Help me understand something about Trump's opioid speech...

[Atman]

Exactly how is Trump's Mexican border wall going to stop American doctors from prescribing opioid pain killers manufactured and sold my American drug companies? What am I missing?

That speech sounded like a "Just Say No" reboot to me.

[spanone]

1. big photo op....nothing more...

[Freethinker65]

2. It will not...however

My son just had his wisdom teeth removed. They said to give him Ibuprofen before and after surgery but sent him home with an Rx for 24 low dose Vicodin. Total cost to fill was under $10. He took maybe 6 pills. Honestly do not know why they wrote for 24 pills?

And people with chronic pain have to jump through hoops for refills? Addicts are getting their extras from somewhere.

[lapfog_1]

3. I had a tooth extracted

and they gave me a total of 4 Vicodin (of which I took 2 and flushed 2).

That stuff is scary good.

[panader0]

5. This past December I had 20 teeth extracted (to get dentures)

at one two hour session. 10 pills, don't remember what they were.
The opioid crisis is from the pharmaceutical companies, not from
the neighbors to the south.

[Freethinker65]

12. Agreed, the South has nothing/little to do with it

[panader0]

13. I meant south of the border.

Sure, crank and smack are smuggled in, but the biggest source
of the problem is our own drug companies.

[unblock]

6. wtf. after my shoulder surgery they gave me 8 percocet, maybe 12. zero refills.

[moriah]

8. Everybody's pain responds differently.

24 "low-dose" instant release hydrocodone/Tylenol combination pills would be a 6 day supply if taken every six hours, or a 4 day supply if taken every 4 hours. The usual dose is 5-10 mg every 4-6 hours as needed (1-2 5mg tablets). Perhaps your son has a higher pain tolerance, but that's not an unreasonable prescription, particularly if he was at risk for developing a dry socket.

When I had my impacted wisdom teeth cut out once they realized that was why it seemed like I had TMJ and not the fact I was a tooth-grinder, I was given Mepergan (demerol/phenergan) for two days and 5 mg Vicodin for the next three. The only thing that got me through the planned 1000 mile trip (as a passenger) on day 4 was having those pills, the vibration from the car was very painful.

[Freethinker65]

11. Thx. I was just curious as no pain meds other than Ib were mentioned at consultation

[dpd3672]

4. Because the prescribed opioids are the first step in a deadly process.

This is the problem:

A person goes to doctor for whatever reason...injury, chronic pain, illness, whatever. Doctor prescribes opiate, because everyone thinks they need something "stronger" than OTC painkillers, and because we are a society where there's a "cure" for every little adversity life throws at us.

Opiates are EXTREMELY addicting, and after a few weeks, the prescription runs out. Patient then, predictably, goes through the cliche "drug seeking" steps of going to another doctor, coming up with new injuries, claiming to have flushed the pills by accident, borrowing from friend, etc. Eventually, they run out of options and try to obtain the opiates illegally.

In very short order, the now addicted person realizes that buying heroin on the street is actually cheaper than buying prescription pills without a prescription...and this is how a person that doesn't even like to drink alcohol becomes a heroin addict, how housewives wind up turning tricks for drugs, and how high school kids run away from their happy, well adjusted homes to live in abandoned houses and steal what they can to get high.

Believe it or not, as scary as it sounds, it's happening a LOT, in EVERY city, in RECORD numbers. And these housewives, professionals, and school kids are dying left and right when they heroin is cut a little strong, or a little fentanyl is mixed in.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Welcome to DU!

Enjoy our madness and sharing for the sake of truth and reason.

We are now a society in need of a quick fix for everything, brought about by an irresponsible advertising industry and commercial greed. They've been brainwashing us for many decades. One huge problem we have today is that people are "max'ed out' on everything - entertainment, feeling well, ownership of "stuff", etc. Reaching out for a new "high" does not work anymore. I'm old enough to remember when going to see a movie or going out to eat was a huge treat!

The path you described is not the only one. Just like we sneaked around and played with alcohol in the 60s, kids now have drugs available at their fingertips and are easy targets for dealers. This has played out in many innocent country towns to the point of an epidemic. It must be stopped at the source - the drug manufacturers and sales networks.

[dpd3672]

14. I agree with you.

When most of us were kids, we'd occasionally steal a bottle of booze from our parents...if our parents were a bit more "hip," we might have access to a little weed.

Today, kids have access to...essentially...heroin, in an unlocked medicine cabinet or dresser drawer. It's like leaving a loaded gun or matches where they can get to them.

[marylandblue]

7. Mexican drs are throwing opioids across the Rio Grande in sixty lb sacks

[TeeYiYi]

9. I had the same reaction...

...until I remembered that Mexican drug cartels use that border to traffic heroin and counterfeit opiates into the United States.

TYY