Opioid Crisis in OK; Who’s to Blame?

[Fredkrueger100]

It is undeniably sad to learn of people becoming addicted, and even dying due to an overdose of these drugs. Who you think the responsibility falls on for this? The Big Pharmaceutical Companies, The Doctors who prescribed the drugs, Or the the individual who was prescribed them? Maybe there is another factor here?


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As a recovering addict to this substance I have first hand experience. When I first became addicted it was 100% on me. Some of it was being naive and thinking “I won’t get addicted to this stuff”. Boy was that a stupid way of thinking. Once I was a full blown addict this Christian man had one thing on his mind everyday, where to get more drugs. So after hundreds of ER visits, doctors visits, and many self inflicted injuries I finally reached the bottom. I had nowhere else to go. So I prayed to God for help and started looking for a way out. Thankfully I found a doctor that prescribed suboxone which is itself an opioid used to treat addiction. This medicine has changed my life. And my two cousins’ lives. But it was a long and terrible journey to get to where I am today. Along my drug addicted journey I found a few doctors that knew I was an addict but they didn’t care. They over prescribed me pills. I was taking over 30 Percocet’s a day when I was at my peak! Just think about that for a minute. I am very blessed to have not died of an overdose myself. A couple times I thought I was going to die. I have never experienced that feeling before and I hope I never do again. Sadly there are many doctors around this country and state that just don’t care. All they are concerned with is making money. These doctors deserve to lose their license and to go to prison. But I believe it is almost 100% on the individual. But sometimes doctors overprescribe from the get go. And most of these doctors once the person is an addict don’t care. They’ll just kick them to the curb. I actually went to my PC doctor and told them. I was treated like a piece of trash. This terrible disease affects all walks of life. I am a Christian man with a family and I fell victim to this. I can’t believe I did some of the stuff I did. Stuff I would never have done if I weren’t an addict. I stole from my parents, aunt and uncle, sister, and cousin. My cousin and I were even going to break in to our pharmacy one night but thankfully I didn't. He was the getaway driver and I was the one that was going to break in. I was actually walking up to the door and was going to break it out with a hammer in my bag but right as I got to the door a man walked by and I got scared so I didn’t do it. I truly believe that was God intervening to help me not make that mistake that could have very well ruined the entire rest of my life. I would have never in a million years even thought about doing something like that. But being an addict makes people do very ignorant things. That addiction owns you. You do what it tells you. Most people that have never been an addict have no idea and can’t relate or sympathize with someone that is addicted. My dad came unglued when I broke down and told him and my mom. He didn’t understand how I could “let” myself get that way. Thankfully my mom had sympathy for me and told my dad to shut up and that I needed help. I have been sober since 2011. Since then I have gotten the best job I have ever had, started living as a Christian again, became a good husband, and father and a son to my parents. I have built my credit back up and now own my dream home. It is possible to come out of the gutter. But I couldn’t have done it without help form my God and my family. For them I eternally grateful.

 

[Aries]

I am very glad that you have been able to find the strength and help to break the addiction cycle. I hope you can continue to stay clean and live a life free of that slavery. Thanks for sharing your story!

 

[Timmy59]

Blame ! It's not my fault, it's somebody elses fault.. Blame and excuses.. @Aries , the look on that child's face is priceless and would fit a number of threads we read..

 

[rc508pir]

Sorry, but no. When people take the prescribed amount they can become addicted. This isn't them just going "Oh, I'll take a few more than they say, it won't hurt anything". Plus, most people put their trust in the doc. My wife and I found this out the hard way. Her first doctor was a pill pushing asshat. My wife is obese due to bad decisions in the past (including her ex husband before me). 8 years ago we started really pushing to bring her weight down. She shed 75 lbs over 2 years. Then she got a cyst and went to this doctor on a recommendation. Found out she was type II (no real surprise there as it runs in her family). Well this guy put her on all these pills without explaining ANYTHING. One of them even said if you were over 45 consult your doc and if you are of Japanese descent do not take. She is half Japanese. The doc was like "Oh its fine, just take it". Six months later all 75 lbs came roaring back. Two of the pills she was taking caused weight gain, one caused balance issues, and the one that said don't take if your Japanese, it robbed her of her strength.

So no, this is not 100% on the individual and is why there are several large lawsuits going around. People were being misled by the docs who were getting perks to push these drugs.

Sounds like you have a terrible doc.
But not quite the same since, at least, most people know that opioid pain killers are addictive

 

[Tanis143]

Yes, its known they can be addictive. However, people have become addicted by following the prescribed amount. That is the problem. As it was said, some people are more prone to addiction than others. I won't say its all the doc's and pharma's fault, but its not 100% on the user. That is point I was making. The conflict here is many of you are thinking it has to be 100% one way or the other, it's not. There are dirtbag doctors out there who will push x drug because they get kickbacks under the table. There are people who make bad choices, some informed and some not so. I knew a guy who got addicted because his pain was so high he ended up taking them faster than he should. That was on him, yes. And he admits it. But you have no idea the pain he was in. He has since recovered, thankfully.

And this is another example of our political atmosphere. Stop looking at absolutes, and please stop reading to argue. I never said it was all on the doctors, I said it wasn't 100% on the user.

 

[druryj]

( Caution: Graphic photo of injury)
Hi. My name is druryj and I’m an opioid addict. I take opioids every day for chronic pain and if were to suddenly stop, I would no doubt suffer some withdrawal symptoms. That means that I am addicted to them; that I am an addict.

But my doctor explained this me from the beginning and I have been taking opioids now for complex regional pain syndrome for like 10 years. I had an injury that just isn’t to going to just get better; it’s a thing I’ll deal with for the rest of my life. I ruptured my left Achilles’ tendon, and after 5 surgeries, two 1-week stays in the hospital with MRSA, pseudomonas, and 21 surgical debridements, I almost lost my foot. That might have been best actually. I now have permanent damage to the nerves in my lower leg and foot that is not going to heal. It hurts, bad, all the damn time.

I do not take the drugs to get high. I take the drugs for break through pain relief. It is nowhere near 100 %, but it knocks the sharp edge off a little so I can more or less function normally. Like walk even. I also use CBD lotion, I get it from the pain clinic I go to. It has 1,000 mg of CBD per 4 oz bottle, which I understood is pretty strong. It actually helps, but it’s pretty short lived.


I realized from the start that I need to be careful with this stuff; take them as prescribed, dont swig booze with opioids, and don’t do stupid crap like snort the pills up my nose. Usually, I get by with 1 pill per day, but I sometimes wimp out and go ahead and take a second one in the evening. I get 60 pills in a bottle for a 30 day period. That’s it.

Maybe I’ll say to hell with it, and take them all before it’s time to get a new prescription filed, say I just wanna get a buzz, you know? So if I take a bunch of them and I OD, but they pull me back from death at the ER, who is a good lawyer that I can get to sue the the manufacturer, the doctor and the pharmacist for me almost dying? I mean, how can that be my fault?


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[Aries]

Blame ! It's not my fault, it's somebody elses fault.. Blame and excuses.. @Aries , the look on that child's face is priceless and would fit a number of threads we read..

I know, right?? LOL! That's why I picked him. I love that kid!

 

[druryj]

As a recovering addict to this substance I have first hand experience. When I first became addicted it was 100% on me. Some of it was being naive and thinking “I won’t get addicted to this stuff”. Boy was that a stupid way of thinking. Once I was a full blown addict this Christian man had one thing on his mind everyday, where to get more drugs. So after hundreds of ER visits, doctors visits, and many self inflicted injuries I finally reached the bottom. I had nowhere else to go. So I prayed to God for help and started looking for a way out. Thankfully I found a doctor that prescribed suboxone which is itself an opioid used to treat addiction. This medicine has changed my life. And my two cousins’ lives. But it was a long and terrible journey to get to where I am today. Along my drug addicted journey I found a few doctors that knew I was an addict but they didn’t care. They over prescribed me pills. I was taking over 30 Percocet’s a day when I was at my peak! Just think about that for a minute. I am very blessed to have not died of an overdose myself. A couple times I thought I was going to die. I have never experienced that feeling before and I hope I never do again. Sadly there are many doctors around this country and state that just don’t care. All they are concerned with is making money. These doctors deserve to lose their license and to go to prison. But I believe it is almost 100% on the individual. But sometimes doctors overprescribe from the get go. And most of these doctors once the person is an addict don’t care. They’ll just kick them to the curb. I actually went to my PC doctor and told them. I was treated like a piece of trash. This terrible disease affects all walks of life. I am a Christian man with a family and I fell victim to this. I can’t believe I did some of the stuff I did. Stuff I would never have done if I weren’t an addict. I stole from my parents, aunt and uncle, sister, and cousin. My cousin and I were even going to break in to our pharmacy one night but thankfully I didn't. He was the getaway driver and I was the one that was going to break in. I was actually walking up to the door and was going to break it out with a hammer in my bag but right as I got to the door a man walked by and I got scared so I didn’t do it. I truly believe that was God intervening to help me not make that mistake that could have very well ruined the entire rest of my life. I would have never in a million years even thought about doing something like that. But being an addict makes people do very ignorant things. That addiction owns you. You do what it tells you. Most people that have never been an addict have no idea and can’t relate or sympathize with someone that is addicted. My dad came unglued when I broke down and told him and my mom. He didn’t understand how I could “let” myself get that way. Thankfully my mom had sympathy for me and told my dad to shut up and that I needed help. I have been sober since 2011. Since then I have gotten the best job I have ever had, started living as a Christian again, became a good husband, and father and a son to my parents. I have built my credit back up and now own my dream home. It is possible to come out of the gutter. But I couldn’t have done it without help form my God and my family. For them I eternally grateful.

Kudos to you Tony. It takes a strong person to do that. You should be proud. I’m happy to hear your story.


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[CHenry]

( Caution: Graphic photo of injury)
Hi. My name is druryj and I’m an opioid addict. I take opioids every day for chronic pain and if were to suddenly stop, I would no doubt suffer some withdrawal symptoms. That means that I am addicted to them; that I am an addict.

The fact that you would withdrawal does not mean your an addict. However the fact that you can keep your usage in strict check means you are absolutely NOT an addict. Lucky you don't have that certain brain thing that all addicts have. 1 in 10 people will become addicted to something in their life because they have a different chemical makeup (for lack of knowing better what to call it) in the brain. I do not have a addictive side but after this last knee surgery, the Dr. gave me a bottle of 85 oxycodone and I never took even one. I was afraid of getting plugged up because I now where a colostomy bag and getting constipated will land me in the ER so I simply tried to manage with 800mg ibuprofen and that worked fine for about 4 days then I backed off that a little more each day as well.
Im sorry to hear your in such pain though, that sucks.

 

[Timmy59]

The fact that you would withdrawal does not mean your an addict. However the fact that you can keep your usage in strict check means you are absolutely NOT an addict. Lucky you don't have that certain brain thing that all addicts have. 1 in 10 people will become addicted to something in their life because they have a different chemical makeup (for lack of knowing better what to call it) in the brain. I do not have a addictive side but after this last knee surgery, the Dr. gave me a bottle of 85 oxycodone and I never took even one. I was afraid of getting plugged up because I now where a colostomy bag and getting constipated will land me in the ER so I simply tried to manage with 8000mg ibuprofen and that worked fine for about 4 days then I backed off that a little more each day as well.
Im sorry to hear your in such pain though, that sucks.

I'll 2nd this motion.. And add that looks to be good reason for a codeine.. I'll guess and say "most" do NOT have such a reason..