Tramadol may be the least harmful and even it has numerous deleterious side effects. The others - individually - are known to
cause permanent neurological damage. And not one was prescribed by a qualified physician, and in no case was I ever in a state
to have my condition assessed had such a doctor been consulted.
One thing is certain, the bill would have been considerable, and my insurance company was paying it, week after week. And that is
after all the primary objective of the little scavengers. And no doubt the good doctor was earning his generous compensation,
with whatever incentives were included a pretty good haul on just one patient. Excuse me, product.
My writing has been described as acerbic. I suppose that retaining what is left of my sense of humor is something to be thankful for.
As I observed, any one of those drugs would have caused permanent damage, and having several of them along with numerous others
had left me literally near death. The mental handicap remains to this day, mostly in the form of memory loss and lethargy. Without
the support of my family I most likely would have to live in an assisted living facility. That may yet be my fate.
I remember the old people I saw in the hospital, and wonder how many of them had no one to care about them. No one with family to
notice the abuse and incompetence, or if they did they blindly trusted the doctors, or were afraid to question them. I wonder how
how many died.
What more is there to tell? I could no longer work. I had worked for nearly twenty years earning well above average salary at a company
where I was one of a handful of key personnel, due to their respect for my value to the company they kept me on the payroll (thereby providing
insurance coverage) until it was clear that I would be returning. The beast made out pretty well, me not so much.
I would have continued working for at least another four or five years, another half million in salary, with the increase in my retirement account
and Social Security benefits. I had to sell my home, now eight miles away, at a considerable loss. Another recently acquired property was also
sold at a loss. The expenses of moving, buying a new home, the loss of income, the beast may have cost me a million dollars.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I have more money than I am likely to ever need, or have enough time remaining to spend much or it. My physical
health is excellent, except for the neurological damage. My life could end in the next twenty-four hours due to a fall or other misadventure
caused by that injury. So the beast may still kill me. At least I will die free, not as the empty container of a used-up product .