A good read, it goes a long way to explaining the opioid problem. You can read the full article with a 'free' Washington Post account (they will ask for $12/yr subscription) I grew up in Oklahoma including a couple of years in Atoka, the Southeastern corner. The average sales are in the 50 pills per person ... every person. Bob Wilson
wow. i took oxycodone after shoulder surgery, it further deepened my failure to understand the addictive qualities. when the pain was gone, so were the pills. i asked my son, and he said the majority of cases he sees are people with long histories of addiction
When I had my gall bladder out in 2017, they gave me some oxycodone as well. I took one and that was enough. Threw the pills out thereafter.
Everyone's different. I was prescribed vicodin after getting my wisdom teeth out (I required minor surgery rather than a simple pull) and it felt like being in the most relaxed twilight dream ever. Very peaceful. I can understand how someone could get addicted to it. Habitual abuse comes less from "feeling good" and more from avoiding withdrawal.
I believe that a certain fraction of people are genetically more susceptible to addictions. There are likely other factors too. After various surgeries or injuries, I have almost always quit taking any prescription painkillers very quickly. The most recent, for a suspected kidney stone, needed only a single pill after whatever was put into the IV line in urgent care had diminished. Then the possible stone passed (after just a half day, hallelujah, they had warned me of possibly weeks) and I was done. The only thing I needed an extension for was a habit-forming non-opioid, to help with phantom pain related to a cut nerve bundle. The perceived pain was in an area that had lost sensation due to the nerve cut. It had some undesirable mental side effects, but fast withdrawal was also nasty, so I needed enough to ensure a proper taper down while traveling. While I've saved other 'good' stuff, the remainder of that one was destroyed promptly once I was confident of really being off it. But a cousin turned hardcore junkie in middle age. He needed painkillers following a cancer-induced leg amputation, and was unable to quit.
I think those that can become addicted are a minority of the population, but You don't know if you part of the group until you take the drug.
agreed, like alcohol and other drugs, although with commonly used, there may be some family indications
Thanks for the map. Now we know to go west Virginia to score. Addictive personalities exist and in larger numbers than one would think. The problem with opioids is that they are super addictive. Just ask Johnson and Johnson.
... and Perdue Pharma, floating a settlement idea today. Take it, or get in line at the bankruptcy court.
The settlement includes a Chapter 11 bankruptcy so it looks like they are going to bankruptcy court either way. Purdue Pharma offers $10-12 billion to settle opioid claims Perdue Pharma trying its best to avoid Chapter 7 liquidation as that is the likely result if all of the lawsuits floating around are taken to trial.
