FB DDD Discussion Pt.2: "humane" response

A FB Friend, in regards to extreme suffering, said this:


"I know I shouldn't think this but if an animal was in this kind of pain the humane thing to do would be to put them down... so how are we being humane to us - the Humans?"
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My second response to this:
"I re-read this, and considered another thought: How ARE we being humane ? Not only do Americans vote against Assisted Suicide, but there is also a vote against patients receiving proper pain medication these days. It is VERY IN-Humane to remove stronger pain medications from the market and make it increasingly difficult for patients to obtain the meds they need for their conditions.
It is Inhumane to drastically cut down or cut off a suffering patients medication and force them to try to deal with the pain, yet one day take their own lives as the pain is too much. OR force them to seek elsewhere for pain relief. I foresee sufferers obtaining illegal drugs to relieve their pain (including people like me who've never touched an illegal drug his entire life), as well as the pain driving an average, normal person suffering extravagant pain to taking their own life in desperation to put an end to the pain.
I hope I'm wrong, but I feel things are gonna get really bad. I also think we sufferers, just like so many rights groups who are getting what they want, should stop being silent and organize a protest, picketing the White House and such, to have the rights to pain medication." 
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YOUR THOUGHTS ? RESPONSE ?

People won't voluntarily live with physical pain (at least not for very long).
I don't smoke marijuana, and for most people I don't think it is a good idea to even smoke it recreationally (it certainly isn't for my son, who smokes way too much of it).  But if I suffered from chronic pain and pot would help alleviate that pain I would use it in a heart beat...even if it was illegal.

I lost my dad last August, on my birthday actually, to COPD. He struggled so much to breathe, fought low oxygen levels all the time, which gave him wicked headaches. His inhaled medications affected his taste buds, so that nothing tasted right and he couldn't enjoy eating.
He went to sleep in his recliner that night and just didn't wake up in the morning...sad, yes..but kind of a relief at the same time.

If you have ever had to watch someone slowly die while being hooked to machines to keep them alive, a humane death doesn't seem so far fetched.  If my cat were in constant pain, I would have her put down.  If it were me, I would probably wish that someone would do the same for me.

I think we need strong pain meds.  I think that, since we have had so many abuse these medicines, we will have to live with having to be constantly drug tested to insure that we are merely taking the correct dosages.  The government should not be banning pain medication--they should be penalizing doctor's who wrongly prescribe, or over prescribe, pills just to be seeing another patient.  We've all heard about doctor's who have been shut down for this.

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I don't think it is a good idea to even smoke it recreationally

100% agree. As a licensed legal medical user, I can tell you the stuff jacks your mind up. I've always believed it should be legal as a prescription from an MD ONLY and for a legitimate condition. Recreational use of pot is no different than saying we should have recreational use of Oxycontin. Now, while it's true Pot is harmless to the body and non-addictive ("physically", some ARE addicted psychologically), Oxy is VERY addictive and damages the body. BUT Mary Jane used for enjoyment, much like legal alcohol, is dangerous as these knuckleheads get into cars and drive ! Not cool ! I only dose at bedtime so I can sleep with minimal pain, but having used during the day, there is NO way I'd be safe in a car, or even a bike for that matter.  So I disagree with the whole legal recreational use thing.

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I lost my dad last August, on my birthday actually, to COPD. He struggled so much to breathe, fought low oxygen levels all the time, which gave him wicked headaches. His inhaled medications affected his taste buds, so that nothing tasted right and he couldn't enjoy eating.
He went to sleep in his recliner that night and just didn't wake up in the morning...sad, yes..but kind of a relief at the same time.

Bro, I'm so sorry. That is the way I think all of us wish to go though (going to sleep and dying, not suffering with COPD). 

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The government should not be banning pain medication--they should be penalizing doctor's who wrongly prescribe

The Gov has NO business interfering with FDA approved pain medication that has been prescribed for decades. There are already many laws in affect that penalize Dr's prescribing habits of pain meds, and they're getting more and more strict every day. While I agree that Dr's have a huge responsibility in their prescribing habits, I have seen, in the last couple years, Dr's being the subjects of "witch hunts". Asinine attacks and accusations, slandering Dr's in local newspapers because, as just one example, a Dr accepted a new patient from another Dr and adopted his charts and RX list which said the patient was on a high dose of pain meds. So the new Dr had to begin the process of tapering him down to a safer level. This takes time ! You cannot just STOP a patient's intake overnight, they can die (and some HAVE). They penalized this Dr and slandered his name cuz he didn't stop the patient's meds immediately, and didn't send him to Pain Management (which the previous Dr already had records saying he went to Pain Mngmnt already and it failed the patient). So this topic is a hot one for me as I'm still somewhat on the inside of things and see a LOT of Dr's getting abused and lose licenses cuz of a terrible witch hunt that's wrecking otherwise great practices. One local Dr who's practiced here for 30 years and didn't have ANY dings on his record, got busted for "over prescribing" ONE patient ! Details ? The patient was obese. Well, any first year medical student knows that prescribing RX must take into account the body mass. I'm 180, therefore, one tablet of Norco 4 times a day is sufficient for my condition and weight metabolized. For a patient with the exact same condition who carries 200 pounds in additional to my 180, it is metabolized differently and what works for me, will be pissed out for a 380 pound man. Therefore, medication 101 states that he must take more to get any affect whatsoever. Anyways, the Dr, based on the new laws, was actually in the process of counseling the man and considering alternatives when the State Board swooped in and cried INFRACTIONS !!! He not only had financial punishments, but was humiliated in our newspaper as a Dr who doesn't know how to prescribe meds, and for the last year they've been going thru thousands of records to try to find other "infractions" on all of his other patients. To date, they have found NONE. Clean as a whistle. That is a witch hunt if I ever seen one.
So, sorry to go so lengthy on that, but while I agree that Dr's need to be watched closely since there are MDs who give out pain meds like candy, I'm very upset that they are trashing our local Drs who've practiced without incidents for decades ! It's like the cop who pulls someone over for not using a turn signal... all the while people speed past at 30 over the limit. Priorities people. Come on.

Assisted suicide is a slippery slope and could be misused, but still...maybe it is more humane than forcing people to suffer.  "Who are you to play God?"  Well, we all do it all the time in any number of circumstances.  "Suicide damns your soul to Hell."  I had this discussion with someone the other day.  That is a doctrine of Man and isn't found anywhere in the Bible.

As for pain meds, the gubmit is soooo busy trying to look like they are doing something to stop opioid abuse that they are just doing what they do--passing one-size-fits-all laws written by people who have no idea about the issue just so they can use it in their campaign ads.  There are always going to be people who will take advantage of whatever it is--prescription meds, welfare, food stamps, 15 items or less checkout lines....  The solution to those abuses is not to make it harder for those who actually need those things.  That's the lazy solution.  We've got to make it easier for the people who need help to get it and punish the abusers.  But that takes more work.

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That is a doctrine of Man and isn't found anywhere in the Bible.

Agreed 100%. We studied this very topic for some time throughout Scripture and found nothing that says a person of the faith suffering unimaginable pain with no hope for future relief on earth who snuffs out that pain at the cost of his life is a guaranteed trip to hell. Like God has NO compassion or empathy and delights in the suffering of His children. 

When someone proves otherwise, the nasty topic of suicide will never be an auto trip to hell for me.

For the sake of my wife and grandchildren, I suffer through the hardest times. I have had 2 experiences in the last 8 years that seen me writhing on the floor for hours suffering a clear "10" pain. I begged God to take me, even DEMANDED that He take me.
I survived.
And better days came.
So when the worse pains begin to overtake me, I always remind myself that it is temporary, even if it lasts for hours and hours, it WILL pass. Though I live with a chronic pain level that the average person would begin crying and go to the E.R. for, it is my Normal. But even my normal daily average pain levels of 4-5 can and will go up to 6-9, with the unimaginable 10 peeking it's head in every few years. It's during those times my mind desires to find relief, ANY kind of relief. I'm against illegal drugs, and have never had interest in them, but in the times of the worse pain, I've overdosed on my pain meds and would have gladly taken cocaine, heroin or whatever... just to get relief.

I often wonder how the saints who were tortured and martyred never caved in. I always said absolutely nothing would or could make me deny my Savior. But looking back at the 10 pains, well, let's just say it worries the hell out of me.