Umm, “opioid addiction” has many faces … of ALL colors and races and is a HUGE problem in the US. I have known SEVERAL people who were prescribed Percocet (and its various close cousins) for injuries they sustained at one time and 1-8 years (and 1-3 surgeries later) are still taking it daily, sometimes up to 10 caplets per day. I did feel sorry for these people (a couple of them were very close friends at one time) but I can personally attest here that you can’t talk sense into these people cuz they’re addicted. This addiction manifests many varied and detrimental side effects on one’s life. I just ended up feeling sorry for them and had to distance myself.
Pain doctors are simply (legal) delivery systems of narcotics from Big Pharma. They don’t care if their patients become addicted. To them, addiction is the lesser of two evils and is the price they must pay for being “pain-free” (or nearly so) and so that doctor was considered “successful” in treating them.
People, it is incredibly easy to start taking a (legal) opioid for pain, obtain your first “refill” and quickly become addicted. It’s a very slippery slope :=0
We all need to have compassion for this group but in the same vein, these people need to be convinced to sign up for a detox program ASAP if they’re ever going to get their lives back (and not pose a danger to themselves or others, such as while driving). There are various centers across the nation who specialize in this niche, but it takes a minimum of 28 days in residence and costs $7-$10K. It’s worth it, even if one has to take a medical leave of absence from work.
