> Sometimes, they must send patients on frustrating journeys to find pharmacies that haven’t yet exceeded their caps in order to buy prescribed medicines.
Does this then get them put on the secret list of "people with drug seeking behaviors" which apparently includes people who fill prescriptions for their dogs? [0]
[0] https://www.wired.com/story/opioid-drug-addiction-algorithm-...
My 1 year old dog (who is batshit insane, but we still love her) had to have part of her tail amputated because she kept breaking it open, the vet had us giving her 3x painkillers 2x a day. The pharmacy tech insisted they weren't going to fill a followup script because she had already been prescribed 60 pills, 10 days before and refused to perform basic math. (3*2*10=60)
I'm all for trying to address our opioid issues, but it feels like instead of addressing the issue of doctors running pill mills, over-prescribing these drugs, they are focused on just not allowing them to be prescribed at all... Even for people who genuinely need them.
A: Time limited access to narcotics is safe and effective pain management for severe but temporary injuries and I don't exist to suffer in this world -- give me the good stuff.
B: If I can reduce my pain into "bearable" with nsiad painkillers then I don't want to take narcotics.
I think one of the dangers of B in the real world is that for severe pain doctors are terrified of prescribing narcotics that they put you on the nsaid cycle with extremely high doses which can wreck your stomach lining and liver.
When I was recovering from surgery they gave me Xanax, Vallium and Tylenol to basically sedate me for 2 straight weeks because of this nonsense and it was miserable. Just trading one kind of high for another but the new way you mostly keep the pain.
I am saying that many kinds of pain can be managed with OTC medication. There aren’t necessarily two schools of thought. It’s more that if let’s say ibuprofen isn’t helping the pain, it may just be that you aren’t taking enough of it. It is a very effective pain medicine.
I’m not at all suggesting ibuprofen for pain management of cancer patients or people immediately after major surgery.
But for a big chunk of outpatient procedures enough OTC pain meds will actually work just fine.
I’m not some granola advocate here. Nor am I trying to say that everyone should just tough it out. But you can’t seriously say that 800mg ibuprofen is more dangerous or less effective than opioids for wisdom teeth removal
We don't have an opioid crisis anymore.
Pain is a fact of life. The problem in the US is that there's the expectation to work the next day. It's ok to be in pain, it's also ok to miss out on work.
If you accept these two basic facts you don't have an opioid crisis anymore.
Some other people may die, but that is a price I'm willing to pay.
I see you have never been in any real pain, ever. What do you get for cancer in Germany? Still ibuprofen?
There's a reason opioids exist and were such a revolution in medicine. They really work. Ibuprofen et al are fine for what they are, but anti-inflammatories can only do so much. We should be able to solve the over-prescribing and addiction issues as a society without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I guess not. My point still stands though. Americans in Germany whine all the time about not getting "proper" pain medication. It's an attitude problem.
I have been in pain multiple times, mostly broken bones, wisdom teeth, tendons and the like, and in the moment it doesn't feel good to only get ibuprofen.
But most pain is not too much to take and it's ok for you to feel it. It's better than getting an addiction problem for life.
As you say it's an over-prescribing issue. Keep opioids only for extreme pain. Not for normal pain.
> If you accept these two basic facts you don't have an opioid crisis anymore.
This is an incredibly simplistic view of a very complex issue.
If you didn't read my response why should I care?
>This is an incredibly simplistic view of a very complex issue.
It's backed by facts though. You can't give out opioids like candy and expect people to be responsible with them.
People don’t give ibuprofen enough credit.
"I've had some back pain and got prescribed opiates, now i'm addicted"
We're not talking about getting some opiates after surgery or severe and mostly rare things. Americans get opiates for all kinds of small inconveniences, like a wisdom tooth removal, or some back pain. Opiates don't heal or fix back pains. They just mask the symptoms and create a new problem.
I've been in a lot of pain in my life and never took any opiates, because they are reserved for extreme situations where i live. In america, i would have had easy access to prescriptions for those in most cases.
We have no opiate crisis here.
I really don’t think forcing needless suffering on everyone is the answer to this problem.
Source: had six very painful teeth extractions, with bone grafts and two sinus repairs. I was almost pain-free on 600mg ibuprofen + 600mg acetaminophen every 6 or so hours. I say "almost" because I was not dumb enough to try any type of exercise, or eating crunchy cereal, but I had no problem falling and staying asleep or going back to work in 24 hours.
So I am not entirely sure why you think opiates were necessary or provided you the type of relief that OTC meds could not provide. My double-board-certified, extremely expensive dental surgeon doesn't seem to think so.
I also had abdominal surgery, for which I can concur opiates do help quite a bit, which is entirely separate story.
Sweden sounds the same as germany, you get 800mg ibuprofen and normal 500mg paracetamol.
We DO have opioids for cancer pain.
I actually have mild PTSD about that incident. It was the second-worst pain I've experienced in my life, and it wouldn't stop.
Question 2: what makes you think opioids treat infections?
2. I expect opioids treat the pain from infection. it was the weekend and I had to suffer through the weekend before seeing the dentist.