Opioid Addiction
Algorithm, a belated welcome to you and to your participation in Sober Recovery. You've been a nice addition in the short time you've been here already.
I'm sorry to hear about your injuries. It brings the subject topic to mind I've been considering for quite a while, and I finally decided to start a thread here on SR about it. And, Algorithm, I'm sure if you were taking pain killers, you've stuck to the prescription, so I'm in no way suggesting you have any problem with pain killers.
I had a broken tibia injury about ten years ago that required a healing locator implant with two screws. They're still there, but I completely recovered and don't notice it's presence.
Last year I had a kidney stone problem that took three outpatient surgeries to resolve over two months.
I bring this all up because of an insidious type of addiction that I believe has reached a "perfect storm" of magnitude in our society at this time: that of opioid addiction.
I had no problem following the prescription of the hydrocodone for the injury repair ten years ago. When it ran out I didn't even think of trying to get more. But last year, when the prescription ended as I tapered off the hydrocodone prescribed for the kidney recovery, I Recognized a quite profound sadness at not being able to "get that euphoric feeling" any more. There IT was, after so many years: full blown in all ITs ugly glory. After a day or two the feeling completely dissipated and hasn't come back.
I had made a Big Plan for alcohol and mind altering drugs together a long time ago, with the exception of prescribed pain killers from a doctor I trusted.
Recently, after talking to a doctor friend who leveled with me about opioid prescribing, I came up with the following social tendencies that appear to me to promote the present epidemic and make up the "perfect storm" for opioid abuse.
1 - The pain management debate that has resulted in the liberal prescribing of pain killers.
2 - The increase of job insecurity and true unemployment, and adversarial relation between corporation and its workers as comodities.
3 - The baby-boomers entering retirement and age related infirmities.
4 - The huge financial gain of various special interests in the drug war and recovery industry
5 - The huge gain of various special interests in the massive popular resignation from politics.
6 - The physical isolation of people into their own computer worlds.
7 - And last but far from least, the breakdown of the family.
Anyway, this is just my present view of the situation. I thought I'd toss it out there into the public realm.
GT