'I took 57 painkillers a day to get high'

[Gerald]

In December 2017 British woman Laura Plummer was jailed for three years for bringing 300 Tramadol painkiller tablets into Egypt. While the sentence shocked many in the UK, the case shone a light on a painkiller addiction problem blighting millions of Egyptians.

"When I was 15, we were playing PlayStation in a games arcade, and someone insulted me. I picked up a billiards cue and smashed it over his head. I was screaming abuse at everyone. I even broke the windows."

Abdul Hameed, now 24, remembers the moment he realised his drug habit had spiralled out of control.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44194346

Dangerous stuff this, the withdrawal is difficult.

[vienna]

A really big part of the problem is the over-prescribing of opioids by doctors and Big Pharma actively pushing doctors to freely write scripts for the pills. It is almost ridiculous how easy it is to get opioids legally, let alone illegally. I had a bit of surgery at the beginning of April and, on leaving the hospital, I was given a large number of Vicodin pills to help my post-surgical pain. Aside from the fact I had expressly voiced concern about taking opioids, the amount of pills, if I had taken them as prescribed, would have lasted me at least a couple of weeks; given how Vicodin is considered a highly addictive medication, it is easy to see how a person could develop and addiction. In my case, I have a pretty good threshold for pain, so I only took the Vicodin when the pain was really, really bad; I now have nearly all the pills I was given unused, but the expiration date ends in late 2021, so I'm holding on to them in case there is a need in the future and I can save the expense of a new script...


If I can get so many pills for a non-critical, non-chronic situation, I wonder what its like for people with really severe, chronic pain who are prescribed such dangerous addictive drugs...
















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[fireftr18]

The addiction problem has gotten out of hand in the US. The counter acting drug for opioids is Narcan. I remember 25 years ago, as a young paramedic, I would give Narcan maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Now, they're giving it 4 or 5 times a day, and in mega doses. The orthopedic doctor group I work with now, although they will still prescribe the opioid pain relievers in some cases, they strongly lean toward the non-addicting pain relievers.

[Gerald]

Those who use this in the US and in other Europe have seen a market full of players who first dump the prices to get potential customers when they are stuck in an addiction, then the price is raised again and the bad spiral is a fact.

[Buddahaid]

Hell with getting high, I take 57 painkillers to get up. :shucks:

[vienna]

Hell with getting high, I take 57 painkillers to get up. :shucks:


Isn't there a little blue pill for that?... :hmmm: :D
















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