Being a soft tissue back injury survivor, it takes years. Years. I think I was in five years before I finally started being able to cope with the pain and learning how to live my life around the pain.
Two years is in that five year window, and you suffer, mightily. The pain meds either make you a zombie, or are not providing relief, so your brain is responding to pain, all day long.
I thank God every day that my husband’s doctors believe he needs pain meds and prescribes them. He is addicted to wanting to live without chronic pain, not the meds.
I am so sorry to Dennis and his wife for having had to endure psychically the pain their kids’ dad, her ex, was suffering from. I am so sorry the kids lost their dad and his loved ones lost him.
Our medical system is a travesty. It really is. That kind of pain should be palliated. I’m sorry this happened. What a shame.
I dealt with my girlfriends addiction, her mom’s, her daughter’s, and her niece’s addictions for over 3 years. Opiate addiction. And it was rough. But tolerable.
It became intolerable when meds were cut off, or severely curtailed. You can’t just cut an addict off and not expect consequences. So, I cut loose a woman who I had helped get off opiates with the help of Suboxon. And then get off the Suboxon(which she said was harder than the opiates). I could not deal with the rest of the family and the lying, scamming, cheating, stealing...you name it.
Addicts are not going to just quit. And boy, you should see the people/drugs they replaced the lortabs with. I tried to tell her about her beautiful daughter’s drug problem. But she wouldn’t listen. “She has no money, how can she buy drugs?” Right..........
So, about a mo. after I cut Mom loose daughter lost her kids. Supposed to go to rehab. But a mo. later was in jail. Etc. Etc....Don’t know where she is now.
Sick, Sick, Sick. I feel guilty all the time but I just couldn’t put up with it any longer. I feel very selfish. But I had to do it for my sanity.
I’m not going to doubt anything written here.
That said, however, I’m perplexed in that I’ve read that part of the problem with the OxyContin/variants addiction epidemic is that when the patients/addicts go to doctors to get prescription refills, they use threats of “bad ratings” to extort refills against the better judgement of their doctors.
Prayers for Bruce and all of his loved ones.
Wonder why he couldn't find one?
Once you hit the age of 60 years, you NEVER go up on the roof for any reason. Your fragile bones, diminished strength and coordination can’t handle it. You hire the neighbor’s nimble teenager for $100 to go up on the roof to fix whatever.
The MSM has been hyping the increased death rate from opiod pain relievers for months.
In my opinion, the MSM hype this “epidemic” because white victims are slightly over-represented compared to non-white victims in pain reliever deaths.
However, pain reliever deaths (20,000) represent less than 40% of total overdose deaths, and non-white victims are heavily over-represented in the “other” drug deaths.
And, it's not an "epidemic."
Pain relievers killed less than 1% of the 2.6 million Americans who died last year.
I wonder if the man who killed himself ever tried medicating with edible marijuana or edible hash oil?
Would have been worth a try.
THC might not stop the pain, but I can give personal testimony from my youth that marijuana is a wonderful sleep aid.
It’s also a wonderful aphrodisiac, which would certainly take your mind off the pain for a while.
Just the way the progressives want it.
I’ve had adhesions which were treated by cauterization. Since then, I’ve had little problem with them.
I am very afraid of developing any condition that causes severe chronic pain. Opioids do not work for me. They cause all of the side effects, without any perceptible effect on the pain. In addition, the last time I took one, I had a piercing headache for four days.
The best I ever got from narcotics (opioids) is to feel loopy after taking them, which distracts attention from the pain but does not decrease it. There is undeniable value in being distracted from the pain, but distraction can be achieved without drugs.
It would be nice if there were some effective medications (other than anesthetics) that really addressed pain, that actually could block it.
1. Give them free, unlimited opioids which would lead to a nation of addicts.
2. Give them unlimited opioids but at a cost. Not as many addicts, but the ones that do become addicted would turn to crime and what not to get the money for drugs.
3. Don't prescribe opioids. Those in pain would have to find other sources.
I know from experience that opioids, like all addictive drugs, trick yourself and your body into thinking that there's more pain then there actually is in order to feed the addiction. There's no moral judgment on this, it's just what happens. Keeping opioids rare IS the solution. We have a heroin epidemic because people got addicted in the first place.
The problem is societal. We treat addicts with compassion and organize laws and behavior around helping them as if they will be OK if EVERYONE else changes their behavior.
Compassion for those with a true need for opiates due to chronic pain is secondary to junkies need to not be judged by society for their self destruction.
It’s too much to accommodate junkies who have an effectively incurable insatiable desire for opiates over those who have treatable pain, but are denied treatment because a junkie might end up with pills.
The fact is treating legitimate pain WILL kill junkies. We need to decide if it’s a worthwhile sacrifice. I think it is, but those who have an addicted family member or friend may believe that others should suffer so they can continue to live.
Not totally buying the premise, that a patient with real pain, can’t get neceaasry pain meds.
If the docter prescribes a 7 day supply, and the patient is back begging for more in 3 days, what should the doctor do?
I do not consider Prager to be wise in matters of addictions.