OT – just say no

[bearishgurl]

There’s a show on mainstream opioid addiction right now on KPBS. It’s very interesting.

[FlyerInHi]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin

Hard to watch. I would rather not watch the personal stories.
I still wonder where the personal responsibility is.

[evolusd]

Wife and I watched this last night, too. Seems like the LEAD program they discussed is achieving favorable results:

LEAD Program Evaluation: Recidivism Report (April 2015)

The Recidivism Report tests the relative effectiveness of the LEAD program compared to the ‘system‐as‐usual’ control condition in reducing criminal recidivism (i.e., arrests and charges).
◾People in LEAD were 60% less likely than people in the control group to be arrested within the first 6 months of the evaluation.

◾Over the entire course of the evaluation to date, people in LEAD were 58% less likely than people in the control group to be arrested (see below).

[spdrun]

That acronym is ironic considering that lead (the element) has been postulated as one of the causes of violent crime.

[NotCranky]

The pseudo science myth that addiction is genetic has probably worsened the problem with lack of personal responsibility. It supports a self fulfilling prophesy for something the user is already highly motivated to do for myriad reasons.

[Doofrat]

[quote=Blogstar]The pseudo science myth that addiction is genetic has probably worsened the problem with lack of personal responsibility. It supports a self fulfilling prophesy for something the user is already highly motivated to do for myriad reasons.[/quote]

Except that it’s not psuedo science in that a strong correllation has been shown over and over again using scientific methods. An example from nature:
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v20/n1/full/1395244a.html

[FlyerInHi]

How about personal responsibility to not try or go near things that you could be addicted to?

It takes thought out, deliberate action to acquire opioids.

Bill Maher had a show on big pharma getting us addicted. A lot of it is in the head. If you think you need it, then you need it, even if you don’t.

[spdrun]

Here’s how it often happens — person has an accident, doctor prescribes an opioid, and insists that the patient should use it despite being nervous (“pain delays healing”). The situation deteriorates from there.

It would be much safer if THC could be prescribed for pain in all states.

[bearishgurl]

The Frontline special was almost two hours last night but I missed the first 15 mins. Most of the show was about heroin addiction in the pacific northwest. But the first example in it was a surburban housewife who got addicted to the Vicodin her doctor prescribed for her. Her addiction spun out of control, fast, but she was able to hide it from her kids for about two years and semi-function … until she couldn’t anymore. She ended up getting arrested for prescription forgery and trying to pick up someone else’s prescription at Walgreen’s, who called the police. She was in and out of “drug court” from there, got clean and then fell into meth addiction with a new partner (after leaving her spouse and kids). She ended up having to do time and wasn’t the same physically or mentally after her release.

Her life before Vicodin was solidly “middle class,” even perhaps “upper middle-class.”

The most shocking parts of the show to me was the sheer beauty of the Seattle and Bremerton areas (I’ve never been there) and the sheer numbers of addicts on their streets. Does anyone know why are there so many hard-core addicts in the State of WA?

scaredy, did you see this Frontline special last night on KPBS? If not, you should watch it online. The Piggs would love to hear your “expert” comments … especially on Seattle’s “LEAD experiment.”

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin

Hard to watch. I would rather not watch the personal stories. . . [/quote]Yes, it was VERY hard to me to watch the (formerly) beautiful 20-year old girl shoot herself up in her neck. She must have eventually nicked her carotid artery because she ended up in intensive care with a deadly heart and lung infection. Her dad had been wringing his hands and feeling powerless because she wasn’t arrested and allowed to get clean in jail due to the “LEAD” experiment going on in the streets at the time. I really felt for him. But she got clean in the hospital and her social worker found her transitional housing where she managed to stay clean. She then moved back in with her dad when her worker signed her up to a methadone clinic. He ended up driving her there every day and that’s where the show ends. We don’t know how (or if) she fared after that.

[bearishgurl]

20/20 (ABC News) just announced it has been working for a year on a one-hour special for next Friday, March 11 at 10:00 pm called “Heroin in America,” detailing the lives of kids who started out on pain pills after an injury and then became addicted to heroin.

[moneymaker]

[quote=bearishgurl]Overuse of ibuprofen can lead to liver damage. Not sure how much per day/week constitutes “overuse” but I am careful. I DO need to use it but not regularly. Only after sessions at the gym where I have increased my weights.

I don’t believe that the use of ibuprofen or naproxen leads to opioid abuse.[/quote]

Actually BG it is acetaminophen that is the culprit when it comes to liver damage. http://www.goodrx.com/blog/is-ibuprofenadvil-bad-for-my-liver-and-kidneys/

[moneymaker]

I started thinking about everyone I know and it seems that everyone is addicted to something, except my mom. Sister is addicted to wine, brother is addicted to swimming, son is addicted to video games, wife is addicted to religion, my dad was addicted to smoking and coffee before he passed, I’m addicted to coffee and my wife would probably add beer to the list but I will only admit to the coffee being a habit that would be difficult for me to break. If I did break that addiction I’m pretty sure it would be replaced by another addiction, perhaps more beer or sex.

[FlyerInHi]

I just read that Trump’s older brother was an alcoholic and died a miserable death. That’s why he doesn’t drink.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=moneymaker][quote=bearishgurl]Overuse of ibuprofen can lead to liver damage. Not sure how much per day/week constitutes “overuse” but I am careful. I DO need to use it but not regularly. Only after sessions at the gym where I have increased my weights.

I don’t believe that the use of ibuprofen or naproxen leads to opioid abuse.[/quote]

Actually BG it is acetaminophen that is the culprit when it comes to liver damage. http://www.goodrx.com/blog/is-ibuprofenadvil-bad-for-my-liver-and-kidneys/%5B/quote%5DYes, you’re right, MM, my bad. I actually do take one aspirin everyday (if I have not taken an ibuprofen in the past 24 hours). It’s easy to take an ibuprofen every morning for minor aches and pains but it’s much better to go back to the gym in the morning (if possible) and work the same muscles again, instead.

Also, bear in mind that the ones sold over-the-counter are typically only 200 mg each but the prescribed ones are 600-800 mg each (equivalent to 3-4 OTR tablets).

[Author]

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