Posted on 03/15/2018 3:05:45 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen
---SNIP--- Like other patients across the country, Craig is a victim of the recent crackdown on prescription opioids, which is based on a narrative that mistakenly blames pain treatment for a plague of addiction and death. Most Americans believe we are in the midst of an "opioid crisis" that began in the 1990s with the introduction of OxyContin. According to the generally accepted account, deceptive marketing encouraged reckless prescribing, which led to widespread addiction among patients and record numbers of opioid-related fatalities—a situation President Donald Trump has declared a public health emergency.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who chaired the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, invokes that narrative when he talks about "the injured student-athlete who becomes addicted after [his] first prescription" or remembers the law school classmate who died of an overdose after getting hooked on the oxycodone he was taking for back pain. Such examples are misleading because they are rare, accounting for only a small percentage of opioid-related deaths
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
We’re all addicts to something! Oxygen is #1. If an old person can’t life a decent life without pain killers, leave them to live their life.
The. Woman. Was. Dying. Of. Cancer. Her. Husband. Had. Staff. Not. Give. Her. Morphine. Because. He. Didn’t. Want. Her. To Die. As. An. Addict. Dying. Of. Cancer. On. Her. Death. Bed.
Every situation is different. My husband can no longer get the pain medication that is necessary for him to even obtain an acceptable pain level. He isn’t even trying to achieve a pain level of 0, he would just like it to be down to a 5.
Here here. Well said. If I need them..and I do on occasion , I shouldn’t have to bet or be looked as a criminal for asking or using them.
1. No one is addressing the cause of the pain,
2. Pain is the body telling us something is wrong,
3. Thus, the solution is not to mask the pain.
That’s my .02. I cured my own arthritic condition, carpal tunnel and debilitating back & neck pain; I don’t think it is any coincidence that the pain disappearing was concurrent to how I recovered my health. I take nothing: No aspirin, acetaminophen nor ibuprofen. It’s our culture that’s killing us.
I know a guy who was a medic in Vietnam. His role was very removed from combat, serving in a facility treating all manner of conditions from foot rot, yellow fever to opium addiction. I didn’t expect our conversation to shift to a telling tale of opium: It’s not addictive if it’s pure. Only refined “opiates” are highly-addictive. Those soldiers who developed a dependency upon the opium were simply placed in isolation for 3 days, they developed symptoms of a cold, and walked out with no desire to do more (of course, some did anyway...lots of repeat patients, I was told).
The difference between those who used opium and heroin was night & day according to him, mirroring the conversation we were having about the prescription drug crisis and opiates.
Just fyi, fwiw.
I’ve been on opioids numerous time. Right now, I’ve been on them for about 4 years. I take a 10mg NORCO every day, but never more. I function well and never take them early in the day. I’m physically active in spite of my pain. Don’t smoke a drink rarely.
Sorry to read of your troubles. I am not trying to offend anyone just offer some information that is not normally found in the MSM.
Great. Your ex was a "victim" but now when I may need them they are hell to get.
This article doesn't say that once - but don't let inconvenient facts get in the way of a good froth.
There HAS to be a way to keep addictive pain medications out of the hands of those who abuse them to sell or get high and those who legitimately need such medicines in order to lead a somewhat normal life free of debilitating and chronic pain. In lawmaker’s rush to appear to be “doing something” about the crisis, too often the honest and suffering patient bears the brunt of the fight. There are a lot of hoops to jump through and obstacles to navigate in order for the patient to receive the medications they have been legally prescribed and are monitored closely. We shouldn’t be making it HARDER for genuine sufferers to get what they need.
I’ve taken Tramadol for 10 years for degenerative disc disease with a pinched sciatic. My doc would give me Vicodin if I wanted it but years ago I herniated a disc in my neck and took Vicodin while laying in bed for 3 weeks with my arm over my head. I got addicted. As soon as I was feeling better and realized I was addicted I flushed them. Haven’t taken one since.....but would if I absolutely had to.
I try to live as normal a life as I can with my condition but it means I need to take breaks and lie down. Peole without chronic pain have no idea.
I did get addicted on an earlier round, but did kick it. I’m probably addicted now, but I don’t seem to have any problems on my current dosage. You’re right, ongoing chronic pain (never ending) is a bitch.
I have a 9w year old friend with unfixable, intractable bone pain. She gets as much Vicodin as she needs. Whoever objects is sadistic, ignorant or both.z
Sounds typical. I had minor surgery on my hand a few years ago. They prescribed 30 of these pills for me. I only took 1 afterwards and the seed the rest too. This was after I told them I didn’t want any.
Anyone familiar with "Reason" knows full well that they constantly argue for the legalization of drugs. Wondering if their point eventually leads to "legalize drugs" is like wondering if Wimpy is going to ask you for a hamburger for which he will gladly pay you Tuesday.
This article doesn't. I see you're determined to have your froth.
In WI, opioid overdose deaths are up and opioid prescriptions are down.
“Opioid prescriptions fell 20 percent in Wisconsin over the past three years, as doctors curbed painkiller orders amid soaring overdose deaths.”
“Despite the drop in opioids dispensed, overdose deaths continue to climb. In Wisconsin, 827 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016, up from 614 in 2015, a 35 percent increase. The figure isn’t available for 2017.”
More death, Thank you State and Federal government for your brilliant public policy! .
I see you're determined to accuse me of it. I've been arguing this stuff (war on pain) for over a decade, and i've heard all the dodges.
The "War on Pain" is itself a dodge. It's an attempt to dehumanize the people who are opposed to legalizing drugs by turning them into monsters who want people to feel pain.
"War on Pain" is to a drug advocate what "Women's Choice" is to an abortion advocate. An effort to create a euphemism that makes their position seem more reasonable.
Another misdirection that simply means "legalize drugs."
Anecdotal evidence is the worst of all possible evidence.
I watched my brother writhe in agony from end stage cancer while the doctors debated if they were giving him “too much”. I nearly killed one of them right then and there.
L
Agree 100%. I spent a week on a pneumatic chest tube draining a plural effusion that completely collapsed my lung. The pain was bad, and the morphine was ALMOST as bad. I didn’t like the way it made me mentally—swoony, dizzy, dulled.
After 3 days, I could take the pain enough to stop the morphine. Spent the last 4 days on Tylenol, in the hospital, and then the next couple of months on ibuprofen at home.
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