I won't bore or disgust you with the stories, but suffice it to say that I keep seeing examples of how drugs are taking a horrible toll on small children. 92 people die every day in this country from opioid-related causes, but so many more children suffer for years and even for the rest of their lives because of their parents use of drugs. I get that mandatory sterilization is extreme, but something has to be done. I am sick of this crap.
We need to start helping people.
In reply to mazdeuce: They have to want to be helped too.
I have seen studies relating to opioid use and abuse. MOST people can use opioids after surgery and suffer no ill long term effects in regards to addiction. The problem lies when people (this was done on rats) have nothing to return to. A person without a "network" of people, things, or stuff they feel they need, can and will get very easily sucked into a world of addiction.
When people feel lonely, overwhelmed, underappreciated, or just plain lost, they turn to drugs to escape. Right now this country cares not for the reasons of addiction, save to lock people up for something they cannot control.
Treatment needs to start BEFORE addiction does. Addiction is a symptom of a larger problem, not the problem itself
My uncle's daughter (I refuse to call her my cousin anymore) has given birth to two babies addicted to heroin and taken away and she couldn't care less. The world would be a better place without her, and her brother who is in prison till 2023 for burning his rented house down cooking meth with his baby in the house. Baby lived, he got taken away too, so my uncle has 3 grandkids he'll never get to see really. It's killing him.
It's a lot more complicated. Different people react to narcotics (and I'm using narcotics in the proper medical/pharmacological meaning of the word, not the "po-po" meaning of "something illegal") differently. Some get a euphoria from it. Others not. I have seen patients so stoned on narcotics that they couldn't keep their eyes open yell (slur) "I'm hurting" so they could get even more narcotics. Most people don't do that. Most people, you give them some Vicodin post surgery and in a few days they are off it and get on with their lives and recovery.
As I have said before, we should completely decriminalize all drug use. My main reason for that is that enforcing the current laws is doing more damage to our society than the drugs. You just have to reach a point where you realize that more good money thrown at a problem that won't ever be fixed is not a good idea, cut your losses and go. Kinda like a 1979 Harley-Davidson.
In reply to Dr. Hess:
Definitely. I had to be on Percocet after my Achilles' Tendon surgery and could not WAIT to be off of it because if just left me completely out of it and unable to do anything- from my personal experience I have no idea why anyone would WANT to be on it all the time. But we have a pretty hefty problem with it around here from what I hear (haven't seen it personally, but I'm not in position where I would) as well as nationally so obviously there are plenty of people who DO get something out of it.
This conversation feels familiar. 
I have never used an opioid pain med, that stuff scares me. I hope I never reach a level of pain that it is the only viable option. Its easy to say "Just use it like they say and stop" but so many lives have been sucked down the tubes. People like me. I'm sure they didn't hurt themselves and think, "This is my ticket to finally become a full time drug addict, Hooray!"
I agree that "Heroin" is pretty damn brutal. My lady did not want to be on the E36 M3 but would slip and battle like hell to get off. She would be good for a long time and then something would trigger the urge. She could fight it off most of the time but getting depressed, sad , angry etc can sometimes overpower judgement. If quality unadulterated dope had been available to Carrie she would have had a much greater chance of surviving. Her death has left me a hollow, broken mess. I would give anything to have her back.
Braden
Braden, I hope you are starting to move forward on this. Some professional assistance would certainly not be looked down on by anyone and could help you deal with it.
I used to live with an "ex" junkie. I say "ex" because who can ever say they will never use it again? I went to sea once. There was a box of allergy syringes I left in the bathroom. Box of 50 with 2 missing. I stopped taking the shots and had no use for them, so they sat in the bathroom cabinet. I came home and there were 5 left. She killed 2 husbands and almost killed me. I learned a big lesson from that experience.
pinchvalve wrote: ...but so many more children suffer for years and even for the rest of their lives because of their parents use of drugs. I get that mandatory sterilization is extreme, but something has to be done. I am sick of this crap.
Along similar lines a long time friend of my wife married a guy (also long time friend) who has a serious family history of alcoholism. Predictably he has slid into serious alcohol use (still functioning / working etc). He eventually drug her into it (progressing from craft beer, to light beer, to vodka). They have two kids...
She eventually broke off talking to her (the constant drunk calls where getting very irritating). I am not sad about that, I REALLY didn't want to watch that develop. One of the last times I saw them I saw the boy (about 9) sneaking a drink from his dads beer.
gearheadmb wrote: I have never used an opioid pain med, that stuff scares me. I hope I never reach a level of pain that it is the only viable option. Its easy to say "Just use it like they say and stop" but so many lives have been sucked down the tubes. People like me. I'm sure they didn't hurt themselves and think, "This is my ticket to finally become a full time drug addict, Hooray!"
I've used opioid pain killers probably 15 times in the last 20 years. I get a prescription for say, 30. I'll used maybe 10-15 to get over whatever injury/insult I've inflicted on myself. The rest of the bottle stays in the medicine cabinet until the next time it's needed. A couple years ago I had three different size "leftovers". I can see some people taking them recreationally but they also make me itch so I don't actually use them that way.
But some people can have a thing and not use it. Liquor cabinet full of booze undrunk, pantry full of food uneaten, humidor stocked with cigars unsmoked. All addictions for some and just a part of life for others.
I took my 9 year old daughter to the doctor this week for her annual checkup. He's been our pediatrician for 15 years and my wife saw him when she was a teenager. He spent a good 5 minutes discussing the opioid epidemic locally with me lamenting that he's having to put more and more newborns on methadone due to addicted mothers. Seemed odd to bring up in a 9 year old's checkup, but I had no idea it was that bad and thanked him for the education.
Narcotics are serious E36 M3 that should be far far more tightly controlled from the prescription end. Last year I went through back surgery and had a genuine need for them. In the six weeks before the surgery I had no choice but to use them to be able to move even with considerable pain. without them I couldn't move at all and was crying with agony. Prescriptions and refills were offered freely. I took the absolute minimum I could to control the pain and was still in pain 100% of the time and needed a walking stick to move around. Even taking the minimum I found out after I was back at work (post surgery) my performance hadn't been up to par although I wasn't aware of it at the time. Within three days of the surgery I stopped taking them by halving my does every day for three days. Even after a total of less than seven weeks taking the minimum I could to survive my body went through withdrawal. Hot/cold/sweating/shakes/nausea/flue symptoms etc. The works. I just can't imaging how people manage if they've been on them for months or years. I also can't believe how willing (several different) doctors and surgeons were to prescribe more if I needed (or had wanted) them. They are horrible things that some people do genuinely need for varying periods of time. Some seek them out, some get hooked for entirely accidental reasons and I feel deeply deeply sorry for those people.
We can all blame the users, but the fact is this country prescribes them in far far greater quantities than any other developed nation, we need to look at the legalized pushers. 80% of the opioids produced world wide are prescribed here in the USA. I think we've got an overactive legal supply side that creates much of the illegal users.
Ashyukun wrote: I had to be on Percocet after my Achilles' Tendon surgery and could not WAIT to be off of it because if just left me completely out of it and unable to do anything-
For a lot of people (some people, anyway), that's the point.
The blame for the easy prescriptions falls directly on patients and the hospital administrators.
The hospital sends out surveys to the patients to grade the hospital and the providers. If they get back a bad survey, the administrators rip the Docs a new one and the Docs pay is based on the survery results.
So the Doc hand out the pain meds to the patients are happy....
Trying to control it from the prescription side causes some really horrible side effects, too. Chronic pain sufferers, who have a real and legitimate need, get caught up when its drug shoppers that need to be found and dealt with. Palliative care is made so very much more kind and bearable through the use of opiates...Do you want your grandmother to have to suffer through the ravages of cancer while she screams in her deathbed?
I'm one of those people that when prescribed the pills, I take only as long as I have to. Almost all the pain meds literally put me to sleep. Not much fun in that .
Bobzilla wrote: I'm one of those people that when prescribed the pills, I take only as long as I have to. Almost all the pain meds literally put me to sleep. Not much fun in that .
Pretty much exactly my experience- I spent the 4 days I had to take them (2 days at max prescribed dose and tapering off from there) from half to completely asleep on the couch.
Ashyukun wrote:Bobzilla wrote: I'm one of those people that when prescribed the pills, I take only as long as I have to. Almost all the pain meds literally put me to sleep. Not much fun in that .Pretty much exactly my experience- I spent the 4 days I had to take them (2 days at max prescribed dose and tapering off from there) from half to completely asleep on the couch.
I had even bought a new game to play after my second hernia surgery. Didn't touch it until 3rd day.
Don't blow it. Don't do drugs. If you're doing it, Stop it. Get some help.
Hazard a guess as to what industry is the most profitable in the world?
Couple nights ago, conversation at the bar I go to, with the bartender and a guy that works security at a couple junior colleges in the area, and they both know some people (so to speak)... Heroine or Heroine plus whatever is apparently much cheaper in this area than weed. That's scary. I guess I had read this in news articles but to hear two different people that I think know what they're saying tell it to me face to face was really sobering.
I only see the level of drug use & problems staying the same or increasing on a national level until we decide as a group that This Isn't Working.
Pilotbraden, I am sorry for your loss.
My other half works in the Emergency Room. Dr. Hess makes a good point, people will lie for the meds they crave or to get an Rx so they can sell the pills for cash. The makers made Oxy pills harder to crush but there is still a thriving market for them. I'd hate to deal with what the ER sees every night.
As an insurance claims professional I've seen many disability claims evolve from physical injury to opioid dependence and many life insurance claims resulting from abuse. I used to marvel that doctors would prescribe even when they had a good idea the patient was addicted but have seem more doctors increasingly using protocols for tapering and switching to NSAIDs or other alternatives. The ER doctor can also refuse to prescribe opioids or prescribe only a small supply and refer for primary care. Unfortunately, doctor-shopping still happens and the ER is always open.
The problems are complex and there is no one answer. People can become addicted and addicts behave like addicts. Unscrupulous doctors can go into business with re-sellers to write way too many prescriptions for meds that are going to be re-sold. Clinics can favor the easy money of getting paid for office visits to write more prescriptions instead of trying to get Mr. or Ms. Smith off the painkillers. Drug companies can ask no questions and hear no lies. Any change is going to have to proceed on all fronts to have any chance of success.
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