Families of Prisoners Support Group
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Everyone who has been around the forum for any length of time knows that I was in the medical field before my conviction as a pharmacist.
I don't get too much a chance to visit this particular forum, so I am making up for it today.23
As such, I have a lot of observations regarding medical treatment in prison and I will share them as it might help a few of you.
The state has a fairly large formulary, but they utilize very few drugs in that formulary. When I was in prison several years back, Ibuprofen and Sudafed were given for everything from hangnails to allergies.
Yes, I said Sudafed. I am sure they have d/c the Sudafed and replaced it with another cold/allergy combination, most likely a cheap antihistamine such as Benadryl.
For pain, it would take an act from Congress for any inmate to get any pain meds stronger than Ibuprofen, and controlled substances were out of the question. Their theory was that if you needed controlled substances----tylenol #3 or any opiate derivative, you needed to be in the hospital, so they would send you there.
The problem is that they rarely sent anyone there. As a result, I have seen inmates in a considerable amount of pain with nothing to take except Ibuprofen, which is nothing but a glorified aspirin. I was a good athlete and several guys asked me to play softball with them, but I never would. I knew if I ever sprained a knee----or worse----I would receive either no treatment or very inadequate treatment.
The prison system does a fair job with drugs used on a maintenance basis such as blood pressure meds, antidepressants, minor pain meds, antihistamines, diabetes meds, etc., as they will issue a 30 day supply for some of these drugs. The others can only be picked up by an inmate at a "pill line", usually a once a day line where inmates can pick up their meds.
While there is indeed a formulary, the prison system does not use the latest meds for treatment as they are too expensive. These older drugs will, in many cases, do the job, but many of them have a lot of side effects not seen with the newer drugs.
The prison system dispenses a LOT of thorazine, stelazine, and antidepressants as many, many, many inmates have a mental disability. Are they treated properly? Absolutely not. They are given drugs and that is pretty much the end of it. With funding for mental health in this country at an all time low, the prison system is filled with mentally ill inmates.
Having a difficult to manage disease such as Chron's or diabetes is a real problem since such diseases need to be monitored closely. They will usually give the meds, but their monitoring of the blood glucose as in the case of diabetes is shoddy at best.
Then we come to the staff. Oh the staff. Some of the physicians who work for the prison system are sub par. And never forget that they take their orders from the DOC or the BOP and are unable to treat patients in the manner which they ordinarily would.
While on this, if you have a complaint and complain to the prison officials, they will say that the medical services is done by a third party company and they have no control over what they do. Don't believe that for a minute. These physicians ultimately take orders from the DOC. While it is true that a third party medical company may be paid by the DOC to handle the meds, that company still works for the DOC.
DOCs and BOPs are professionals at passing the buck.
I can only give you one example to show you how incompetent they can be. Before I went to prison, I had a car wreck and almost went through the windshield which caused me to have seizures. It was controlled with Dilantin. Notice the spelling of Dilantin here.
Dilantin is not a controlled substance, it has no potential for abuse, and nobody in their right mind would take it unless it was needed.
After I was in prison for about a month, a guard---a CO--- told me to get to medical as it was an emergency. I had no idea what was going on, but I went straight to medical-----and a doctor an a nurse were waiting.
The doctor explained to me that the drug I was taking was very dangerous and I needed to be closely monitored. He emphasized that Dilantin was a Schedule II controlled substance and I would have to come in on a daily basis to receive it.
I sat there puzzled. I respectfully told the physician that I did not think Dilantin was a dangerous drug or had any potential for abuse. But he was adamant.
He hammered his fist on the desk and said, "Well, think what you want, but we are not only going to closely monitor your usage, but we want to make sure that the other inmates don't try to steal the drug from you. So you will have to come to the pill line every day."
I noticed he was looked at the PDR, so I asked him, "Can you show me where Dilantin is so dangerous?"
Reluctantly, he let me look at the PDR. Hell, he did not even have the correct drug. He was looking at Dilaudid NOT Dilantin and I guess he was confused at the difference. Dilaudid is a synthetic morphine derivative and a Class II narcotic.
Not wanting to be too smart assed, I gently said, "You are looking at Dilaudid. I take Dilantin. There is a big difference."
He stammered and looked on my chart. He had Dilantin on my chart.
I am not sure he knew the difference in the two drugs!!!!! He should have known when he saw that I was using Dilantin for seizures, but he was about 80 years old and not very competent.
Anyway, he was now red in the face and the nurse was smirking a little. He finally said, "How did you know about Dilaudid and Dilantin? Did you push drugs on the street? How did you know?"
I looked at him and softly said, "Maybe because I went to pharmacy school???"
He said, "Get the hell out of here before I have you locked up in SHU."
This shows that sometimes they have no idea what they are doing, but nobody can tell them otherwise.
So I strongly recommend that any family member with a loved one in prison who has a difficult to manage disease or needs to take maintenance meds on a daily basis to watch things closely.
You will have to stay on their butts----and they will try to weasel out of it----but you have to let them know that YOUR son, daughter, sister, father or whoever HAS a family out here and you intend to do whatever it takes to see that he is treated well medically.
You have to push these people as they will not do the right thing just because it is the humane thing to do.
rewdiazepam
I don't get too much a chance to visit this particular forum, so I am making up for it today.23
As such, I have a lot of observations regarding medical treatment in prison and I will share them as it might help a few of you.
The state has a fairly large formulary, but they utilize very few drugs in that formulary. When I was in prison several years back, Ibuprofen and Sudafed were given for everything from hangnails to allergies.
Yes, I said Sudafed. I am sure they have d/c the Sudafed and replaced it with another cold/allergy combination, most likely a cheap antihistamine such as Benadryl.
For pain, it would take an act from Congress for any inmate to get any pain meds stronger than Ibuprofen, and controlled substances were out of the question. Their theory was that if you needed controlled substances----tylenol #3 or any opiate derivative, you needed to be in the hospital, so they would send you there.
The problem is that they rarely sent anyone there. As a result, I have seen inmates in a considerable amount of pain with nothing to take except Ibuprofen, which is nothing but a glorified aspirin. I was a good athlete and several guys asked me to play softball with them, but I never would. I knew if I ever sprained a knee----or worse----I would receive either no treatment or very inadequate treatment.
The prison system does a fair job with drugs used on a maintenance basis such as blood pressure meds, antidepressants, minor pain meds, antihistamines, diabetes meds, etc., as they will issue a 30 day supply for some of these drugs. The others can only be picked up by an inmate at a "pill line", usually a once a day line where inmates can pick up their meds.
While there is indeed a formulary, the prison system does not use the latest meds for treatment as they are too expensive. These older drugs will, in many cases, do the job, but many of them have a lot of side effects not seen with the newer drugs.
The prison system dispenses a LOT of thorazine, stelazine, and antidepressants as many, many, many inmates have a mental disability. Are they treated properly? Absolutely not. They are given drugs and that is pretty much the end of it. With funding for mental health in this country at an all time low, the prison system is filled with mentally ill inmates.
Having a difficult to manage disease such as Chron's or diabetes is a real problem since such diseases need to be monitored closely. They will usually give the meds, but their monitoring of the blood glucose as in the case of diabetes is shoddy at best.
Then we come to the staff. Oh the staff. Some of the physicians who work for the prison system are sub par. And never forget that they take their orders from the DOC or the BOP and are unable to treat patients in the manner which they ordinarily would.
While on this, if you have a complaint and complain to the prison officials, they will say that the medical services is done by a third party company and they have no control over what they do. Don't believe that for a minute. These physicians ultimately take orders from the DOC. While it is true that a third party medical company may be paid by the DOC to handle the meds, that company still works for the DOC.
DOCs and BOPs are professionals at passing the buck.
I can only give you one example to show you how incompetent they can be. Before I went to prison, I had a car wreck and almost went through the windshield which caused me to have seizures. It was controlled with Dilantin. Notice the spelling of Dilantin here.
Dilantin is not a controlled substance, it has no potential for abuse, and nobody in their right mind would take it unless it was needed.
After I was in prison for about a month, a guard---a CO--- told me to get to medical as it was an emergency. I had no idea what was going on, but I went straight to medical-----and a doctor an a nurse were waiting.
The doctor explained to me that the drug I was taking was very dangerous and I needed to be closely monitored. He emphasized that Dilantin was a Schedule II controlled substance and I would have to come in on a daily basis to receive it.
I sat there puzzled. I respectfully told the physician that I did not think Dilantin was a dangerous drug or had any potential for abuse. But he was adamant.
He hammered his fist on the desk and said, "Well, think what you want, but we are not only going to closely monitor your usage, but we want to make sure that the other inmates don't try to steal the drug from you. So you will have to come to the pill line every day."
I noticed he was looked at the PDR, so I asked him, "Can you show me where Dilantin is so dangerous?"
Reluctantly, he let me look at the PDR. Hell, he did not even have the correct drug. He was looking at Dilaudid NOT Dilantin and I guess he was confused at the difference. Dilaudid is a synthetic morphine derivative and a Class II narcotic.
Not wanting to be too smart assed, I gently said, "You are looking at Dilaudid. I take Dilantin. There is a big difference."
He stammered and looked on my chart. He had Dilantin on my chart.
I am not sure he knew the difference in the two drugs!!!!! He should have known when he saw that I was using Dilantin for seizures, but he was about 80 years old and not very competent.
Anyway, he was now red in the face and the nurse was smirking a little. He finally said, "How did you know about Dilaudid and Dilantin? Did you push drugs on the street? How did you know?"
I looked at him and softly said, "Maybe because I went to pharmacy school???"
He said, "Get the hell out of here before I have you locked up in SHU."
This shows that sometimes they have no idea what they are doing, but nobody can tell them otherwise.
So I strongly recommend that any family member with a loved one in prison who has a difficult to manage disease or needs to take maintenance meds on a daily basis to watch things closely.
You will have to stay on their butts----and they will try to weasel out of it----but you have to let them know that YOUR son, daughter, sister, father or whoever HAS a family out here and you intend to do whatever it takes to see that he is treated well medically.
You have to push these people as they will not do the right thing just because it is the humane thing to do.
rewdiazepam
october2014
I love it that you're our honorary big brother, REW, giving us support and direction when we need it so desperately. Thank you!
kbeasley81
Thank you Rew, we are going to have 2 family members call per day until they do something about my sisters medical care. They finally took her blood sugars after several calls and they were reading low for her. My sisters blood sugar on the normal usually ranges in the 175-185 range, which is normal for her. They were reading 106 before lunch when they took it and 130 after lunch. My sister is also a 5 year pituitary prolactinoma survivor. So she also takes meds due to the surgery to balance her hormones and other levels. She also has to have a brain scan every 5 years to make sure the tumor has not come back and she is going to be due for a scan in a few months. We are keeping a record of the date, time, and who we spoke to and what was said for our records.
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