The common consensus among the public these days (and politicians especially) is that opiates are evil and should never have been invented. This is false. I'm really of the belief there is no drug...
The common consensus among the public these days (and politicians especially) is that opiates are evil and should never have been invented. This is false. I'm really of the belief there is no drug out there that is inherently evil. They are simply tools, and like all tools, some have incredibly dangerous potential, but we use them anyway because we need them.
Sadly, the fact of the matter is is that we need opiates if we want people in pain to live quality lives. Making it harder to be prescribed opiates legally for people who legitimately need them to function is only driving people to the black market to get their opiates. Ya know, the thing we don't want?
At least cannabis is finally getting closer to being publicly accepted, but it can only help so much with pain. We need both. Perhaps in the future, cannabis could be one of the first steps to chronic pain relief, and opiates would be reserved for serious cases not receptive to cannabis.
Also, Kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa) needs to stop being demonized as "legal heroin" and properly studied. It is an opiate, but a very atypical one that is much gentler than traditional opiates, and doesn't have the same risk of respiratory suppression that is what kills people during ODs. It could be another incredibly useful tool, but the FDA is dead-set against it, and is actively trying to make it illegal in the US.
Make no mistake, Kratom has addiction potential despite what some may try to tell you, but addiction potential has never been a good reason to not use a medication when truly needed. Currently, Kratom is just about the only thing, including cannabis, that is able to let my fiance live a somewhat normal life with her chronic pain.
Re:the common consensus As someone who suffers from chronic pain herself, I'm kind of irrationally terrified of my opioids, even though I need them to basically do anything that doesn't involve...
Re:the common consensus
As someone who suffers from chronic pain herself, I'm kind of irrationally terrified of my opioids, even though I need them to basically do anything that doesn't involve just lying in bed. I was on them for a month and a half or so while I was an inpatient, but even so I hold off on taking my oxy until I'm more or less dead to the world.
It's not exactly the same, I've always been kind of afraid of medical jazz, but I think it's a helpful thing to note. Even if you're in chromic pain yourself, even if you need those meds to be functional, and even if you have them prescribed, you can still be too terrified to take them when you need them.
For what it's worth, your caution is probably why you've been able to effectively use them without too much in the way of negative side effects or addiction. Which is great! You are using them as...
For what it's worth, your caution is probably why you've been able to effectively use them without too much in the way of negative side effects or addiction. Which is great! You are using them as they are meant to be, and that is something to be proud of.
Psychoactive substances, whether its an opiate, cannabis, or hell, even alcohol, should always be approached with knowledge, respect, and healthy appreciation of how they could ruin your day (or life). I'm sorry that fear extends so far that you aren't always able to get relief when you need it. Have you tried other practical methods to deal with pain prior to deciding you need to use an opiate?
I'm hesitant to ever recommend substances to anyone, legal or otherwise, as I am no doctor. (Just a guy in his mid-twenties absolutely fascinated with anything and everything psychopharmacology related.) Cannabis could really be a boon for you during those times that you're in pain, but afraid to take an opiate. I'd say at least try CBD, as CBD alone is completely non-psychoactive, and it seems to help a lot of people. Technically it is federally illegal still, but we all know the feds aren't going after CBD. Hell, they barely fight cannabis anymore, but CBD can actually be bought online just about anywhere completely safely without touching the black/grey market.
I'd talk more on Kratom too, but I really don't want to give anyone ideas to try it because it sounds like something safe to experiment with. Take it from me, it's not going to ruin your life, but it's best to stay away unless you really need it. All I can say on that is to do your own research.
Oh, I've tried weed, and it is helpful. I'm in a state which legalized it too, so it's not too terribly difficult for my girlfriend to pick up for me? I've tried other methods of pain relief but...
Oh, I've tried weed, and it is helpful. I'm in a state which legalized it too, so it's not too terribly difficult for my girlfriend to pick up for me? I've tried other methods of pain relief but they don't seem to get me very far, esp on bad days.
The problem is really just that like-- I'm not popping pain pills at a moments notice, thank gog, but I'm also waiting until I'm really far gone to actually take them, and it's very easy for me to get to a point of needing to take them and just suffering and letting my brain disconnect instead. Which I've talked to my doctor about, and they've mentioned that pain puts my body under stress that it doesn't need right now, so...
Anyway, hopefully it'll be better soon anyway. I've got another surgery coming up that should ideally make it at least a little better. So, uh, wish me luck on that I guess.
as part of the effort to curb opioid addiction and overdoses, some folks are gradually being pushed off of prescribed opioids and some doctors are entirely not prescribing them. this is somewhat...
as part of the effort to curb opioid addiction and overdoses, some folks are gradually being pushed off of prescribed opioids and some doctors are entirely not prescribing them. this is somewhat understandable and it works for some people, of course, but for others, it can be devastating:
Katie Tulley suffers from an incurable bladder disorder so painful that it feels “like tearing skin off your arm and pouring acid on it, 24/7,” she said. On scans, the organ looks like an open sore.
...
Now, because of legal concerns about overdose risk, her doctors have considered stopping her medication, even though she has never misused it. And so, when she recently discovered a suspicious lump in her belly, she found herself hoping it was cancer. “I shouldn’t ‘want’ cancer,” she said. “But at this point it’s the only way to be treated” for her pain.
Jay Lawrence, a former truck driver, is a case in point. When his doctor refused to continue his medication in early 2017 — even though he had severe pain from spinal cord injuries and was not addicted — he told his wife that he’d had enough. In a park where they’d recently renewed their wedding vows, he fatally shot himself in the chest while she held his hand.
it's an interesting problem. opioids have been overprescribed for sure and it's reasonable for steps to be taken to keep them from being prescribed to people who don't need them--but the problem with those steps is that many of them are also catching people who do need them and have few or no other options in the crossfire, and entirely fucking them over.
The common consensus among the public these days (and politicians especially) is that opiates are evil and should never have been invented. This is false. I'm really of the belief there is no drug out there that is inherently evil. They are simply tools, and like all tools, some have incredibly dangerous potential, but we use them anyway because we need them.
Sadly, the fact of the matter is is that we need opiates if we want people in pain to live quality lives. Making it harder to be prescribed opiates legally for people who legitimately need them to function is only driving people to the black market to get their opiates. Ya know, the thing we don't want?
At least cannabis is finally getting closer to being publicly accepted, but it can only help so much with pain. We need both. Perhaps in the future, cannabis could be one of the first steps to chronic pain relief, and opiates would be reserved for serious cases not receptive to cannabis.
Also, Kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa) needs to stop being demonized as "legal heroin" and properly studied. It is an opiate, but a very atypical one that is much gentler than traditional opiates, and doesn't have the same risk of respiratory suppression that is what kills people during ODs. It could be another incredibly useful tool, but the FDA is dead-set against it, and is actively trying to make it illegal in the US.
Make no mistake, Kratom has addiction potential despite what some may try to tell you, but addiction potential has never been a good reason to not use a medication when truly needed. Currently, Kratom is just about the only thing, including cannabis, that is able to let my fiance live a somewhat normal life with her chronic pain.
Re:the common consensus
As someone who suffers from chronic pain herself, I'm kind of irrationally terrified of my opioids, even though I need them to basically do anything that doesn't involve just lying in bed. I was on them for a month and a half or so while I was an inpatient, but even so I hold off on taking my oxy until I'm more or less dead to the world.
It's not exactly the same, I've always been kind of afraid of medical jazz, but I think it's a helpful thing to note. Even if you're in chromic pain yourself, even if you need those meds to be functional, and even if you have them prescribed, you can still be too terrified to take them when you need them.
For what it's worth, your caution is probably why you've been able to effectively use them without too much in the way of negative side effects or addiction. Which is great! You are using them as they are meant to be, and that is something to be proud of.
Psychoactive substances, whether its an opiate, cannabis, or hell, even alcohol, should always be approached with knowledge, respect, and healthy appreciation of how they could ruin your day (or life). I'm sorry that fear extends so far that you aren't always able to get relief when you need it. Have you tried other practical methods to deal with pain prior to deciding you need to use an opiate?
I'm hesitant to ever recommend substances to anyone, legal or otherwise, as I am no doctor. (Just a guy in his mid-twenties absolutely fascinated with anything and everything psychopharmacology related.) Cannabis could really be a boon for you during those times that you're in pain, but afraid to take an opiate. I'd say at least try CBD, as CBD alone is completely non-psychoactive, and it seems to help a lot of people. Technically it is federally illegal still, but we all know the feds aren't going after CBD. Hell, they barely fight cannabis anymore, but CBD can actually be bought online just about anywhere completely safely without touching the black/grey market.
I'd talk more on Kratom too, but I really don't want to give anyone ideas to try it because it sounds like something safe to experiment with. Take it from me, it's not going to ruin your life, but it's best to stay away unless you really need it. All I can say on that is to do your own research.
Oh, I've tried weed, and it is helpful. I'm in a state which legalized it too, so it's not too terribly difficult for my girlfriend to pick up for me? I've tried other methods of pain relief but they don't seem to get me very far, esp on bad days.
The problem is really just that like-- I'm not popping pain pills at a moments notice, thank gog, but I'm also waiting until I'm really far gone to actually take them, and it's very easy for me to get to a point of needing to take them and just suffering and letting my brain disconnect instead. Which I've talked to my doctor about, and they've mentioned that pain puts my body under stress that it doesn't need right now, so...
Anyway, hopefully it'll be better soon anyway. I've got another surgery coming up that should ideally make it at least a little better. So, uh, wish me luck on that I guess.
as part of the effort to curb opioid addiction and overdoses, some folks are gradually being pushed off of prescribed opioids and some doctors are entirely not prescribing them. this is somewhat understandable and it works for some people, of course, but for others, it can be devastating:
it's an interesting problem. opioids have been overprescribed for sure and it's reasonable for steps to be taken to keep them from being prescribed to people who don't need them--but the problem with those steps is that many of them are also catching people who do need them and have few or no other options in the crossfire, and entirely fucking them over.