Are you part of the Opioid Crisis? My family is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have my sympathy. I agree addiction can happen to anyone.

I’m a bit frustrated that our government and society can move now with haste and compassion to reform our legal and health systems when crack ravaged my community for years and all we got was militarized policing and mandatory sentencing laws.

Can I also add, this isn't a "white" problem, although my post makes the point that rich white people can suffer from it too. My husband's treatment group is filled with people of all races.

Hmm this is predominantly a white issue , nice deflection there . But then again it's possible that your anecdotal experience regarding the racial composition of the majority of junkies supersedes government backed data

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ditto for alcoholism. We are surrounded by functional alcoholics. Most of us don't realize it until a loved one has the issue and it impacts your life.

Stay on topic , thanks in advance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side my parent needs a low dose to leave her bed every day. She can only get a 30 day supply and is treated like a criminal every time she goes to the pain clinic. There are no surgeries for her condition and she's tried everything. She's not an addict and never takes more than her low dose. When she runs out, she just cries in bed and is unable to move. We've had to carry her to doctors appointments. The lack of availability of Percocet has limited her life. She has to schedule vacations in between her doctors appointments and often misses holidays and birthdays because she can't travel close to her refill dates. She would like to move closer to her granchildren but can't because she can't find a doctor. She carries her MRI results with her in case of emergency.

I'm worried what happens when Percocet is banned

My dad and I worry that if Percocet is banned that she would turn to the black market or heroin. She's so crippled physically in pain daily. I think this is why a lot of people turn to heroin.

I am sorry for her pain. Still it sounds like she needs to find a new doctor. The doctor shouldn’t treat her like a criminal if s/he properly understands and is treating the condition. In a nut shell, she shouldn’t be running out. The refill/follow up would be scheduled on day 29, so that on day 31 she begins the script.

[Anonymous]

My branch of the family is the only one that escaped it, because my father moved us to D.C. for a federal job. Every single one of my cousins in Western PA has OD'd or been arrested for heroin.

I remember my mother was scandalized when my aunt told us her teen daughter (my cousin) was pregnant and didn't know who the father was - for my mother that probably sounded like her worst nightmare.
My aunt said 'I'm always waiting for the call telling me she has OD'd again - this is happy news, maybe it will force her to recover!'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am actually glad that this current crisis is listed as a "health" crisis and not a "criminal" one. A decade ago, if someone was on crack or an opiates, they would label them a criminal and throw them in jail. So the new tone is a good thing. Now I know the demographic reason why that tone changed, but I am still hopeful that this will be the tone of the discussion moving forward.

Yes, that's one of the positive things about our societal change away from criminalizing and/or neglecting the fringe populations. You can see it in how schools approach special education (good), how governments implement regulations on wheelchair access (good), even in the pet industry, how dogs and cats are elevated to human status when they weren't before (expensive surgeries, Halloween costumes, etc). I would say the one negative aspect is how parents treat their kids like special snowflakes

I'm not sure how dogs and cats elevated to human status is a net positive for society . Please explain , I'm listening

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine, too. My brother became addicted to Percocet and Vicodin and then moved on to heroin. He's in recovery, but each day is an uphill battle.

We were raised in a loving, upper middle class family, went to the best schools and had every opportunity in life.

Keep up the cluelessness

???

I think what PP is saying is that these conditions aren't protections from addiction. Believing they are would be cluelessness. But it's also important to point out that this isn't any MORE of a problem now that it's a white person problem, too.

My brother is an addict, too. My grandparents were alcoholics, though neither of my parents are addicts and we were also raised in a loving, stable home. I recently learned my brother was molested as a preteen, and trauma plays a huge role in addiction even when there are other positive factors present. He experimented with drugs and alcohol very early, was in and out of rehab while still in high school. Our parents pursued therapy, private school, etc. and did not bury their heads in the sand about the issue. After high school he went back to rehab for cocaine addiction, actually did well with rehab and was sober for a while, then hurt his back while working construction and was prescribed you guessed it...Oxycodone. That was 15 years ago and it's been an endless cycle of apparent rock bottom, rehab, and periods of sobriety ever since. In between he's managed to get married and have kids, which adds to the chaos. I've distanced myself and my own family by moving away from my hometown where my parents and brother still live. I love them so much and wish we could be the family we were before all this happened, but recognize we never will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side my parent needs a low dose to leave her bed every day. She can only get a 30 day supply and is treated like a criminal every time she goes to the pain clinic. There are no surgeries for her condition and she's tried everything. She's not an addict and never takes more than her low dose. When she runs out, she just cries in bed and is unable to move. We've had to carry her to doctors appointments. The lack of availability of Percocet has limited her life. She has to schedule vacations in between her doctors appointments and often misses holidays and birthdays because she can't travel close to her refill dates. She would like to move closer to her granchildren but can't because she can't find a doctor. She carries her MRI results with her in case of emergency.

I'm worried what happens when Percocet is banned

My dad and I worry that if Percocet is banned that she would turn to the black market or heroin. She's so crippled physically in pain daily. I think this is why a lot of people turn to heroin.

I am sorry for her pain. Still it sounds like she needs to find a new doctor. The doctor shouldn’t treat her like a criminal if s/he properly understands and is treating the condition. In a nut shell, she shouldn’t be running out. The refill/follow up would be scheduled on day 29, so that on day 31 she begins the script.

Pp here. She can only get a refill every 30 days and she needs a doctors appointment before she can get a refill. If her day 30 is a Saturday, she will run out until a doctors appointment on Monday. Or sometimes there's a holiday. She tries to stretch the pills and skip so she can travel to see me. She knew she was running out near my births but didn't want to miss her grandsons births.

Also, traveling is hard on her body and she's in more pain when traveling. It would be so nice if it automatically refilled and she could transfer the refill to a pharmacy near me. She has a condition similar to RA plus 4 herniated discs in her back. She's perfectly normal on the pill, bed ridden without.

[Anonymous]

My cousin dropped out of med school as a heroin addict. No one had any idea until he OD'd. He apparently had been injured in a basketball game in college, was prescribed pain relievers, and got hooked. He made it through 1.5 years of med school, about 2 years from the initial prescription. His parents were floored. He'd always been their golden child. Last I heard he was in rehab and doing okay, but my aunt doesn't share much. Even if he recovers, it has totally derailed his life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is. He was an elite HS athlete with several offers to play his sport at a Division I school. He suffered a pretty bad injury that required surgery and got addicted to the pain pills afterwards and during his rehab. He still got into the university and no one even knew he had a problem until late in his first year there. Obtaining the pain pills illegally became too hard and expensive, so his dealer told him to try heroin, which was cheaper.

He was given a warning that academic probation would be enforced since he was missing and failing all of his classes, which meant his coach was alerted. When his coach tried to contact him for a week with no luck, he finally went to his dorm where my nephew's roommate told him that he'd had a family emergency and left town. The coach contacted my SIL & BIL, who were totally in the dark and confused. My nephew's web of lies started unraveling. It took them a trip to his university and filing a missing person's report to even find my nephew. He hadn't been seen in weeks at that point and his phone was off.

They took him straight to rehab, but he was using again within weeks of being released. They had to kick him out of the house because he was bringing in drugs and using them there with his younger siblings around. He stole from them and other family members and even got violent with some. My BIL sent a family-wide email that said, "in case you didn't know, ____ is a heroin addict who has relapsed after rehab and is in a bad place. He's started stealing and become violent. If he shows up at your house, do not let him in." I can't even imagine having to write something so heartbreaking about your kid.

He was in and out of rehab several more times. It wasn't until earlier this year when he OD'd that something clicked and he realized he really needed help. He's been clean for almost 6 months, which is his longest stretch yet and everyone is hopeful.

Wow. I wish him the best. So sorry your family is going through this.

Wow +1. Praying he will be one of the lucky ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side my parent needs a low dose to leave her bed every day. She can only get a 30 day supply and is treated like a criminal every time she goes to the pain clinic. There are no surgeries for her condition and she's tried everything. She's not an addict and never takes more than her low dose. When she runs out, she just cries in bed and is unable to move. We've had to carry her to doctors appointments. The lack of availability of Percocet has limited her life. She has to schedule vacations in between her doctors appointments and often misses holidays and birthdays because she can't travel close to her refill dates. She would like to move closer to her granchildren but can't because she can't find a doctor. She carries her MRI results with her in case of emergency.

I'm worried what happens when Percocet is banned

My dad and I worry that if Percocet is banned that she would turn to the black market or heroin. She's so crippled physically in pain daily. I think this is why a lot of people turn to heroin.

I am sorry for her pain. Still it sounds like she needs to find a new doctor. The doctor shouldn’t treat her like a criminal if s/he properly understands and is treating the condition. In a nut shell, she shouldn’t be running out. The refill/follow up would be scheduled on day 29, so that on day 31 she begins the script.

Pp here. She can only get a refill every 30 days and she needs a doctors appointment before she can get a refill. If her day 30 is a Saturday, she will run out until a doctors appointment on Monday. Or sometimes there's a holiday. She tries to stretch the pills and skip so she can travel to see me. She knew she was running out near my births but didn't want to miss her grandsons births.

Also, traveling is hard on her body and she's in more pain when traveling. It would be so nice if it automatically refilled and she could transfer the refill to a pharmacy near me. She has a condition similar to RA plus 4 herniated discs in her back. She's perfectly normal on the pill, bed ridden without.

I still believe her doctor is handling it incorrectly. My husband is on a highly controlled medication. He too has to be seen for a refill and it must be filled at one location, and after a blood test. The doctor can force authorize an early refill for travel, weekends, and holidays. It’s not easy, but it is necessary. Having any gap between refills can be traumatic, and in some instances deadly. I wish your mom well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My cousin dropped out of med school as a heroin addict. No one had any idea until he OD'd. He apparently had been injured in a basketball game in college, was prescribed pain relievers, and got hooked. He made it through 1.5 years of med school, about 2 years from the initial prescription. His parents were floored. He'd always been their golden child. Last I heard he was in rehab and doing okay, but my aunt doesn't share much. Even if he recovers, it has totally derailed his life.

This is shitty.

[Anonymous]

My daughter had a total colectomy for her ulcerative colitis 9 years ago (she was 13 at the time) I think before we (or I) knew how bad pain killers really were. She didn’t take much and even then coming off of them was hard for her. She’d sweat and shake and I am disappointed in myself that I ever let her take them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am actually glad that this current crisis is listed as a "health" crisis and not a "criminal" one. A decade ago, if someone was on crack or an opiates, they would label them a criminal and throw them in jail. So the new tone is a good thing. Now I know the demographic reason why that tone changed, but I am still hopeful that this will be the tone of the discussion moving forward.

Trust me, white people didn't get a free pass when it came to the "war on drugs." They were busting down doors in every community and handing out insane sentences to dealers. The inner city got much more attention by police because those areas quickly became a human shooting gallery, unlike the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom was killed in a head on collision 3 years ago. Other driver walked away and blood test detected heroin in his system. Six months later my step-brother overdosed on heroin. I had a 6 month old when my mom was killed. It was a shitty year.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

+1 So sorry to both you and the OP.

[Anonymous]

My nephew past just three months ago at the age of 23. Intact family, father was a cop. Southern Maryland where the drugs ran rampant. He was in and out of rehab so many times, God how my brother and his wife tried to save the kid. They of course are devastated, they feel like complete failures. When my DH was prescribed pain killers after a knee operation I refused to fill the prescription and gave him Tylenol instead. He has an addictive personality, he knows it, as do I. When I mentioned it to his doctor he was unfazed, handed out prescription like it was candy. Actually asked my DH how long he wanted to take it. No wonder we have a problem, it's not just big pharma.