Have you had anyone close to you succumb to an opioid addiction? I have. My Dad. 100% legal addiction. His doctor is now in jail for over-prescribing. These people are very sick and need help.
Not sure if it's changed or if it varies between hospitals or even doctors, but my biggest frustration is that they don't work with the families to come up with a plan of decreasing the narcotics, that's not part of "healthcare." "Healthcare" is just about making the patient feel comfortable whenever the patient expresses discomfort...addiction does not exist to many of these folks; at least not from a business perspective. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
I'm sorry RIP, terrible. You are not alone, my mom was an alcoholic and I had numerous aunts and uncles from both sides that were afflicted by that terrible disease. I flirted with low dosage opioids related to a back issue but also a desire to take them recreationaly. Fortunately I recognized some Monkey weight on my back and left it alone. This was before the fentanyl and all the other insane mixes of the current time. (Thankfully). I would not touch it now with a 10' pole. Way to much nasty outlaw stuff out there that will kill you dead, quick.
I heard on NPR that the latest stats indicate that up to 100,000 people pass from Opioid use now. It's a STAGGERING statistic. I bet since the start of the crises the toll is well over 1 million, in the USA alone. Sad stuff.
It's also why I don't use pain killers. I'll have them for the surgery but after that I'm off of them. Only had one surgery, gall bladder removal, but back pain is just going to have to hurt because no way I'm going on anything stronger than Advil. I've had the talk with my 19 year old, to leave everything alone. If he's at a party, grab a beer and twist the lid off himself. Never drink from an open cup, because do you really know if the cups have any fentanyl residue or really any drug residue? This isn't 1983.
Had a double hernia operation last year due to over lifting while helping some of my giys down in my warehouse. One of the hernias reoccured this year. Both times they just sent me home with opioids. Never asked about pain tolerance etc. (Mine is quite high and I never opened either bottle.) My wife had an accident and needed wrist surgery. The nurses basically told her that she will have to take one before the nerve block wears off or the pain won't be controllable. They literally scared her into taking it before she felt any pain. She took the one but never felt bad enough to take another. For all these folks knew, my wife and I could have been compulsive types or low pain tolerance. This almost spoon feeding of drugs boggled my mind. What's crazy is that many folks we know seem shocked we didn't take them. "I could have never got through my surgery without them" was a common response. How do they even know that? The Drs have them drugged up before the pain even starts. It's criminal. So sorry @RIP!
I get kidney stones, good sized ones. I WILL take them when those suckers start going down the tubes. Painful right there. As in white out AGONY!
Sad thing is about 15 years in the hospital some knuckle head came up with the idea to make pain level the “5th vital sign” Idea was patients weren’t having their pain treated enough. If I recall right it was some Gov mandate. Quickly some patients caught on and were demanding more and more pain meds or they would report you to admin.