Painkiller addiction in the USA

[Incandenza]

The New York Times has a story on Americans' abuse and addition to opioid painkillers, with some startling statistics.

Opioids now cause more deaths than any other drug, more than 16,000 in 2010. That year, the combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen became the most prescribed medication in the United States. Patients here consumed 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone, the opioid in Vicodin. They also consumed 80 percent of the world’s oxycodone, present in Percocet and OxyContin, and 65 percent of the world’s hydromorphone, the key ingredient in Dilaudid, in 2010. (Some opioids are also used to treat coughs, but that use doesn’t seem to be a major factor in the current wave of problems.)

We consume 99 percent of the hydrocodone in the world. That's astonishing. Unfortunately, the story doesn't go into why it should be that one country is consuming 99 percent of a certain type of drug.

[ursus arctos]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Part of the answer, as you know, is that we don't have a national health service.

[Incandenza]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Of course. And that pharmaceutical companies can market drugs here much more than in other countries.

[ursus arctos]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

In fact, those may the two biggest reasons.

A third may be that the US system is generally less helpful to workers who suffer debilitating pain/injuries, which leads them to medicate, which often leads to addiction.

[Cal Alamein]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Our Iraq/Afghanistan vets are clearly front and center in that category. Forget therapy and counseling, cheaper to medicate.

I was prescribed Percodan (maybe 10 pills) in 1986. With the first pill I was blown away at the very comfortable feeling it gave me. Pain was gone and I felt very happy. Even though I was in my early 20s and not that responsible, I could easily see getting used to that feeling and sure as hell hoped that I would not become dependent on them. I think I took a total of six and held on to the remainder for a couple more years before flushing them down the toilet.

[WOM]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Ditto my experience when I had kidney stones seven years ago. I was munching them like popcorn until my wife clued in and hid them. It would be very easy to get hooked.

[ursus arctos]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Ditto mine when I had my knee operation. Those things were the bomb.

[Toro Toro]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Yeah, I found myself getting very fond of my codeine very quickly after my surgery a few years ago. That had to be nipped in the bud.

[WOM]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Look, we're smart men with a bit of money. Surely we can find the shit now...

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Incandenza wrote: Unfortunately, the story doesn't go into why it should be that one country is consuming 99 percent of a certain type of drug.

It's the New York Times. They were probably too busy renaming some up-and-coming area of the city with some wanky acronym for the benefit of real estate agents.

[linus]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Cal, it's a bad idea to flush drugs in the toilet, as the sewage treatment system can't handle them, so it ends up having adverse environmental consequences (very damaging to the health of amphibians for example). You should instead return them to your pharmacist for a proper disposal (inceneration). [/pontification]

[Toro Toro]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Is that a typo? Impressive if so.

[linus]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

haha, yes, I should have left the "n" out.

[Cal Alamein]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

linus wrote: Cal, it's a bad idea to flush drugs in the toilet, as the sewage treatment system can't handle them, so it ends up having adverse environmental consequences (very damaging to the health of amphibians for example). You should instead return them to your pharmacist for a proper disposal (inceneration). [/pontification]

Very true. No excuses, but it would've been around 1988 and back then don't remember much alarm over flushing drugs. However, got to say there's a sense of finality when you flush something down the toilet. No chance of getting it back.

[ursus arctos]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

It's the New York Times. They were probably too busy renaming some up-and-coming area of the city with some wanky acronym for the benefit of real estate agents.

Pat, you don't get the NYT "model".

Actually making up names takes both effort and creativity, each of which is in short supply given current staffing levels in Times Square. Instead, it is all about "re-purposing" text that has already been written by the real estate types and their ilk.

[Renart]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

I'm not surprised we consume the most, but 99 percent is still an astoundingly high percentage.

[ursus arctos]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

It strikes me as evidence that it isn't particularly cost-effective for its (allegedly) intended use.

[Renart]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

They were talking about this recently on the Uhh Yeah Dude podcast, speculating that a lot of the people addicted are those who can't afford the surgery or physical therapy they require, so clinics just throw oxy at them.

It does make you wonder if the cost of surgery or physical therapy wouldn't be cheaper in the long run, since the higher initial costs could often lead to somebody being able to reenter the workforce rather than become a lifelong debilitated opioid addict.

[Calvert]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

I had 50mg of Tramadol last night to help my old fucked spine.
Weird, weird drug.

Not sure I liked it.

As you were.

[Incandenza]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Renart wrote: They were talking about this recently on the Uhh Yeah Dude podcast, speculating that a lot of the people addicted are those who can't afford the surgery or physical therapy they require, so clinics just throw oxy at them.

It does make you wonder if the cost of surgery or physical therapy wouldn't be cheaper in the long run, since the higher initial costs could often lead to somebody being able to reenter the workforce rather than become a lifelong debilitated opioid addict.

Renart, I of course thought of that story when reading the article. That was a really grim ending to the episode (basically, story about a guy who's dad fell of the roof of a house and fucked up his back, can't afford to get the surgery but can go to a pain clinic and get refills on painkiller scrips...the clinic is filled of people in agony, many of them who could probably be much better if they could get a surgery).

Uhh Yeah Dude is great and everyone should be listening to it.

[Renart]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Yeah, that story was very grim, like the mention of patients in the clinic screaming at the receptionist to give them their refill prescriptions before even seeing the doctor.

(Most of Uhh Yeah Dude is not so grim, however, if this puts you off listening.)

[Incandenza]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

The New Yorker had a story earlier this year about a heartland doctor who took in patients that other doctors wouldn't, and who is now in prison because of patients who overdosed on painkillers.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/05/05/prescription-for-disaster

[Stumpy Pepys]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

I fell downstairs once and fucked up my back; the doctor at A&E gave me dihydrocodeine.

Which is, erm … powerful stuff. Was kind of glad when the script ran out, as I'd have happily carried on taking it indefinitely.

The constipation was shocking though.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

Toro Toro wrote: Yeah, I found myself getting very fond of my codeine very quickly after my surgery a few years ago. That had to be nipped in the bud.

This. The codeine tripped me out to the extent that I literally didn't know my own name, what day it was, and where I was. Which was a little unnerving for TLMG, who had decided to work from home to keep an eye on me.

I'd never take it again.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Painkiller addiction in the USA

I took a lot of different kind of painkillers there about two years ago, and I can recommend a mixture of tramadol, paracetamol and a third painkiller that I can't remember. It was almost like I hadn't missed new years eve.

Otherwise I don't remember morphine or oxycontin having any effect. It was only when I went off the epidural without having loaded up on the morphine drip that I discovered that the reason it wasn't making me high in some way was that it was spending all of its time fighting off enormous waves of pain.