Posted on 05/10/2021 8:46:15 AM PDT by Mariner
OxyContin is extremely dangerous, and unless an individual requires immediate relief from extreme pain—say, from a horrific accident, medical procedure, or disease—it’s best avoided. Like its legion of prescription opioid brethren, it is, in effect, heroin in pill form. And yet thanks to the efforts of the Sackler family’s Purdue Pharma and the corporations that followed its lead, OxyContin is now consumed by millions of citizens who are addicted to it, and die from it, just like any other deadly narcotic. No matter Purdue’s protestations to the contrary, this so-called miracle drug has spawned a ghastly opioid crisis that from 2000 to 2019 caused 487,842 overdose deaths in America.
And as Alex Gibney’s latest documentary contends, this wasn’t an unfortunate side effect of a vitally needed treatment. It was a deliberate and dastardly crime, carried out in the name of profit.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Each of which knew addiction was creeping upon them, and chose the junkies path.
I guess I picked the wrong week to give up heroin
So as long as a corporation listed on the NYSE is drug-pushing, it’s OK?
... which is why it was developed.
There is a legitimate use for the drugs they sell.
In 100% of cases.
November 2018 I broke both bones in my ankle. My foot literally flopped around as I crawled through the snow back to my house where my phone was. The pain was extreme. I had it set while on phenetol and then once the swelling went down I have surgery on it. I was prescribed Oxy. I also had what they called a party bag which was attached to my leg and dripped what I am guessing was more phenetol into the site of the break. I don’t remember much of Thanksgiving that year. They somehow got me to my SIL’s. By Christmas I was determined to get off the drugs. The party bag had run out and I started cutting back on the Oxy. I couldn’t take Advil or Aleve so I had to rely on Tylenol. I also had a script for antidepressant from before the accident and an anti anxiety script. I was full of drugs. By the following February I was able to get off of everything. It was difficult but necessary. I had lots of physical therapy and now have no trouble walking. It was rough. I did gain weight.
My late brother’s wife was hooked on oxycontin while he was dying of cancer some 15 years ago and did a poor job of caring for him. She’s probably still a junkie, but we don’t communicate any more.
I remember a few years ago, my elderly mother’s sciatica flared up - she went to her doctor and he gave her a prescription for a large bottle of Oxycontin, which she filled - she had several refills she could get and the doctor tole her to call if she needed more. She took one and it put her in a daze for about 12 hours, even though she felt great. She refused to take another, and offered the entirely full bottle to me (NO). I have no desire to take opioids, I’ve seen what they can do to people.
I was shocked at how easily these were given to her.
I ended up finding some easy ways to ease the sciatica (sit with feet on the floor, use alternating ice and heat, get up every 10 minutes). She never had another attack for the rest of her life.
I’ve had a couple of similar experiences.
In each case I kept having that nagging thought that I was becoming addicted.
So I tapered off, then quit.
Everyone who is addicted had a similar choice to make.
Choose wisely.
“one hit of an opioid can cause permanent changes to the brain, and anyone who takes opioids (including the prescription opioids) is at risk of addiction.”
Citation?
It doesn’t seem likely as millions have walked away. Just like millions have walked away from alcohol.
That's not the way it works any more. Now patients have to see a pain management doctor once a month, and pee in a jar at least every three months to make sure he is taking the meds and not selling it.
It's an enormous and obscenely profitable branch of medicine.
Your statement is categorically false. In fact, there are a percentage of people known as “chippers,” whom do not get addicted regardless of what substance they ingest.
I was Addicted to Opiates in 1979 by choice, with my Doctors Blessing, all 3 of them. I was taking 50 Percodan a day!! But back then they didn’t just turn you into a Junkie and cut you off, I spent 1 week going thru Managed Withdrawls in a Hospital Bed before I had my Surgery. Basically they would wait until I was going completely crazy, then give me a shot of something that put me out. after 3 days it wasn’t bad, after a week I had the surgery, all of the Real Pain was gone when I woke up later that afternoon and I didn’t need the drugs anymore. 200 sq inches of Skin Grafting and 8 hours under!
They don’t do this anymore, and maybe they should, as for me, well, I would do it again Today if I had to.
I DO NOT blame the drug companies or the Doctors, most of this can be laid at the feet of the Insurance Companies that refuse to Pay for the proper treatment after you get addicted.
I suppose you watched the film?
“Gibney’s film shines a spotlight on the evolution of Purdue and company’s treacherous conduct, linking physicians, sales representatives, boardroom bigwigs, distributors, pharmacies, and politicians in a contemptible conspiracy of fraud, negligence, malpractice, bribery, and mass killing.”
Or maybe....not.
Pharmaceutical companies should be 100% exempt from liability.
The drugs are tested and reviewed by the FDA and given approval.
If that approval does not safeguard the people from dangerous drugs, then it is a useless agency.
My mother has been on OxyContin for 25 years. She has not had her dosage increased and takes it when the pain is unbearable. She knows it is addictive and keeps focused on not needing it.
The blaming of profit is just another play at socialized medicine.
As with alcohol, some people find they LIKE the effect at a psychological and emotional level.
So they make the choice to keep using it, long before they are addicted.
That is not a permanent change in brain chemistry from a single use.
I didn’t watch the film, it starts today.
That's not the way it works any more. Now patients have to see a pain management doctor once a month, and pee in a jar at least every three months to make sure he is taking the meds and not selling it.
It's an enormous and obscenely profitable branch of medicine
Amen, AMEN, AMEN
Economists call this "rent-seeking". Establish a roadblock in the supply chain, (almost always with the help of Big Government), and then demand payment to pass. Most of the medical field is addicted to it one way or another.
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