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re: Serious business: The opioid epidemic - it's on the rise in the United States
Posted on 3/17/16 at 7:49 am to PJinAtl
Posted on 3/17/16 at 7:49 am to PJinAtl
quote:
I think the biggest issue, and this was mentioned in the ABC report, is that doctors are prescribing super strong opioid pain medications as a first choice these days and these lead to addiction, and then lead to heroin because it is cheaper/easer to get.
That's all there is to it really. Doctors passed these things out like candy and then expected people to just put them down after a two week bender. Pills are more socially acceptable than heroin and easy to steal from the medicine cabinet, so it makes its way through every walk of life. Why is the better question. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but big pharma certainly doesn't seem mad that millions of people are hooked on a product they will steal, stab, or shoot for.
3
Posted on 3/17/16 at 7:59 am to TheDrunkenTigah
Can we all just admit the war on drugs has been an epic failure, that's led to a significant problems in our country.
We should be looking at what other industrialized countries have done to reduce addiction.
We should be looking at what other industrialized countries have done to reduce addiction.
Posted on 3/17/16 at 8:09 am to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
Why is the better question. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but big pharma certainly doesn't seem mad that millions of people are hooked on a product they will steal, stab, or shoot for.
As someone that dealt with chronic pain(back related) and was prescribed painkillers, I will say they did help me cope and make it through some tough days. I don't know if I would have been given the amount I was given had I went through it 20 years ago, but I'm guessing not. At the height, I was getting 120 lortab 10's per month. I did not need that many, and I told the pain clinic that but they gave them to me anyway. That is troublesome. This was almost 4 years ago, and I still have a huge bottle of them with probably close to 100 pills.
I don't know if it's a conspiracy, but I think it just gradually became more and more acceptable for primary care doctors to prescribe them, and it spun out of control. I'm not sure what role big pharma plays either, as most of the prescribed painkillers have generics available. I was only paying like $5 for the 120 pill prescription through my insurance, though I don't know what the pharmacy billed the insurance company.
Posted on 3/17/16 at 7:22 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
but big pharma certainly doesn't seem mad that millions of people are hooked on a product they will steal, stab, or shoot for.
Not to mention that the short acting, more abuse promoting formulations are much cheaper and preferred by insurance. We are told to do one thing now, but insurance won't cover it. So, we have two options. Prescribe them, monitor and hope for the best or let the patient hurt. It's a complex problem that there is no easy answer. Part of it is still personal responsibility. Don't ask for pain meds and you won't get them. Don't want to get hooked? Don't ever take one. The vast majority of people that are prescribed narcotic pain relievers take them as rx'd and only when needed.
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