Opioid crisis

[bizman1951]

I think doctors in the US a most responsible for the opioid crisis in this country.  I am an example.  At age fifty I was in the best health of my life.  I was an avid runner and I suffered a severe hip displacement while running.  Kaiser-Permanente refused to replace my hips because they said I was too young for hip replacement.  Instead they forced me to become addicted to morphine.  My health plummited.  The pain killers did not remove my pain.  I lost my job and was declared permanently disabled after a few years.  I appealed to Kaiser and was told I had no say in my treatment.  Eighteen years later I am still addicted to opiods and my life has become a lving hell.  I never took any drugs before this.  Doctors turned me into a drug addict.

[lizwebb57]

Doctors aren't responsible for the opioid crisis, drug addicts and illegal drugs coming in from China and Mexico are.  That being said, the government has now cracted down on doctors for 'over-prescribing' pain medications like morphine, etc. to patients, especially chronic pain patients.  Opioats for chronic pain rarely causes addiction or abuse.  Meds for short-term post-op surgeries can when a doctor prescribes too much for too long.  

The overhanded government crackdown on doctors, pharmaceutical companies and distributors have made it impossible for many legitimate, innocent chronic pain patients to get the pain medication they need to lead a normal and productive life. The drug addicts deserve empathy as well as proper help with therapy and addiction treatment, but the legitimate chronic pain patients should be given more priority.

[bizman1951]

My problem with doctors is that they use drugs as a first treatment.  In my case I had a severe hip displacement.  I was fifty years old and was in the best health of my life.  My problem could have been corrected with one of the most successful operations in existence.  Instead Kaiser told me I was too young for hip replacement surgery and got me addicted to morphine instead.

[aruzinsky]

I am curious to know exactly why you are addicted. 

Several possibilities occur to me:

1. You want to avoid the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms, including hyperalgesia and some dysphoria, which lasts about 10 days.

2. You want to continue to enjoy the comfort of opiates, including pain reduction and some euphoria.

Are there any other reasons?

[bizman1951]

You must be or be related to a doctor.  The reason I am still addicted to opiates is pain.  I am now on Hydrocodone.  Doctors orininally got me addicted to morphine.  When I could no longer tolerate the side effects of morphine I went through TWO MONTHS of withdrawels.  You have no idea what you a talking about.

[aruzinsky]

---

@bizman1951 wrote:

You must be or be related to a doctor.  The reason I am still addicted to opiates is pain.  I am now on Hydrocodone.  Doctors orininally got me addicted to morphine.  When I could no longer tolerate the side effects of morphine I went through TWO MONTHS of withdrawels.  You have no idea what you a talking about.

---

It is very unusual for morphine withdrawal to last two months and you can't blame anyone for not knowing that you have an abnormal genetic propensity for addiction.  Your abnormal personal experience does not represent an "opioid crisis."  I suggest that you try less addictive opiates such as methadone, buprenorphine or pentazocine.

[bizman1951]

After my so called "abnormal" response to morphine I did go on methadone which had the same horrendous side effects.  After that I went on Hydrocodone.  I am still on that today.  I never experienced any euphoric highs from any of the pain killers.  Maybe because of the pain?  You seem to be well versed on opiods.  Are you a doctor or a drug pusher?  Pretty much the same thing from my point of view.

[aruzinsky]

---

@bizman1951 wrote:

After my so called "abnormal" response to morphine I did go on methadone which had the same horrendous side effects.  After that I went on Hydrocodone.  I am still on that today.  I never experienced any euphoric highs from any of the pain killers.  Maybe because of the pain?  You seem to be well versed on opiods.  Are you a doctor or a drug pusher?  Pretty much the same thing from my point of view.

---

I have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.  I have a chronic pain condition which motivated me to research the subject of opiates.  It is well established in the medical literature that there is a large genetic variance in people's responses to different opiates.  One reason for this is that there are different opioid receptors.  See

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_receptor#Major_subtypes

All of the opiates that you have taken are mu receptor agonists which typically cause euphoria and physical dependence.  Compare with the kappa receptor.  I take pentazocine which is a kappa receptor agonist and mu receptor antagonist.  I have tried mu receptor agonists, including fentanyl which is less effective for me.

[bizman1951]

I was an electronic technician.  I completed a certificate program at the local JC.  I was also an electronics technician in the Marine Corps.  I worked on A4 jet aircraft and CH53 heloccoptors. I received training at NAS Millington, Tenn.  My problem with doctors is that I feel they use drugs as their first treatment.  At age fifty they should have replaced my hips instead of making me into a drug addict.  Instead they told me I was too young for hip replacement.  I think they were scared of my type one diabetes even though I was in the best health of my life at the time.  Their drugs caused my health to rapidly decline so they now use the excuse that I am not in good enough health for surgery.  I suspect the drug industry has a big influence on doctors that contributes to this problem.