Some are. Yet, they can become addicted to exercise… a hobby…politics… sports…gambling.
A lot of it is education and channeling the addictive tendencies to something healthy. The reward is where it is at. Capture that and direct it into something healthy and you can capture the negative addiction.
Of course, this does not speak to people in chronic pain. I cannot even imagine being in so much pain that you wish to die. In this case, what is the harm in opiods.
Of course they can but in a whole lot of cases the people don’t realize they have a predilection for addiction until they’ve already become addicted and many addicts still don’t realize they are addicts.
Once someone is already addicted it’s very difficult to break that cycle of addiction and unfortunately forced drug/alcohol treatment has an abysmal success rate.
Sadly, until addicts have hit absolute rock bottom and lost everything they simply lack the desire and diligence to get off of whatever it is they are addicted to.
I’m a big believer in prevention so I think we need to find a way to identify those prone to addiction before they ever get a chance to become addicts, make them aware of it, and develop practical pre treatment programs that healthcare providers can get them on to prevent it from ever occurring. Additionally the research would also help providers in their considerations of what med’s a given patient should be prescribed.
You know a little bit of my injury/chronic pain history from prior discussions. I’ve been to the point that for over 3 years I was on high doses of opioids just to help me tolerate it. I’m lucky, when I got to a point where I thought the medication was making my life worse than the pain I was able to just walk away from it.
One way or another we need to figure out how to identify those with a predilection for chemical addictions early and I think that can be a big help.
Now someone with a terminal disease that’s eating away at them day by day and leaving them in horrible pain, I think we ought to make the most effective pain med’s available to them by the bucket load and not worry about addiction even as a consideration.
If someone’s on their deathbed, by all means, dull the pain.
If someone wants to dull the pain of their life, or end their life, thats their choice, but they should realize it affects everyone else that cares about them.
Do you think the drug companies have any responsibility in the latter case?
Ive got a lot of respect, if you went off opiods like that. Im sure you dont want to talk about it, but that takes some serious motivation.
All of which are incredibly regulated so as to not allow bias. I spent many years of my life in pharmaceutical sales. It is easy to see a crap study and a well balanced study based upon the parameters the study was conducted when you know how to read them.
When we had a speaker for events, data and facts, parameters were presented. There were no drug brands presented as better or worse than another. Per the rules, per the regulations. Facts and data.
The good doctors, the ones I had a hell of a lot of respect for took these studies seriously and knew the good from the bad.
I had other doctors who would Rx a bit more in exchange for a fishing trip. Guess how many fishing trips I paid for out of my budget? Big fat zero.
You do a disservice to the ethical people and doctors in the industry by your broad brushing.
Has anyone been on the end of this issue? A patient in hospice, unable to eat, starving, only able to to drink from a wash cloth crying out in pain and disoriented for days and hospice trying to squeeze a few bucks out of morphine doses. I would have traded 10 000 opioid addicts for control of that morphine.
I have talked about it openly many times.
I have a rather long and complex history of orthopedic and neurological injury.
And doctors learn, learn and learn again how to disseminate studies.
You can take, for instance, an allergy cascade down to the molecular level. Trace the efficacy of a drug on the molecular level. See the gaps as to where and how what drug will work and what will not.
I’ve held the hands of dying friends and relatives in horrible pain from various things including cancer. If I could have broken into that pump and given them full control of it I would have.
Not true. Statistical analysis can distort things. Money pays for positive studies. Obviously, there has to be some positive correlation, but results can be easily skewed, especially if the scientists are encouraged to find a certain result.
Yep and in this day and age anyone with an above average IQ can read a study, look up the data and methods used, the language etc and get a pretty good idea of their own how accurate and applicable a study is.
We have more knowledge available at our fingertips today than has ever existed for prior generations much less the kind of access we have to it.
Something that might have taken days or weeks to research in a library or libraries a couple of decades ago can now be done in minutes with a good internet connection.
Which is why the first thing to find out with any study is who did it, who funded it and what if any benefit they receive from the outcome of the study.
Mental health is THE most important aspect of this. Teaching self value, personal responsibility, self reliance, reward and punishment and respect and value of others.
There will always be an “arsonist” lurking in the corners. You’ll never rid this world of them from the beginning of time to the end of time.
The problem, though, is that we take doctors word as gospel. Not many people actually do what you’re implying.
The entire medical system is set up under the assumption that doctors are completely trustworthy, highly educated professionals, when in reality, the pharmaceutical companies have provided much of their education.
That’s a personal and a parental problem. Everyone should have a healthy sense of skepticism and desire to learn for themselves and endless opportunities now exist.
Let’s be honest and come up with a better response
Excellent point. But that does not address WHY people would want to squander their lives for addiction. What hole do they have that only addiction can fill?
I’m a big believer in prevention so I think we need to find a way to identify those prone to addiction before they ever get a chance to become addicts, make them aware of it, and develop practical pre treatment programs that healthcare providers can get them on to prevent it from ever occurring. Additionally the research would also help providers in their considerations of what med’s a given patient should be prescribed.
So self awareness. For example a history of addiction in your family. You are prone to addiction. I don’t mean to be dismissive TWR, but tell that to a 16 year old. It isn’t going to matter a hill of beans.
IMO, the real solution is intact families. Guidance from an early age. Teaching self respect and respect towards others. We’ve lost that. And because we have lost that and are looking to government and schools to be parents…our kids are going to be lost.
I find it funny that some of the very same people who would come down on the tobacco industry for making a product that they know is addictive and is harmful are willing to give a pass to pharmaceutical companies who do literally the same thing. I think as long as there is a demand for their product, and people are willing to pay for it, it’s none of your damned business what goes on between the individuals buying and selling those products. It’s not like they’re attempting to hide the health risks or the fact it’s addictive. Some people just need to find a pet issue to get their panties in a wad over.
As well as the people going to the doctors demanding pain meds.
Many always place the blame on business when the root cause if far below the pharma.