Poll Is opioid the new Prohibition?

[Not dead yet!]

I haven't taken an opiate for a couple of years, but honestly the reason is that I feel shamed by the paperwork, and the forced urinalysis. I suspect that the pain center I went to faked the records anyway. I think the doctors thought the records were real, but the people in charge of testing were 100% uninterested in it when I told them I was on a diet drug and it was an amphetamine. They looked at me like, "Who cares?"

Other things convinced me that the staff were not actually testing. Several times they accidentally lost the sample, especially if it was a moment when the doctor was really interested in it. The doctor took it all very seriously. I think there's already an internal rebellion.

With the paperwork, when you start putting into a contract that "We will call the police" (if you can't prove you took the drugs or do anything suspicious).... you've destroyed both patient confidentiality and trust.

Another reason I haven't gone back is, they forced me to take too many pills. I was supposed to take three pills a day. I usually took three pills about every 3 days. I would stop the pain, then when the pain returned I'd stop the pain again. I didn't get hooked that way, and I wasn't constantly dizzy. They insisted I take 90 pills a month instead of my usual 15-30. Or the urinalysis wouldn't be showing it, they said.

Good to know my health comes first.

In my opinion we're living in Opiate Prohibition and the reason for the opiate overdose deaths is that people are getting illicit drugs for their real pain problems. Drug pushers don't ask you to sign contracts or pee in a cup. That's what happening I think.

Or am I too cynical?

I obviously have my own view. But I tried to make the Poll answers reflect other opinions. Please suggest other answers if you think I should update the options.

 

[jaminhealth]

I've had 2 occasions in my life to take Oxy and one was hip replacement which turned out to be a disaster and the other time when a knee infection hit my right knee and talk a 4.5 month Mess, and there I took some Oxy.

They are a disaster and I could not wait to get off them, the side effects, omg.

I take low dose pain stuff every 6 hrs and some supps for pain and learn to live with what I deal with.

Opiods increase pain receptoss. No no no.

 

[Not dead yet!]

I've had 2 occasions in my life to take Oxy and one was hip replacement which turned out to be a disaster and the other time when a knee infection hit my right knee and talk a 4.5 month Mess, and there I took some Oxy.

They are a disaster and I could not wait to get off them, the side effects, omg.

I take low dose pain stuff every 6 hrs and some supps for pain and learn to live with what I deal with.

Opiods increase pain receptoss. No no no.

Hi Jaminhealth,

Yeah some of the pain drugs have that effect on me. Others don't. Being "a redhead" I have strange reactions to pain drugs and often they don't have the right or expected effect. More science is needed for why some people have paradoxical reactions to pain drugs. They should've changed your prescription if it was making you feel worse.

But when an elderly family member of mine was on fentanyl and it was making her psycho, I had to step in and argue with her doctor because they just ignored her and kept increasing the dose, which made her more psycho. It was a fiasco, and basically because the doc wouldn't believe her that it was the wrong drug for her and switch her to something else. Everyone was so patronizing and belittling to her it was infuriating.

In my case, I was able to discover which pain drugs work for me and which don't, or which I have bad reactions to, so if I'm in a car accident or something I can say what will help. But sometimes the elderly are ignored and not given that chance.

I ended up choosing to live with the pain because the contracts now are so absurd. But as a person who lives with daily chronic pain, I'm wondering how long I can hold out. One injury could spell the end of the delicate balance I'm in. It's scary.

 

[jaminhealth]

What I do keeps me mobile at 83 and I've accepted that. Will NOT put those strong opiods in my body and when I took them for what I said above, they didn't do that much more painwise, lots of side effects and so MANY of the world learns to live in some pain, there are supplements that do HELP calm some pain and I use a couple.

 

[Likaloha]

I was doing well with pain meds with close supervision by my rheumatologist/pain do . Since losing him to the "pain police", I have been unable to find any other doc who is willing to really help me. I realize some people do not want opioids, but I tried everything else, and for no relief! My life is LESS with no pain relief and as I have my pain conditions ( fibro, osteoarthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, Myofascial pain syndrome, neck and back disc degeneration and a cervical disc pressing on my spinal cord, etc) will get worse as I age. My CFS/ME is getting worse as my pain worsens. I realize that I am a complicated patient, but all I see is decreasing ability to access what helps me!

 

[Ughhh]

Doctors were overprescribing by giving people regular large amounts of opiates but they’ve overcorrected in the opposite direction. It’s like they can’t figure out how to operate in the gray area. Pets now also aren’t given opiate medications for pain they will sometimes give them Suboxone a partial opiate and often gabapentin which as far as I know isn’t for acute pain.

 

[Cliff_55]

Well, as a young 65 yr old, but troubled with both DJD (OA), Rheumatoid Arthritis with organ involvement, Fibromyalgia, hypothyroid along with diabetes I have never used tylenol, but would always use hydrocodone or oxycodone as they could reduce the pain of a severe RA flare.
Picking up a (pre-approved months supply of low dose oxy) I was surprised to now need to have my drivers license to be scanned. Usually the maximum is seven (7) days.
Although have known folks who have passed due to overdoses, my 31 year old son knows more, intimately, either friends in high school, sports, or other social activities.
Society has changed and unfortunately nobody is to blame, except somebody you can sue and make money off of. While the real folks who dearly need pain relief are left out..........and may find a less expensive option which is not necessarily legal, nor with the benefits of quality control.