This topic always gets me so upset because I've been battling chronic pain for over five years without any sustained relief. The new opioid medication regulations that began in October of this year are in my opinion, wrong-headed and counterproductive. They punish chronic pain sufferers like us, who have done nothing wrong, unless you're one of those people that think pain is a character-builder, or God's plan for you.
Moreover, I predict that it will do little to reduce drug overdoses for people who abuse Rx drugs, and here's an example of why I saw that: my nephew, who has a long history of abusing drugs like OxyContin, overdosed on heroin this past Tuesday. Fortunately a first responder administered Narcan, which revived him and probably saved his life. For now.
I think it's likely that he wouldn't have turned to heroin if controlled dose Rx drugs had been available to him. Here is an in-depth article that discusses this issue. (From the Atlantic under Features if my link doesn't make the cut): http://www.theatlantic.com/features/...idemic/382020/
The money quote:
My nephew has been through numerous drug rehab programs over the years, and yet here we are again. There's really no reason to believe at this point that another stint of "treatment" with a devastating price tag is going to change his behavior. But in lieu of any other options, we will again cough up the $$$ to the "recovery" industry that has a failure rate so abysmal that if it were a new drug, would never even be considered for Phase I. But one thing that will be different for this round is that the next time he relapses, there's a really good chance that he will choose a street drug that will kill him.
Meanwhile, those of us who suffer not just day by day, but hour by hour, will go untreated. I see no good news for anyone here.
Moreover, I predict that it will do little to reduce drug overdoses for people who abuse Rx drugs, and here's an example of why I saw that: my nephew, who has a long history of abusing drugs like OxyContin, overdosed on heroin this past Tuesday. Fortunately a first responder administered Narcan, which revived him and probably saved his life. For now.
I think it's likely that he wouldn't have turned to heroin if controlled dose Rx drugs had been available to him. Here is an in-depth article that discusses this issue. (From the Atlantic under Features if my link doesn't make the cut): http://www.theatlantic.com/features/...idemic/382020/
The money quote:
The crackdown on doctors might have stanched the flow of prescription pills, but it did so with a deadly externality: West Virginians have turned to heroin—a cheaper and, frequently, more accessible high. Law enforcement officials here told me that heroin is now their “number-one problem.”
My nephew has been through numerous drug rehab programs over the years, and yet here we are again. There's really no reason to believe at this point that another stint of "treatment" with a devastating price tag is going to change his behavior. But in lieu of any other options, we will again cough up the $$$ to the "recovery" industry that has a failure rate so abysmal that if it were a new drug, would never even be considered for Phase I. But one thing that will be different for this round is that the next time he relapses, there's a really good chance that he will choose a street drug that will kill him.
Meanwhile, those of us who suffer not just day by day, but hour by hour, will go untreated. I see no good news for anyone here.
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