Another side effect of drug addiction

[swamp]

www.watertowndailytimes.com/national/drugs-are-killing-so-many-people-in-west-virginia-that-the-state-cant-keep-up-with-the-funerals-20170307

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Last weekend, we were having brunch at a pub with TD's mom.  I saw this sign in the bathroom:  I have a pic of it on my phone, can't post it but the sign says:

DON'T LET THIS PARTY BE YOUR LAST

You can't now if the drug you use is safe.  Any drug - cocaine, crack, ecstasy, meth, heroin - can contain fentanyl.
Never use alone
Go slow
Carry naloxone

The URL at the bottom is gov.bc.ca/overdose

[wvugurl26]

The drug problem is heartbreaking. I don't have an answer and I'm not sure anyone does. The attorney general is trying to slow the flood of narcotics in but that will drive them to illegal drugs probably. And a lot of that is coming south from Detroit.

As we say at work, we can't arrest our way out of the drug problem. I'm not sure what will work. Of course they need more treatment beds but that's expensive and no one wants to pay for that. It's a horrible situation.

[Shooby]

  It's a terrible problem.  Meth seems to be the drug of choice around here.  But WHY are so many young people destroying their lives?  That is the million dollar question i guess.

[steph08]

We have had so many people die of heroin overdoses in our small, small area that it is really astounding. 

[bean29]

My son saw my 17 year old nephew yesterday and he said he is extremely skinny. He should graduate in June, but they say he has dropped out. I know his parents are very frustrated with him.  Hopefully he is not using drugs, but I suspect he is. 

I have another nephew who is a recovering drug addict.  My Sil says he takes something called suboxone?  She says he is loopy when he takes it, but that is the stuff he takes to combat the addiction.  She says he wants to get custody of his child, but she says she doesn't think he will ever be stable enough to take custody.  She said both foster homes her grandson has been in have been superior, and the best thing for him would be something on the order of an open adoption. 

eta.  I have a huge family.  I have bunches more fine upstanding relatives than ones with issues, but sometimes the issues scream for your attention.  Both sets of parents are together, and homes are relatively stable. 

[WholeLottaNothin]

Meth seems to be the drug of choice around here also. Every week there is another bust in the news where they find a meth making operation in someone's house or even in their car. A few weeks back, a meth lab exploded in the attic across the street from my older son's elementary school. It is really getting out of hand.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 7, 2017 13:37:31 GMT -5 steph08 said:

We have had so many people die of heroin overdoses in our small, small area that it is really astounding. 

I've read heroin usage is exploding thanks to the over prescribing and then massive pull back on prescription drugs.   Heroin is an opioid and it was created in hopes that it would be a less addictive pain killer than morphine at the time.  

We let doctors prescribe these pills like candy, then when we realized that was a bad idea we instituted hefty regulations to prevent over use.   The unintended consequence is this left a lot of people addicted and in pain.  Without being able to get a legal source of opiates as easily they are turning to the illegal ones.

[swamp]

Mar 7, 2017 13:33:28 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  It's a terrible problem.  Meth seems to be the drug of choice around here.  But WHY are so many young people destroying their lives?  That is the million dollar question i guess.

Because their lives suck.  

Meth makes you energetic, happy, peppy, and productive, and it takes your mind of the fact that you have limited job prospects and a dysfunctional family.

[swamp]

Mar 7, 2017 14:52:39 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Mar 7, 2017 13:37:31 GMT -5 steph08 said:

We have had so many people die of heroin overdoses in our small, small area that it is really astounding. 

I've read heroin usage is exploding thanks to the over prescribing and then massive pull back on prescription drugs.   Heroin is an opioid and it was created in hopes that it would be a less addictive pain killer than morphine at the time.  

We let doctors prescribe these pills like candy, then when we realized that was a bad idea we instituted hefty regulations to prevent over use.   The unintended consequence is this left a lot of people addicted and in pain.  Without being able to get a legal source of opiates as easily they are turning to the illegal ones.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 7, 2017 14:52:39 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Mar 7, 2017 13:37:31 GMT -5 steph08 said:

We have had so many people die of heroin overdoses in our small, small area that it is really astounding. 

I've read heroin usage is exploding thanks to the over prescribing and then massive pull back on prescription drugs.   Heroin is an opioid and it was created in hopes that it would be a less addictive pain killer than morphine at the time.  

We let doctors prescribe these pills like candy, then when we realized that was a bad idea we instituted hefty regulations to prevent over use.   The unintended consequence is this left a lot of people addicted and in pain.  Without being able to get a legal source of opiates as easily they are turning to the illegal ones.

The other unintended consequence is that doctors (particularly surgeon) are so afraid of prescribing to addicts that once patients are released from the hospital after hip replacement, they are expected to get by with tylenol.

This happened on one of my hip groups yesterday.  

[dee27]

There is a real push by our state government to eradicate drug addiction.The consequence is people who have legitimate pain issues are having a harder time finding a doctor willing to prescribe narcotics because the state keeps a tight leash on the prescriptions written by doctors. Even the orthopedic practice I use will write only one prescription post surgery. If you have residual pain, you are out of luck unless you can tolerate large doses of Motrin.

[Shooby]

Mar 7, 2017 14:56:04 GMT -5 swamp said:

Mar 7, 2017 13:33:28 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  It's a terrible problem.  Meth seems to be the drug of choice around here.  But WHY are so many young people destroying their lives?  That is the million dollar question i guess.

Because their lives suck.  

Meth makes you energetic, happy, peppy, and productive, and it takes your mind of the fact that you have limited job prospects and a dysfunctional family.

And, what makes your life not suck?  Certainly meth isn't going to make your life suck less.

[Tiny]

Mar 7, 2017 16:28:09 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Mar 7, 2017 14:56:04 GMT -5 swamp said:

Because their lives suck.  

Meth makes you energetic, happy, peppy, and productive, and it takes your mind of the fact that you have limited job prospects and a dysfunctional family.

And, what makes your life not suck?  Certainly meth isn't going to make your life suck less.

Could be something as easy as abandoning one's loser family and/or loser friends by moving away from them.  <-- that's sarcasm.   Most people WILL NOT abandon their family/friends no matter how horrible they are.  

Sometimes you are just stuck in a hopeless situation - damned if you do (how can you abandon family/friends!!! you are a monster!!!)  damned if you don't (you'd be better off withOUT those people in your life - you should leave -you are a loser for staying).     

[Tiny]

Has anyone ever noticed how when ever the "War on Drugs" thing waves around some news about the Millions of dollars of drugs (maybe it's a Billion by now) that they've confiscated - that the price of street drugs doesn't seem to go up or be harder to get?

Well, it seems that way... it's like 100 million dollars of such and such drug was confiscated - and yet it doesn't seem to effect the availability or cost of drugs at the street level.

Why is that?

[naughtybear]

I think addiction is definitely in people's DNA. I have been addicted and quit. I don't think it's my special will power. I think it's a gene.

[midjd]

Mar 7, 2017 14:59:57 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Mar 7, 2017 14:52:39 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I've read heroin usage is exploding thanks to the over prescribing and then massive pull back on prescription drugs.   Heroin is an opioid and it was created in hopes that it would be a less addictive pain killer than morphine at the time.  

We let doctors prescribe these pills like candy, then when we realized that was a bad idea we instituted hefty regulations to prevent over use.   The unintended consequence is this left a lot of people addicted and in pain.  Without being able to get a legal source of opiates as easily they are turning to the illegal ones.

The other unintended consequence is that doctors (particularly surgeon) are so afraid of prescribing to addicts that once patients are released from the hospital after hip replacement, they are expected to get by with tylenol.

This happened on one of my hip groups yesterday.  

Around here, many of the people being arrested for/overdosing on heroin do have chronic pain; they turned to heroin when it became easier and cheaper than rx opiates. Which makes the "die, scum" comments on every news story about the police using Narcan to revive someone all the more depressing.

DH has major orthopedic issues and I give thanks at least once a day that he never became addicted to any of the heavy-duty painkillers he was prescribed. It would have been easy and they really were giving them out like candy until a couple of years ago.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 7, 2017 18:49:53 GMT -5 midjd said:

Mar 7, 2017 14:59:57 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

The other unintended consequence is that doctors (particularly surgeon) are so afraid of prescribing to addicts that once patients are released from the hospital after hip replacement, they are expected to get by with tylenol.

This happened on one of my hip groups yesterday.  

Around here, many of the people being arrested for/overdosing on heroin do have chronic pain; they turned to heroin when it became easier and cheaper than rx opiates. Which makes the "die, scum" comments on every news story about the police using Narcan to revive someone all the more depressing.

DH has major orthopedic issues and I give thanks at least once a day that he never became addicted to any of the heavy-duty painkillers he was prescribed. It would have been easy and they really were giving them out like candy until a couple of years ago.

Neither did I, even after taking them for over a year and in quantities that would kill most.  But what scares me the most is that if I ever need more surgery, they can't prescribe sn amount that would be effective for me as I now have such tolerance.

[Shooby]

  I do think that the medical system has inadvertently created addicts.  Yes, some people absolutely need opioids.  But the doctor prescribing them needs to monitor that patient, look for patterns that might indicate a problem like attempted early refills, "losing their pills" on a regular basis or needing pain medication beyond what seems to be reasonable.  There are many good doctors.  However, there are some who simply just wrote a big prescription and that was it.  There has to be some accountability on their end.
  However, i would hate to see more and more regulation that makes it difficult for legitimate uses.  Like when Michael Jackson died everyone was screaming about the drugs and where he got them and so forth.  And, that is legit.  However, the deeper question is WHY was he compelled to use them in the first place.  What was going on in his soul that could have been addressed?

[MJ2.0]

Mar 7, 2017 19:01:44 GMT -5 Shooby said:

  I do think that the medical system has inadvertently created addicts.  Yes, some people absolutely need opioids.  But the doctor prescribing them needs to monitor that patient, look for patterns that might indicate a problem like attempted early refills, "losing their pills" on a regular basis or needing pain medication beyond what seems to be reasonable.  There are many good doctors.  However, there are some who simply just wrote a big prescription and that was it.  There has to be some accountability on their end.
  However, i would hate to see more and more regulation that makes it difficult for legitimate uses.  Like when Michael Jackson died everyone was screaming about the drugs and where he got them and so forth.  And, that is legit.  However, the deeper question is WHY was he compelled to use them in the first place.  What was going on in his soul that could have been addressed?

I only had to watch two of the specials on him and the Jackson Five to understand why he was as broken as he was.

[giramomma]

I think the why's are complex just like everything.

I had a good friend in college that felt she needed to get high to have fun. While we were in our college town, it meant drinking. I'm pretty sure she did drugs one summer while she was away, working. Because that's what folks were doing.

Some people just have souls that can't be fixed for whatever reason. Some people don't have the resources to get help..Though, clearly MJ did. Some people just want an easier way out.

And I also think there is a genetic component to addiction.

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2017 18:49:53 GMT -5 midjd said:

Around here, many of the people being arrested for/overdosing on heroin do have chronic pain; they turned to heroin when it became easier and cheaper than rx opiates. Which makes the "die, scum" comments on every news story about the police using Narcan to revive someone all the more depressing.

DH has major orthopedic issues and I give thanks at least once a day that he never became addicted to any of the heavy-duty drugs he was prescribed. It would have been easy and they really were giving them out like candy until a couple of years ago.

BBC podcasts have covered opioid addiction in the US (generally starting with prescription pain relievers for post-op pain, back pain or something else legitimate, leading to addiction. leading to heroin because it's cheaper and easier to get). Really sad- Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, etc. were sold as non-addictive. I've seen both extremes of availability: 3 years ago I had dental implants placed and the oral surgeon gave me a prescription for 25 Hydrocodone- with one refill available. One Tylenol relieved the pain and I tore up the prescriptions.

Last July, though, DH fell and had compression fractures of a couple of vertebrae. It was hell to get that prescription- had to go to the doc's office, then wait while they got someone to write it (couldn't do it before we got there, of course), wait till it got filled- and they gave him 120. He got surgery a week later and may have used about 10 of them total- he hated the side effects.

After he died I found 4 bottles of Oxycodone, Hyrodcodone, etc. from every time his back acted up and he'd take maybe 3 or 4. Fortunately the last bottle was unexpired so I could donate it to a medical mission to Haiti our church was sponsoring.

I can deduct the street value of those for tax purposes, right?

[Tennesseer]

The other night, ABC Nightly News had a news feature about a farmer in either Illinois or Ohio. Father of three, the first to die of a heroin overdose was his adult daughter. The second to die from a heroin overdose was his adult son. The last surviving child, an adult son, is a heroin addict too. The son is trying to kick the habit. These adult kids were and are in their late 20s and early 30s.

The father is at a lose as to what the hell happened to his family but is trying to help his son.

[Tiny]

Mar 7, 2017 20:26:19 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Mar 7, 2017 18:49:53 GMT -5 midjd said:

Around here, many of the people being arrested for/overdosing on heroin do have chronic pain; they turned to heroin when it became easier and cheaper than rx opiates. Which makes the "die, scum" comments on every news story about the police using Narcan to revive someone all the more depressing.

DH has major orthopedic issues and I give thanks at least once a day that he never became addicted to any of the heavy-duty drugs he was prescribed. It would have been easy and they really were giving them out like candy until a couple of years ago.

BBC podcasts have covered opioid addiction in the US (generally starting with prescription pain relievers for post-op pain, back pain or something else legitimate, leading to addiction. leading to heroin because it's cheaper and easier to get). Really sad- Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, etc. were sold as non-addictive. I've seen both extremes of availability: 3 years ago I had dental implants placed and the oral surgeon gave me a prescription for 25 Hydrocodone- with one refill available. One Tylenol relieved the pain and I tore up the prescriptions.

Last July, though, DH fell and had compression fractures of a couple of vertebrae. It was hell to get that prescription- had to go to the doc's office, then wait while they got someone to write it (couldn't do it before we got there, of course), wait till it got filled- and they gave him 120. He got surgery a week later and may have used about 10 of them total- he hated the side effects.

After he died I found 4 bottles of Oxycodone, Hyrodcodone, etc. from every time his back acted up and he'd take maybe 3 or 4. Fortunately the last bottle was unexpired so I could donate it to a medical mission to Haiti our church was sponsoring.

I can deduct the street value of those for tax purposes, right?

Can I ask - with a prescription of 120 -how long was that suppose to last?  10 days? 15 days? 20 days?   My mind kind of boogles over the 120...

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 8, 2017 0:29:56 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Mar 7, 2017 20:26:19 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

BBC podcasts have covered opioid addiction in the US (generally starting with prescription pain relievers for post-op pain, back pain or something else legitimate, leading to addiction. leading to heroin because it's cheaper and easier to get). Really sad- Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, etc. were sold as non-addictive. I've seen both extremes of availability: 3 years ago I had dental implants placed and the oral surgeon gave me a prescription for 25 Hydrocodone- with one refill available. One Tylenol relieved the pain and I tore up the prescriptions.

Last July, though, DH fell and had compression fractures of a couple of vertebrae. It was hell to get that prescription- had to go to the doc's office, then wait while they got someone to write it (couldn't do it before we got there, of course), wait till it got filled- and they gave him 120. He got surgery a week later and may have used about 10 of them total- he hated the side effects.

After he died I found 4 bottles of Oxycodone, Hyrodcodone, etc. from every time his back acted up and he'd take maybe 3 or 4. Fortunately the last bottle was unexpired so I could donate it to a medical mission to Haiti our church was sponsoring.

I can deduct the street value of those for tax purposes, right?

Can I ask - with a prescription of 120 -how long was that suppose to last?  10 days? 15 days? 20 days?   My mind kind of boogles over the 120...

I received a 2 week supply of 480 oxycodone after my excisions.  I was taking 20 mg (4 tablets) every 3 hours.   I took that dose (along with OxyContin) for about 6 weeks.

A supply of 120 would have lasted me 10 days after one of my hip replacements.

Breaking the bone to get my prosthesis out was about 100x more painful than putting one in.

[Deleted]

Mar 8, 2017 0:29:56 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Can I ask - with a prescription of 120 -how long was that suppose to last? 10 days? 15 days? 20 days? My mind kind of boggles over the 120...

No idea, although I'm pretty sure that was some of the worst pain DH had ever had. He was such a sweetheart he never made a big deal out of it. Thank heaven he was able to get a vertebroplasty about a week later, which pretty much fixed it.

Now I've heard that they're so strict that they'll give you a 30-day supply. Period. If the 30th day is Friday, well, too bad. You can get more on Monday.

[Shooby]

  People want to medicate themselves from life.  That is very sad.  There is a lot of mental, spiritual and emotional anguish.

[zibazinski]

I'd like to be able to sometimes but not to the extent of being an addict.

[Phoenix84]

Mar 7, 2017 14:59:57 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Mar 7, 2017 14:52:39 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I've read heroin usage is exploding thanks to the over prescribing and then massive pull back on prescription drugs.   Heroin is an opioid and it was created in hopes that it would be a less addictive pain killer than morphine at the time.  

We let doctors prescribe these pills like candy, then when we realized that was a bad idea we instituted hefty regulations to prevent over use.   The unintended consequence is this left a lot of people addicted and in pain.  Without being able to get a legal source of opiates as easily they are turning to the illegal ones.

The other unintended consequence is that doctors (particularly surgeon) are so afraid of prescribing to addicts that once patients are released from the hospital after hip replacement, they are expected to get by with tylenol.

This happened on one of my hip groups yesterday.  

Do the surgeons take into account who has a history of drug abuse?  Or just have a reluctance to prescribe any kind of pain killer?

[swamp]

Mar 8, 2017 8:33:43 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I'd like to be able to sometimes but not to the extent of being an addict.

And that's the kicker.  Nobody tries it with the intention of becoming an addict.