Admission to medical treatment

Well, there is still this debate if a civilisation is even possible without drugs, but that should not lead to disagreement what is use/abuse/addiction. Overcoming addiction is a triumph over one of the hardest enemies there is - yourself on a bad day.
 
Crivens said:
Well, there is still this debate if a civilisation is even possible without drugs, ...
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I remember learning that there is only one human culture that doesn't use any psychoactive substances: the inuit or eskimo in northernmost Alaska or Siberia. That's because there are absolutely no plants where they live, they survive solely on animal products (mostly from the sea), and animals just don't lend themselves to fermenting for alcohol, smoking like a weed, or such things.

Not sure this is correct ... I'm not a cultural anthropologist, and even less a pharmacologist.
 
Crivens said:
Well, there is still this debate if a civilisation is even possible without drugs, but that should not lead to disagreement what is use/abuse/addiction.
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Some people who have been prescribed narcotics for back pain or similar affliction make the distinction between Dependency and Addiction and become highly offended if you refer to them as an Addict.

The withdrawal symptoms they would go through are the same as someone who had been buying them off the street. I've pushed all those buttons when they got uppity about it.


ralphbsz, check out the movie Eskimo if you ever get the chance to see how the white man corrupted them.
 
This is one thing I just don't get. How did all this come about? You can't blame the patient. He only took what his doctor gave him. So why didn't the doctor monitor this? Where was the pharmacy in all this? I'm pretty sure my doctor would put the brakes on if I was getting hooked and not over prescribe such things. I had a prescription recently for something far less nasty than opioids and the pharmacy blocked the number of pills my doctor prescribed so what's the deal?
 
There were doctors who pushed opium based medication for profits. But there were also doctors who tried to prevent patients from getting hooked who were getting grief from patients who wanted pain relief. In the latter case, I don't blame doctors.

Patients are meant to use pain relievers enough to get rid of intolerable pain, but not to completely get rid of discomfort. If possible, pain should be relieved by minimizing physical pressure on what is hurt.
 
drhowarddrfine
It is simply a business case for the manufacturers. They even had the thing planned by consulting agencies (finding morale there is like finding Elvis raiding your fridge at night. Not gonna happen) - including how to counter bad press from parents whose children had overdosed.
It happens when someone values his/hers bank account more than life, health and well being of his fellow creatures.

So keep the doctors and pharmacy who don't play that game close to you.
 
Udated Lawsuit Teases New Details Against OxyContin Maker

"An updated complaint in Massachusetts' lawsuit against Purdue Pharma claims members of the family that owns the OxyContin maker are personally responsible for fueling abuse of the deadly painkiller.

The filing late Friday in Suffolk Superior Court expands on the lawsuit the state filed in June against the drugmaker, 16 current and former executives and members of the Sackler family, which owns the company.

The suit asserts that over the past decade the Sacklers controlled a deceptive sales campaign by Purdue aimed at getting more people on higher doses of opioids to boost profits.

Much of the specifics on the allegations against Purdue Pharma executives and Sackler family members are blacked out while the state works to release a less-redacted complaint.

The state claims that the Sacklers directed the company to hire hundreds more sales representatives to visit doctors "thousands more times," in a bid to get more doctors to prescribe its painkiller. The Sacklers also directed sales representatives to encourage doctors to prescribe more of the opioids at the highest doses, according to the complaint.

In addition, the suit contends, the Sacklers "studied unlawful tactics to keep patients on opioids longer and then ordered staff to use them.""



Rumor had it that Doctors who were prescribing Suboxone were getting kickbacks from Big Pharma so I asked mine about it. He said if anybody was getting cruises or amenities for prescribing Suboxone it was news to him. We had a good relationship so I felt comfortable asking and believe at least he wasn't getting kickbacks. They prescribe that in large doses, 32MG a day the max as that is it's "ceiling" and beyond that no more effective.

He started me off on 8MG and I could tell within a few days that was more than I needed. I cut myself down to 2MG and he said I knew best. I finally tapered myself off completely. I had an easy time of it because I did it very slowly and always stayed at a low dose. Check out forums where people on high doses post about the hard time they have coming off it.

You have people who go doctor shopping and might be getting scripts from more than one doctor. Maybe that doctor will prescribe a girl something if he gets to do a breast exam. Pill Mills where Pharmacies fill more scripts than the town it's located in has residents.

Then there are people who really need pain meds. The Ideology has changed somewhat and they're more into alternatives to meds now, especially since the media is coming down on them. And it's not just Opiates, Benzodiazepines are much harder to come off of than Opiates. See the old TV movie "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can" for a picture of someone strung out on Valium.
 
Who is guilty? Not just dosctors and pharmact industry but the most guilty are people which do not or they don't want to do anything for themselves.
The east way: take a pill and problem is solved. It is not!
 
I can't say I know why but I have one of those doctors that will prescribe me whatever I want. I used to get tensions headaches really bad when I was around 20. My (excellent!) doctor then figured out the problem and prescribed Fiorinal. My days long headaches disappear within 20 minutes.

I no longer get the headaches but I do, on rare occasions, get very tense in certain situations and it makes me feel better knowing I have a bottle of, now, Lorazepam in my medicine cabinet. One bottle of 30 pills lasts me years. I also have another prescription, that I don't think I need, but he gives it to me anyway. I adjust the amount up and down as I see fit. Perhaps that is why he adjusts the prescription cause I intelligently give my reasons for doing so but, over the years, I feel I could ask for anything and he'd give it to me. I tell my wife that I don't know if it's cause he's a bad doctor or he respects me. But it's that last prescription he over-prescribed to me. It can be addictive and my insurance would not pay for the quantity he prescribed. (Note: I do not take these pills on any regular basis either.)

So I can see how one can latch onto a bad doctor but why is it so wide spread? I'll ask again. Where are the pharmacies in this? Why aren't insurance companies involved as in my case? It just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like it should be a criminal investigation.
 
Trihexagonal
Those responsible in the pharma company might feel lucky they are tried in the good ol' US where you are innocent until proven broke. Think of what judges in China do to such folks, including going to sleep and waking up one part at a time. Remember the baby formula stretching?

drhowarddrfine
I agree. That should be a criminal investigation. They might draw some specialists in from other departments involved in that war on drugs.

But how is our OP doing by now? Any news?
 
I suppose what I meant was that reducing people to "patients" or "abusers" denies the reality that human beings have always sought to alter their consciousness through various means and the experiences that result are (or can be) incredibly valuable to the individual. It's like taking a bird and clipping its wings.
I'm fascinated by the promise that psychedelics like ketamine could one day be used to treat anxiety and depression. My only concern would be that such drugs can be an entry point into the occult which is obviously undesirable.
 
Dearest forum members,

I beg to tender my apologies for not writing a repartee, but I can only manage a lethargic reply here presently. Today gives 30 +1 days abstinence, however my illness is an intolerable brute and, some symptoms of withdrawal still persist which tires me.

I hope in time that my care for adventure will return, but in the coming weeks I will remain reticent.

Yours truly, Polyatomic.
 
Polyatomic, that's great news. You must have been really hooked. I find warm baths with aromatherapy work well for opiate withdrawal - try that if you haven't already. Aside from that keeping busy and praying if you have a Faith.
 
Polyatomic said:
Today gives 30 +1 days abstinence, however my illness is a intolerable brute and, some symptoms of withdrawal still persist which tires me.
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Congratulations, my friend! The first month of sobriety is the hardest; you've achieved that! One day at a time we will continue to heal. :)
 
Polyatomic said:
Today gives 30 +1 days abstinence, however my illness is a intolerable brute and, some symptoms of withdrawal still persist which tires me.
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It's good to hear from you. I hope you're doing well and start feeling better. You don't give yourself enough credit. It's not intolerable or you wouldn't have made it 30+1 days. BTW, what is 30+1 days exactly?

Are you still in treatment? People in treatment usually refer to it as X number of days "sobriety". 30 Days is a big deal and they used to give out 30 day keyrings at AA meetings. Are you going to meetings? Outpatient? Idle hands you know...

What opiates were you on? I've done most, some worse than other to come off of. I was usually over physical withdrawals completely in 10 days. Your sense of taste should start becoming more intense. Are you getting any sleep? Warm baths helped me relax and I soaked.

Did they put you on Buprenorphine (Suboxone)? It's what got me clean. I don't care for "sober", sounds like you're going to a funeral. I would not jump from the frying pan into the Methadone clinic inferno.


I don't mean to quiz you when you don't feel good to begin with, but the devil is in the details.

If you're home check out the Thomas Recipe for what may some be helpful tips.
 
Polyatomic
Nice to hear from you again. If you have the chance, get out of the city lights for a night, take a warm sleeping bag and good glass with you. Look at the milky way and simply marvel at the beauty of the cosmos.

I do that here if I can, as a special treat for me (every some years I find time). On my bucket list is f.e. sitting in a hot spring on iceland, sipping a beer and watching the aurora borealis dance in front of the stars.
 
I used to own 127 acres of very private, wooded land with a seven acre lake in the Missouri Ozarks. We put a nice mobile home on it deep into the woods. I would go there for three to five days whenever I could--by myself. Would spend the first day doing nothing but sleeping. Second day I'd putter around but not do too much. Third day I'd get on a roll with something. By the fifth day, I'd be read to go home.

The only reason I sold it was because I was the only one who ever went there. My wife was too busy. One son just was not the outdoorsy type. My other son would go there for hunting but only a couple of times a year. So I felt I was wasting it all just on me. I said that if I ever needed to get away, I could rent a cabin or or get a hotel in this same area for less than the mortgage payment on the place.

I've never done that. Selling it was a decision I regret.
 
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