We know two people addicted. One has been clean for over 3 years got his life back and has resumed law school, has a fiance and doing well. It is a inspiring story.
The other is doing OK stills struggles (in 3rd rehab) but committed to getting well and putting this behind him. That is the key in recovery, WANTING to do it for themselves not for the parents, family, society,etc.... Addiction is a disease, not a choice. I cannot get over some of the comments here, so uneducated on the subject. Purdue Pharmaceutical and the family who makes billions off of preying upon peoples vulnerability (when in pain) and furthermore those predisposed to addiction should in perfect world not be allowed to exist. It is sickening. It is a problem that is getting worse by the hour. It used to be "certain states" now its every state and virtually every county struggling with how to deal with an epidemic that is by most accounts impossible to get a hold of. So scary. Why do the other countries not have this degree of addiction? Not even close in fact. We are a substance obsessed country is all I can guess and of course that with the access and disposable income of the group most affected I suppose is a lethal trifecta. |
Wow you are really part of the problem. Sad. And let me guess you have never know anyone who is an addict or suffers from addiction of any kind, right? Ok, uh huh. Good luck to you. |
Same here. I had morphine after surgery and while it killed the pain, it also made me nauseous and I was happy to be off it once the pain lessened a bit. All I noticed from Percocet was pain relief and constipation. I'm also someone who didn't really enjoy pot though. It made me annoyingly talkative the one time I tried it. I'm honestly kind of grateful I'm not attracted to it. I do like to drink though, and was a pretty heavy drinker in my 20s and 30s. Now in my 40s the hangovers aren't worth it. |
Perhaps our profit-driven, multiplayer healthcare system is part of the problem. Doctors and hospitals benefit from happy patients, so they offer strong painkillers which end up getting people hooked. Once they're hooked, they go to different places to get pills. Is Canada having the same issue? |
Don't disagree with you on the functional alcoholic point. At all. But I think that is different than what was written above about having "evening cocktail or wine or trip to the beer farm". Not sure what a. Err farm is... but I think there is something valuable in modeling positive, healthy consumption habits for your kids. We have ice cream as a special treat, but not a gallon every day. And I think the ability to not differentiate between a glass of wine with dinner, a visit to a brewery on a weekend and becoming addicted to heroin or dying after one use are very very different things. Painting them all with the same brush doesn't give our kids enough credit and also oversimplifies a very complex situation. I would personally start growing weed in my backyard and handing it to my child by the first full if it meant they would be satiated and not think about trying heroin. |
Well, it's true. Several practices even have signs in the lobby stating that they won't even discuss opiod or long term opiod use. Even Johns Hopkins has a similar policy, though I don't think they advertise it. I guess that's why nobody was in the waiting room last time I went! Lol |
What about church and a strong religious background? Op, in all of the upper middle class families I know who have been affected by this (several, including 2 deaths) , that is a component of family life that was missing. |
I had two spine surgeries in Jail an. And was taken off the pain pump after 24:hours. Otherwise, pain pills were given out on a strict timeline. I was given a prescription for pain upon release from hospital but never had prescription filled. It is a choice. |
Never mind. Apparently they are. https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/a-killer-high-how-canada-got-addicted-tofentanyl/article29570025/?ref=https://www.theglobeandmail.com&service=mobile |
What is a choice? Having surgery? Feeling pain? Going to a hospital that strictly regulates pain control? Filling prescriptions? Being a person who understands that different people have different experiences? |
I would appreciate hearing on this thread about any positive experiences with treatment. Where do the folks with resources send addicted teens for help? |
NP. I have a family member who fit the picture of a young man from a well-to-do, "perfect" family who recently died of this. He struggled with addiction, in and out of rehab for years before overdosing about 2 years ago at the age of 26. Yes, it BECAME a disease but it did not START as a disease. I think it's people like YOU who are part of the problem, as you refuse to recognize that, at some point, virtually all of these people made a decision to take or keep taking these drugs. |
Nope, church doesn't seem to insulate the kids from harm. Two of the families are regular Catholic church-goes. One of the boys was an acolyte. |
They're not mutually exclusive, you know. I don't think that very many people decide to become addicts when they decide to take a pain pill, any more than you decide to get in a car crash when you decide to get in a car. I |
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