4 ms·

A perfect storm of prescription opioids, government prohibition and cheap/plentiful Chinese and Mexican fentanyl.

maxheadroom 7y ago
>A perfect storm of prescription opioids, government prohibition, and cheap/plentiful Chinese and Mexican fentanyl. I think it's actually the fact that the war on opioids has translated into a war on prescription pain drugs, in general. So, when you're a chronic pain sufferer and have gone without and you get ahold of something - anything - to remediate the pain, you're far more likely to take a little extra just to get the pain to STFU for a while so you can do things like sleep through the night for the first time in seemingly forever. I've heard tales of American veterans (through the VA) being referred to things like yoga to manage their chronic pain, when it's entirely due to neurological damage and things like yoga will do fuck-all to help with that. Is it any wonder then that people might be more liable to OD when they obtain something to try to manage the pain that otherwise never ceases? I'd say it is a fundamental issue in American society (the war on opioids translating into no pain management medications whatsoever) with callous indifference - rather than anything else.
- maxerickson 7y ago
  I used self guided physical therapy to improve a chronic nerve pain issue. I'm glad I had very moderate pain and a moderate accompanying physical issue, and I wouldn't want it to be the only option in a more severe situation, but it's not useless either.
- pkaye 7y ago
  I think it is also the lack of sick leave for many Americans so they take a quick pill to recover. Sometimes your body can recover by itself if only given time and physical therapy. I had some excruciating peroneal tendonitis that made it hard for me to walk on rough surfaces. Foot doctor said the best treatment was a walking cast, rest and daily exercise. Fortunately my employer allows me to work from home as needed so I could give my foot a rest for a few weeks. But not everyone has access to that. Imagine if you are a server at a restaurant on your foot all day.
debt 7y ago
Simple economics: expensive legal prescription drugs drives people to source cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately, the cheaper alternative is also much more lethal. I think there's a narrative that is the opioid crisis is driven by addiction, when it seems to be, and has historically has been, inefficient drug pricing.
- a_tractor 7y ago
  The addiction narrative is there because opiates are well known for being highly addictive. People who are prescribed opiates for an injury suddenly find themselves without a supply once the prescription runs out and recovery is complete. They literally leave the health care system addicted to opiates, and without a prescription, there is no amount of money that will allow them to an opiate based drug from any legitimate, regulated source. Their only option from that point on is to turn to the streets in the pursuit of illicit and dangerous substitutes. Inefficient drug pricing has nothing to do with the not-so-uncommon story of the successful father of 3 who was a partner at a lawfirm who got prescribed Oxycontin when hurt his knee running a marathon and ended up living on the streets addicted to heroin. As if this problem is by any means limited to poor people.

>A perfect storm of prescription opioids, government prohibition, and cheap/plentiful Chinese and Mexican fentanyl. I think it's actually the fact that the war on opioids has translated into a war on prescription pain drugs, in general. So, when you're a chronic pain sufferer and have gone without and you get ahold of something - anything - to remediate the pain, you're far more likely to take a little extra just to get the pain to STFU for a while so you can do things like sleep through the night for the first time in seemingly forever. I've heard tales of American veterans (through the VA) being referred to things like yoga to manage their chronic pain, when it's entirely due to neurological damage and things like yoga will do fuck-all to help with that. Is it any wonder then that people might be more liable to OD when they obtain something to try to manage the pain that otherwise never ceases? I'd say it is a fundamental issue in American society (the war on opioids translating into no pain management medications whatsoever) with callous indifference - rather than anything else.

maxerickson 7y ago
I used self guided physical therapy to improve a chronic nerve pain issue. I'm glad I had very moderate pain and a moderate accompanying physical issue, and I wouldn't want it to be the only option in a more severe situation, but it's not useless either.
pkaye 7y ago
I think it is also the lack of sick leave for many Americans so they take a quick pill to recover. Sometimes your body can recover by itself if only given time and physical therapy. I had some excruciating peroneal tendonitis that made it hard for me to walk on rough surfaces. Foot doctor said the best treatment was a walking cast, rest and daily exercise. Fortunately my employer allows me to work from home as needed so I could give my foot a rest for a few weeks. But not everyone has access to that. Imagine if you are a server at a restaurant on your foot all day.

debt 7y ago

Simple economics: expensive legal prescription drugs drives people to source cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately, the cheaper alternative is also much more lethal. I think there's a narrative that is the opioid crisis is driven by addiction, when it seems to be, and has historically has been, inefficient drug pricing.

a_tractor 7y ago
The addiction narrative is there because opiates are well known for being highly addictive. People who are prescribed opiates for an injury suddenly find themselves without a supply once the prescription runs out and recovery is complete. They literally leave the health care system addicted to opiates, and without a prescription, there is no amount of money that will allow them to an opiate based drug from any legitimate, regulated source. Their only option from that point on is to turn to the streets in the pursuit of illicit and dangerous substitutes. Inefficient drug pricing has nothing to do with the not-so-uncommon story of the successful father of 3 who was a partner at a lawfirm who got prescribed Oxycontin when hurt his knee running a marathon and ended up living on the streets addicted to heroin. As if this problem is by any means limited to poor people.