This post was submitted by haloed@xanga My sister is a healthy, 18 year old girl. She works at McDonalds and her job is to refill the fries from huge frozen bags. Lately she’s been complaining about intense shoulder pain as a result of it. X-rays and ultrasounds confirm she has stretched her acromioclavicular joint ligament, 7mm. Her doctor prescribed painkillers but no real plan of action.
My mom had a left over supply of Percocet from my dad’s surgery and gave them to my sister to help alleviate her pain.
However I feel it's a terrible thing to give someone drugs that is not prescribed specifically for them, especially a narcotic analgesic such as Percocet. It’s something that really bothers me.
Do you know anyone who gives his or her prescription painkillers to others freely?
Do you think it's safe to do so?
Comments (30)
No.
Yes, I think it's fine, as long as the person doesn't have any known allergies or whatever.
I've done it before. Just make sure they're not expired and make sure that the function is similar to what it's supposed to emulate.
Yes, I've seen certain family members do this. I completely agree that it is wrong to do that. Prescription medications are one of the number one (if not number one) addictions in the nation. Most of the people who get addicted to them start off by taking them for legitimate pain and then they get hooked. I would highly discourage sharing pills for not only this reason but also for legality reasons.
i agree. people should not give out drugs that were prescribed to them to others. my mom does that all the time. i think its unsafe.
@dragonsamus@xanga - my mom does the same thing. I tell her all the time not to but she doesn't listen. she doesn't see how it can possibly harm someone else.
This is one where you have to be very careful. If the doctor prescribed percocet and your mother's prescription is for the same strength, then (to me) it makes sense to save your sister a buck or several by using up the old prescription. Remember that expired meds have to be discarded. Past their shelf life, drugs may have begun to deteriorate. The chemicals may change over time, becoming something that will make you sick. That's why they're marked with a shelf life!
Giving someone a prescription that is not the same as the prescrption given to them by a doctor is the same as playing russian roulette. It may turn out fine, it may cause them some discomfort, or it could kill them.
In my job I've several times been called out for someone with bizarre symptoms either because they mixed meds given by a friend with what they were prescribed, or because they took someone else's meds. The one that comes to mind is a woman who missed her flight out of Boston because she couldn't stand, her head had fallen to her left shoulder and she couldn't lift it, and her feet and hands kept twitching. Her good friend had given her 2 pills to get rid of a stress headache. The pills were psych meds known to cause these side effects when overdosed. The friend gets headaches when she goes off her meds, so thought this would help.
That's a scary but fairly benign story. I've also run people to the emergency ward for the never pleasant charcoal/stomach pump, and counteract the toxicity routine. Not all were intentional overdoses. Some were stupid assumptions.
Your sister should see an orthopedic doc, and/or get a referral for physical therapy if she can.
I get really awful migraines(so bad I can't move and I can't tolerate ever whispering). A woman I worked with gave me one of her migraine pills, but I never took it.
I don't think you should take medication that wasn't intended for you. They can be harmful.
Prescription drugs are way overused as it is. If the prescription is not in your name, you shouldn't use them. Percoset i9s pretty heavy stuff.
I can see where it can do more harm than good, but if the pill is going to be used for it's intended use... As long as it isn't a painkiller instead of a tylenol or something. Like those extra dental painkillers...
As long as you don't sell them on the street?
I'm usually against it, but I had an instance where it was a Godsend. I had an ear infection over the holiday weekend (just my luck). If you or your kids have had an ear infection, you know the pain. (RAWR!) Luckily my mom had some prescription painkillers...Otherwise it would have been a long and miserable 4 day weekend.
perscriptions are called just that for a reason. they are perscribed uniquely to you. unless you are in a situation like me and my brother (we both take xanax of the same mg for the same medical reasons), you shouldn't be sharing drugs.
@KNEESOXROCK@xanga - "As long as you don't sell them on the street?"
what?! how am i suppose to make any money? haha just kidding :)
It's not safe and it's not okay. There can be a number of risk factors that determine whether a drug is safe for a certain person, and you can never be sure. Blood pressure, allergies, heart rate, what other drugs you're already taking... And honestly... I worked at McDonald's for 3 years and never had that problem, dumping fries isn't that hard sweetie. ;3
Not to mention giving prescription drugs to those who haven't been prescribed them is illegal. I wouldn't turn my mom in, of course, in your situation, but I definitely wouldn't be cool with it either.
I've given away prescriptions I ended up not using. I know it's illegal, but so is speeding. It's not like I'm consistently providing these for someone, and it's never just anyone who asks. Plus it's only ever been once in a blue moon, I'll do it for someone I know well. I would never go get a prescription for someone on a regular basis.
i don't think it's very safe because everyone is different and doctors often get prescriptions wrong, and if even THEY can do that, just imagine how badly the wrong drug could affect someone if it wasn't prescribed to them.
NO.. absolutely not
My Aunt always gave them to me, as young as 9 years old. I think she was trying to secretly kill me or something. I dont really agree with it unless the person desperately needs to relieve the pain, and they have no means of getting pain killers. Its better to get them from a family member instead of a drug dealer (yeah drug deals deal prescribed drugs too).
If it's a drug other than a painkiller, then no. Even with pain killers there are some situations where it's not okay, but in general, I don't think it's a problem for a responsible person to give another responsible person a pain killer every once in a while.
Not safe. Addictions to painkillers are becoming more and more common. You should keep the medicine prescribed to you and avoid taking other people's medication.
Hmm, my parents have done this a couple of times. It's not like my family will get hooked on it; in fact, my parents and my younger sister have a weird reaction to painkillers and anesthesia (I say weird cuz I don't know anyone else who experiences it). They feel really nauseated afterwards. My mom and sister actually take half of what is prescribed (I mean they cut the pill in half) or they feel sick. It doesn't affect me the same way, but it's not something I'll get hooked on. I was prescribed Percocet when I was in high school (I'm 24 now) when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but I only took one. I don't really take pills for stuff if I think I can deal with whatever is ailing me. Anyway, I didn't feel I needed them and I slept during most of my recovery.
I never really felt right about my parents doing this, but because of the reaction my family has to painkillers, if one of my parents ever suggest to any of us to take something from their leftover prescriptions, we'll snap the pill in half. It doesn't justify taking medicine that's not prescribed to you, but it doesn't seem nearly as bad as taking something at full strength. Usually it's just enough so that it doesn't make them sick and it'll either alleviate the pain or bring it down to a tolerable level. Like I said, though, my parents have only done it a couple of times. Normally we have OTC stuff available, like tylenol or ibuprofen.
I think in the case you described, it was okay. The doctor prescribed painkillers for her (that she would have to go buy), and your mom already had some (that were going to go to waste). In these economically difficult times, I don't see a problem with saving some money where we can.
This is definitely dangerous. If given the wrong dose, your sister could have died. Dangerous drugs require a prescription for a reason.
http://www.drugs.com/percocet.html
But since you didn't report any harmful effects, I am glad your sister is OK.
I think for the reason it was given, It's a perfectly okay idea.
It's not like, SUPER dangerous to do this.
Yes; addictions happen. But your sister isnt taking these all the time. She's taking them currently for a pain, and will cease taking it when the pain stops, or you run out.
Yes; weird chemical reactions happen. But if your sister is naturally a well healthed person, no known allergies to things in meds, it should be perfectly fine.
Yes; it's illegal. But who's going to make that big of deal of it? It's not like you're selling it on the streets for kids to swallow or snort.
Ive grown up in a house where as long as you were taking the medication for what it was for, it's fine.
Like, I had some sleeping pills that didnt work for me, perscribed to me, But they worked great on my mother, so she used the last of what I had in my bottle, and just deals with her sleep as best as she can.
She has this Flu/cough medication, syrup. Percribed to her, which I used when I had the flu/cough. Didnt make me addicted or anything.
Just be careful about it~
my mom and dad always do this. she thinks prescription drugs have one purpose and that it would work for everyone. although I've taken someone else's prescribed drugs before, i don't think it is healthy. or safe at all.
everyone is looking at it so negatively. sometimes, it's not such a big deal to share Rx drugs. for instance, if your entire family catches a virus, more than likely, you all be prescribed the same meds. instead of paying to fill 4+ family members Rx for the same thing, just share. that happened all the time growing up.
I'm also asthmatic. it runs in the family. when I didn't have health insurance and my inhaler and Rx ran out, my aunt refilled hers and gave it to me. if my astmatic friends are having an asthma attack and don't have their inhalers on them, I share and vice versa.
my brother has a Rx for epipen b/c of his severe allergies. if one of my cousins was having an allergic reaction, I don't think we'd take the time to figure out whose epipen we were using to save their life!
of course, there are times when it's not okay (i.e. being given an antidepressant so I could stay awake during a long drive, which I promptly threw out) and when it could be very dangerous. I'm not sure what percocet is, but if it's a hardcore Rx drug, then it's not cool in your case. but other times it's not really a big deal. and I seriously doubt the police are going to break down your door because you shared prescription motrin with your sibling.