legitimate pain patients as well as for the drs. God bless.

[7434be]

I am very sorry to hear about your sisters soma overdose,that should not have happened ,I hope things work out

[7434be]

I was in alot of pain ill check out cheap-carisoprodol.com and topix.com/health/breast-cancer/2009/05/buy-soma-online-for-cancer-pain

[PeterRabbit2]

Being strongly forewarned that the fairly innocuous Soma (carisoprodol) is metabolized by the liver into the EXTREMELY addictive drug Miltown (meprobamate), when prescribed these for muscle spasms, I (have you read my horror story about ambien? If not, please do so.) I took them EXACTLY as prescribed for EXACTLY as long as recommended and decreased the dose gradually EXACTLY as directed to avoid any withdrawal symptoms.

It completely relieved excruciating muscle spasms (and made me high as a kite) while I healed from a broken femur in 2002. After about 4 weeks of Soma 350mg (up to six on a bad day), my orthopedist switched me to Valium, 10mg (up to six on a bad day) to relieve any spasms. He told me that VALIUM was less habit forming than Soma! The Valium did make me a bit high but no where near what Soma did. After another 4 weeks, I was able to get by on just Advil and Skelaxin (a non-habit forming muscle relaxer).

People! Soma is extraordinarily (physiologically and psychologically) habit-forming. Take it as directed with the utmost of caution and discretion!

[mygfisaddicted2soma]

My girlfriend abuses soma. She is addicted. At first it was for her back pain, she broke her back several years ago. Now, she goes overboard with it. I have told her that I will soon break up with her if she doesn't get help. She has taken as many as 20 in an 10 hour period. She passes out in her food. It is sad, embarassing, scary.

[primetimegrape]

My girlfriend abuses soma. She is addicted. At first it was for her back pain, she broke her back several years ago. Now, she goes overboard with it. I have told her that I will soon break up with her if she doesn't get help. She has taken as many as 20 in an 10 hour period. She passes out in her food. It is sad, embarassing, scary.

U will not have to break up with her, she will be leaving u soon to an afterlife that is an enigma to all of us. She will simply kill herself with that kind of abuse. Just awful! Nothing embarrassing about it. Numerous ppl abuse Soma, it is not a pain killer, but a muscle relaxer, but does have a high abuse rate because it acts more like Valium or a benzo. It is a good effective medicine when taken correctly but deadly and dangerous when abused. I pray for her that she gets help. U can't help her. She has to want to help herself. Her addiction will just drag u into a world of hell u don't want to get involved with, no matter how much u love her. She has got to want help. She needs to get on here. There are ppl that can help her, but she has to take that first step and that is the most difficult for any addict. 20 Somas, wow even over a 10-hour period that is a ton. Surprised she could even wake up. I do hope she gets help. God Bless

[jancat310]

for your info, carisoprodol(soma)is converted into meprobamate (miltown/equinil) by the body. that's why soma is so relaxing. meprobamate is an addictive tranquilizer similar to benzodiazipines, barbituates, or methaqualone. it is also a schedule IV controlled substance. so soma is not a controlled substance, but its effects are very similar or identical to one.

most people don't know. they only know they like the way soma makes them feel.

link:http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs10/10913/index.htm

Soma is very much a controlled drug. Where in the world did you hear that it wasn't? A lot of doctors won't even prescribe it anymore. Very, very addictive, one reason it makes you feel so good. LOL