8:30 E. Time "Turn on NBC now !! Neurontin scandal EXPOSE "

glascow · Jul 13, 2003

I work in ICU and have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of pts that have neurotin as a homemed. I had read up on the drug (my Dr. has been trying to get me to take it for the past year for back pain unrelieved from narcotics, Physical therapy, exercise, and back surgery- the only thing that works is steroids!) I have been hesitant, now I'm glad I didn't take it. What concerned me most was the # of capsules a person had to take. If I'm not mistaken it's given TID or QID, and I know I've administered NINE capsules at a time.

I didn't really think I would be compliant with that type of regime.

Have any other ICU nurses noticed the rise use in your patients?

nursenoelle · Jul 13, 2003

I work in LTC, and give a ton of it. I wonder if this publicity will cut back on the new RX's, or affect the older ones. Most common dx I give it for is neuropathies. None as adjunct to seizure meds. Hmmm.

passing thru · Jul 13, 2003

Don't know about ICU, but I noticed patients with any and all diagnoses were taking neurontin.

I started asking people, just out of curiosity , "What do you take this for?"

I thought I was the one who was confused, because I remembered what it was originally put on the market for,

and, then,

here comes all these patients with two dozen different diagnoses

and all are trying to find enough money every month to buy their medications, including neurontin.

We should not blame the drug company.

Yes, they are to blame.

But , the real culprits are the physicians !

and it is past time, waaaaay past the time, when we

should

put the blame where it belongs. Crap like this, Personal, Financial, and Medical assaults on unknowing patients, could

not happen, time after time, without the doctors perpetrating the crime ! For $$$ rewards !

It is a scandal !! A total friggin disgrace!!

Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of greedy doctors are getting kickbacks and " $$$ rewards"" for the neurontin prescriptions they write.

It is way past time that we recognize that doctors are as

""LOW"" as in " Lowdown""

as lawyers.

Sure, everyone wants to say, "Oh, MY doctor wouldn't do that."

Lawyers recognize that doctors are as unprincipaled as they are,

that's

why they are hot to take them on in court. It's about $$ ..

And, us nurses, ha ha ha LOL LOL ,

I just attended ANOTHER annual hour long ETHICS class.

The message : WE are not allowed to accept more than $ 50 in value as gifts.............

and it has to be for the entire unit, a box of candy, a fruit basket, a cake, etc.... NEVER cash...never anything for just me....

Yet, these low-down, greedy, crummy millionaire doctors,

ignore HIPPA (give drug representatives access to mine and your

personal medical records)

and accept thousands of $$$$ !!!!!

Not boxes of candy to share with the office staff, not fruit baskets....

and trusting, innocent patients are the victims in this scam !!

If I were in charge, I'd get the FBI to identify the scumbags, print their names, charge them with whatever felony this is, (and believe me there are several felonies in this ),

and I'd fine the heck out of them and revoke their licenses for at

least a year, and they would have a felony conviction on their

records.

But, nothing will happen.

We nurses are the ones who should /could make this happen.

We won't.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2003

Aaahhhh Wellllll

Lied to again, so whats new

nursenoelle · Jul 13, 2003

This is a crime, that needs to be followed up on and punished. The elderly couple across the street have to scrimp up the money every month to pay for meds. I wonder of neurontin is one of them. How sad . It is abusive. Imagine how many people "do without" othe neccesities d/t the fact that they have to pay for this kinda thing. Very unsettling.

Geeg · Jul 13, 2003

I saw this episode. What struck me was how the interviewer was asking the very courageous whistle blower how he lived with the knowledge that his actions caused harm to patients. WHAT about the DOCTOR who prescribed the drug for OFF LABEL use and didn't even bother to see any research. Once again, the docs getting off scott free.

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2003

Originally posted by Geeg
I saw this episode. What struck me was how the interviewer was asking the very courageous whistle blower how he lived with the knowledge that his actions caused harm to patients. WHAT about the DOCTOR who prescribed the drug for OFF LABEL use and didn't even bother to see any research. Once again, the docs getting off scott free.

I read the transcript as I don;t have television and actually part of the charges that are being brought against the company are fraud/conspiracy charges. they contracted with a company to ghost write "scientific" papers. the papers were given a docs name and they were dispersed into the medical community. so even if the docs looked up neurontin, they would find scientific papers backing the claims that the pharmaceutical companies were purporting.

the docs arent at fault here. i do agree that taking money for scripting brand names is questionable, but i would think that a great many docs here were fooled right along with the public and the insurance companies.

this was a well orchestrated ruse.

as for coming down hard on the whistle blower who actually only worked at warner lambert/parkedavis for four months... he does seem to be guilt ridden about those four months. i think a line of questioning in that direction is only fair but i hope that it wasn;t too harsh in real life. as i said, i only read the transcript, so a lot of the OOMPH of interviewing is lost in the type.