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The media has lied about opiods. Most people who take opiods do not get addicted. And most people who are addicted did not start with a legitimate prescriptio

by Gunax 5y ago

The media has lied about opiods. Most people who take opiods do not get addicted. And most people who are addicted did not start with a legitimate prescription--they started using it as an illicit drug.

rcurry 5y ago
What was really strange about the whole Opiod Crisis thing was this weird narrative that was being pushed for a while with all sorts of people claiming that Ibuprofen was just as good as Hydrocodone. I’ve gotten pretty badly messed up a few times, whether a bad landing skydiving or some guy ripping my knee up in jiu jitsu, and I’m sorry but no - Ibuprofen is nowhere near as good for pain relief as opioids are.
s5300 5y ago
A significant amount of addictions came from those who were overprescribed and instructed to take, by their doctors (who were instructed and given bogus studies by the Pharma reps) after surgeries, which led to chemical dependence and addiction. Perhaps you could like, read before you post incorrect statements, or so that your attempts at trolling won't be so easily shot down.
- rcurry 5y ago
  One of the things I enjoy about HN is the fact that we try to steer away from personal attacks. It’s one of the last places on the net where I enjoy taking part in conversations, because even people who disagree completely with me make an effort to keep their arguments civil. Please help us keep it that way.
- Gunax 5y ago
  Yes, there are thousands of people who got addicted without any history of co-morbidity of addiction. But as a portion of people who were prescribed, they are small. Remember we are talking about a drug that had 245 million prescriptions in the US in 2014. Also, 30% of Americans are living with chronic pain. [2] If anything, we may be under-prescribing these drugs. 1. The narrative is that some poor guy took pain meds for a legitimate reason then ended up addicted. While this does occur, it's actually not very common. > Among people who are prescribed opioids, addiction is relatively uncommon. The percentage of patients who become addicted after taking opioids for chronic pain is measured in the single digits; studies show an incidence from less than 1 percent to 8 percent. Most of the estimates are skewed toward the low end of this range, when those at risk (due to a history of substance abuse or, to a lesser but meaningful extent, a concurrent mental illness) are removed from the sample. 2. Most addicts had a history of drug abuse. > People who abuse pills are rarely new to drugs. The federal government’s 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, for example, revealed that more than three-fourths of misusers had used non-prescribed benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax, or inhalants. A study of Oxycontin users in treatment found that they “were not naive individuals with accidental addictions who were introduced to painkillers by their physicians as reported by the media … [Instead they had] extensive drug use histories.” It's hard to bring this up without straying into classism or victim blaming. The reality is that most people without comorbidities and abuse history are quite safe, and these are drugs we need. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/what-america-got-wrong-about-opioid-crisis/595090/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/what-ameri... [2] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 My claims are actually backed by published research (cited within the Atlantic article if you want to check)... Maybe you could like read before you get shot down.
amznthrwaway 5y ago
Nobody claims that “most people” get addicted; but it’s something in the neighborhood of 10-25%, which is a fucking LOT. But I get that for whatever reason you want to pretend that opiods aren’t risky, and that you’re not interested in or capable of rational or honest discussion.
kuraudo 5y ago
Anecdotal, but I had a dear and close friend who started with a totally innocent prescription who is no longer with me due to abuse. He wouldn't even touch marijuana prior; I would like to see the data of how common this is; I suspect it is more likely than you are implying.
- Gunax 5y ago
  When I looked at this a year ago, I ran across this article which I saved: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 > Although published estimates of iatrogenic addiction vary substantially from less than 1% to more than 26% of cases, part of this variability is due to confusion in definition. Rates of carefully diagnosed addiction have averaged less than 8% in published studies, whereas rates of misuse, abuse, and addiction-related aberrant behaviors have ranged from 15 to 26%. A small (estimated at 4%) but growing percentage of persons who are addicted to prescription opioids transition to heroin In short, people who have no history of addiction (and to a lesser extent comorbid mental illness) are unlikely to become addicted, but of course even a small chance is still worth considering. The media isn't lying about the individual cases they mention. Yes, there are thousands of people like your friend. But I also think they built a narrative about these drugs being extremely addictive when the truth is much more subtle.

by Gunax 5y ago

rcurry 5y ago

What was really strange about the whole Opiod Crisis thing was this weird narrative that was being pushed for a while with all sorts of people claiming that Ibuprofen was just as good as Hydrocodone. I’ve gotten pretty badly messed up a few times, whether a bad landing skydiving or some guy ripping my knee up in jiu jitsu, and I’m sorry but no - Ibuprofen is nowhere near as good for pain relief as opioids are.

s5300 5y ago

A significant amount of addictions came from those who were overprescribed and instructed to take, by their doctors (who were instructed and given bogus studies by the Pharma reps) after surgeries, which led to chemical dependence and addiction. Perhaps you could like, read before you post incorrect statements, or so that your attempts at trolling won't be so easily shot down.

rcurry 5y ago
One of the things I enjoy about HN is the fact that we try to steer away from personal attacks. It’s one of the last places on the net where I enjoy taking part in conversations, because even people who disagree completely with me make an effort to keep their arguments civil. Please help us keep it that way.
Gunax 5y ago
Yes, there are thousands of people who got addicted without any history of co-morbidity of addiction. But as a portion of people who were prescribed, they are small. Remember we are talking about a drug that had 245 million prescriptions in the US in 2014. Also, 30% of Americans are living with chronic pain. [2] If anything, we may be under-prescribing these drugs. 1. The narrative is that some poor guy took pain meds for a legitimate reason then ended up addicted. While this does occur, it's actually not very common. > Among people who are prescribed opioids, addiction is relatively uncommon. The percentage of patients who become addicted after taking opioids for chronic pain is measured in the single digits; studies show an incidence from less than 1 percent to 8 percent. Most of the estimates are skewed toward the low end of this range, when those at risk (due to a history of substance abuse or, to a lesser but meaningful extent, a concurrent mental illness) are removed from the sample. 2. Most addicts had a history of drug abuse. > People who abuse pills are rarely new to drugs. The federal government’s 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, for example, revealed that more than three-fourths of misusers had used non-prescribed benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax, or inhalants. A study of Oxycontin users in treatment found that they “were not naive individuals with accidental addictions who were introduced to painkillers by their physicians as reported by the media … [Instead they had] extensive drug use histories.” It's hard to bring this up without straying into classism or victim blaming. The reality is that most people without comorbidities and abuse history are quite safe, and these are drugs we need. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/what-america-got-wrong-about-opioid-crisis/595090/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/what-ameri... [2] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 My claims are actually backed by published research (cited within the Atlantic article if you want to check)... Maybe you could like read before you get shot down.

amznthrwaway 5y ago

Nobody claims that “most people” get addicted; but it’s something in the neighborhood of 10-25%, which is a fucking LOT. But I get that for whatever reason you want to pretend that opiods aren’t risky, and that you’re not interested in or capable of rational or honest discussion.

kuraudo 5y ago

Anecdotal, but I had a dear and close friend who started with a totally innocent prescription who is no longer with me due to abuse. He wouldn't even touch marijuana prior; I would like to see the data of how common this is; I suspect it is more likely than you are implying.

Gunax 5y ago
When I looked at this a year ago, I ran across this article which I saved: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1507771 > Although published estimates of iatrogenic addiction vary substantially from less than 1% to more than 26% of cases, part of this variability is due to confusion in definition. Rates of carefully diagnosed addiction have averaged less than 8% in published studies, whereas rates of misuse, abuse, and addiction-related aberrant behaviors have ranged from 15 to 26%. A small (estimated at 4%) but growing percentage of persons who are addicted to prescription opioids transition to heroin In short, people who have no history of addiction (and to a lesser extent comorbid mental illness) are unlikely to become addicted, but of course even a small chance is still worth considering. The media isn't lying about the individual cases they mention. Yes, there are thousands of people like your friend. But I also think they built a narrative about these drugs being extremely addictive when the truth is much more subtle.