Adam, a reader, wrote to me to say, "My wife just bought a medical-treatment device called Exogen. It's not cheap. It purportedly uses ultrasound to promote bone healing.

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"We're both skeptical about it, and all the studies that validate it were paid for by Exogen, but when you've got a persistent health problem, you don't want to leave any stones unturned, and this seems unlikely to be actively harmful."

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Speaking as someone with untreatable, degenerative, chronic pain, boy do I understand where he's coming from. And here's what happened:

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"Before she paid retail, we thought of buying one off eBay. Surely all the people who have used these in the past would want to unload them and recoup some of their money.

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"After reading the manual, we think we know why they weren't for sale: *the device bricks itself after 343 uses*--which is slightly longer than the course of treatment her doctor prescribed.

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"You can call the company to have it unbricked if your doctor prescribes a longer treatment."

Don't take his word for it. Read the manual.

https://www.exogen.com/wp-content/uploads/81087030-US-2014-User-Guide.pdf

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This is pure confiscation. Remember, this isn't a product that's offered at a discount for people who opt out of reselling it - it's an expensive med-tech item sold to desperate people with serious maladies.

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Imagine if you couldn't resell your car - we're heading there. Textbook monopolies have killed the used textbook market. It's part of an overall program to shift wealth from the public to corporations, and risk from corporations to us.

eof/