The Alleged 'Undertreatment of Pain' in the U.S. Military

The notion of "undertreatment of pain" involves a goal of addicting every class of people in our country with opioids -- even our bravest -- our military.

Military forces in combat need to be at their best at all times, like these soldiers on a combat patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. Being high on morphine based drugs so big pharmaceutical companies can make bigger profits, is a shame for all Americans. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - The pharmaceutical industry, their pain societies/foundations and their lobbyists fought for a Military Bill for the "undertreatment of pain in our armed forces" and were successful at having the bill pass^[1].

Marianne Skolek

The American Academy of Pain Medicine proudly hails the passage of the bill on their website. The below article by AFP indicates that our U.S. Army surgeon general is concerned about the"over-medication" of our troops with prescription drugs.

The pharmaceutical companies and their well funded pain societies such as the American Pain Foundation, American Pain Society, American Academy of Pain Medicine and American Academy of Pain Management had the financial clout to convince our lawmakers that our military was "undertreated for pain".

These pain societies/foundations will continue to be relentless in promoting the words "undertreatment of pain" until they have reached their goal of addicting every class of people in our country with opioids -- even our bravest -- our military. They should be ashamed of themselves for buying into big pharma's drug promoters in 3-piece suits with a deep well of money -- which is generously shared with these pain societies/foundations.

The Military Pain Care Act of 2008 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA), a freshman Congressman easily manipulated by big pharma^[2].

Congressman Loebsack has a link on his website that reads "How can Dave help you?" I think our military can do without any further help from Dave -- unless Dave is going to provide drug rehabilitation care to the military personnel he has successfully addicted with the "undertreatment" of pain propaganda he was fed by the fat cats in the pharmaceutical industry. Iowa's voters and our brave men and women serving our country in the military owe Dave an unemployment line to stand in.

Courtesy: AFP.com

US military concerned about 'over-medication' of troops

The US Army's surgeon general on Monday expressed concern about "over-medication" of soldiers returning from combat, saying the military is closely tracking how drugs are prescribed to troops.

The top medical officer in the army, Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker, said the increasing use of prescription drugs for soldiers recovering from combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan reflected a wider trend in the country to treat pain primarily through medication.

But he told reporters: "I can tell you that we are concerned about over-medication."

The general said that "we're very concerned about the panoply of drugs that are being used and the numbers of drugs that are being used."

"We are monitoring it very, very closely," he said. Prescription orders for psychiatric and pain medicines for troops have increased dramatically since 2001, according to a Military Times report in March, with one in six service members on some form of psychiatric drug.

About 15 percent of soldiers said they had abused prescription drugs in the past month, according to a Pentagon survey carried out in 2008 and released in December.

Lawmakers have urged the military to examine a possible link between a rise in suicides among troops and the use and abuse of prescription drugs.

Schoomaker said he had led a review looking at prescription drugs and his task force had promoted alternatives to pain killers, including "yoga, meditation, acupuncture, movement therapy, lots of other ways of approaching pain management." The army surgeon general made his comments at a news conference in which the he and other officers took issue with a New York Times account of a center in Colorado set up to help soldiers recover from mental or physical wounds in combat.

The Times, citing interviews with soldiers and health care workers, described the "warrior transition unit" at Fort Carson and similar posts as "warehouses of despair, where damaged men and women are kept out of sight, fed a diet of prescription pills and treated harshly by noncommissioned officers."

But Schoomaker said about 81 percent of all soldiers at the transition centers expressed satisfaction with their treatment and about 90 percent of the troops at the Fort Carson center said they were satisfied with the care they received.

"And even with 90 percent satisfaction you're going to have some people with very complex problems that are not going to be in that satisfied group," he said, referring to the Times report.

About 26 percent of the soldiers at the transition center in Fort Carson were on a prescribed narcotic, with a clinical pharmacist closely monitoring the prescriptions, Colonel Jimmie Keenan of the military hospital at Fort Carson, told reporters by telephone.

^[1] painmed.org/advocacy/08pain_act.html

^[2]. painmed.org/advocacy/Loebsacks_Release.html

Marianne is a nurse having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.

oxydeaths.com/news_chilling.htm
nytimes.com/2007/05/10/business/11drug-web.html?
blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2007/07/sometimes_only_justice_can_rel.html
judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=2905&wit_id=6612
You can send Marianne an email at: mskolek@aol.com
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