I really wonder how much psychological trick one can play on it's post surgical pain. You know if you're in a blissful happy environment and not a post-butchery waiting room it might change your day from dread to "ok".
After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
171–180 of 421 posts
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care > Most universal health care systems are funded primarily by tax revenue (like in Portugal[24] Spain, Denmark, and Sweden). Some nations, such as Germany and France[25] and Japan[26] employ a multipayer system in which health care is funded by private and public contributions
> Vorweg ist anzumerken, dass die in Deutschland vorgenommene Trennung zwischen Steuern und Sozialabgaben in vielen Staaten nicht üblich ist. Daher verstehen internationale Organisationen unter dem Begriff „Steuern“ („Taxes“) in der Regel die Summe aus Steuern und Sozialabgaben und behandeln die Sozialabgaben („Social Security Contributions“) als Teilbetrag der Steuern. http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/D…
Paper published by the World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/health_financing/taxed_based_financing_dp...
> Tax-Based Financing for Health Systems: Options and Experiences
> social insurance, private insurance and general taxation
Social insurance is the German model.
> By contrast, Germany's policy to combine its sickness funds into a social health insurance system -- generally credited as the first effort to enact universal health insurance coverage -- dates from the second half of the 19th century.
or see:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.628...
> Social Health Insurance vs. Tax-Financed Health Systems—Evidence from the OECD
SHI -> German model.
> it was in Germany and neighboring countries that SHI began
Also see: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/how-health-care-is...
Options discussed: Taxation, Private Health Insurance, Social Health Insurance, User charges as an additional source of financing
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4628174/
> Current Trends in Health Insurance Systems: OECD Countries vs. Japan
> There are three major types of social health-care systems: social insurance systems like Japan, France, and Germany, tax-based system like the United Kingdom and Sweden, and the United States—limited service to the elderly or disabled, called Medicare (Table 1).
Again, Germany has a social insurance system, not a tax-based system.
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#173"I took two ibuprofens that first day. In hindsight, I didn’t need them, but I felt like I should take something" I have noticed the need to "take something" with a lot of American friends when they have problem. It's almost like a reflex.
For migraine sufferers, not taking something as it starts to unfold will result in a very unpleasant experience that will take longer to resolve
Not all migraine sufferers are the same. I have suffered from fairly regular migraine headaches for about twenty years (can't believe it's been that long!) and sometimes taking something like 200mg of ibuprofen when you first feel it can result in the progress of the headache being 'arrested' at that stage and though it still lasts as long as a normal headache before it passes, sometimes it manages to stop it from fully blooming.
However, even within my own experience, only ~1/4 of my headaches respond this way. I've taken other medications as well, and the majority of my migraines don't respond to anything other than trying to soothe the symptoms :/ In the majority of cases ~3/4 of the time, there's nothing you can do to stop it, you just have to dig yourself in and get to a quiet dark place for a few hours until it passes.
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
This study is so bad I don't know where to start. Apart from its small size, the other major things is there was no ibuprofen control or ibuprofen with codeine control. There is a vast difference in the effectiveness of ibuprofen over acetaminophen. It is studies like this that have caused us Australians to lose access to OTC codeine this week.
Is there a compelling reason for codeine to be OTC in the first place? It's an addictive opiate.
This is the wrong question.
The question should be is their a compelling reason to make it Rx Only, and people that support making it Prescription only have the requirement to provide evidence to support making it RX only.
The fact that is "addictive" is also not enough IMO
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#175This passage feels like it is premise of the article; the author eventually comes to terms with her tea-sipping and resting as recovery, and this doctor explains the reasoning behind the medical decision-making which is very clear (and mindful/thoughtful) I think. “To paraphrase him [German anesthesiologist], he said: ‘Pain is a part of life. We cannot eliminate it nor do we want to. The pain will guide you. You will…
A similar reasoning of a (military) Russian dentist refusing to apply even local anesthetic that a friend seen once - "I prefer to not lose contact with the patient"
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is why my individualism, and Self Ownership come it to play as I feel that should be my choice if I want to take the risk, it should be up to me if the pain is server enough to warrant opioids or not as I am the one experiencing the pain. Every person reacts differently to procedures and to pain, some people having their wisdom teeth removed may not be painful, others it might be terrible pain. It should be up t…
On an individual basis, good for you that you can handle yourself. You are indeed a victim of the majority. However, making opiates freely available would be catastrophic for society to a point that would dwarf the current epidemic. In other words, it is a shame that the system can't do better for you, but your point of view is selfish.
I disagree, having studied this topic for more than a decade most of the current epidemic problems, including the death toll can be more accurately attributed to prohibitionist policies as the "War on Drugs" than to any legal availability.
On the topic of Society in General, the US War on Drugs has lead to an inordinate amount of abuse, loss of freedom, and the elimination or reduction of most constitutional protection.
treating Addiction as a Crime is what is bad for society
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#177I have no doubt that pills are overused, and Europe is a rather ahead of America in terms of natural remedies and a less pill-pushing approach. That said, doctors should take care: the only thing worse than overprescribing necessary medications is underprescribing them.
> the only thing worse than overprescribing necessary medications is underprescribing them. There are only three categories: overprescribing, underpresribing, and prescribing the correct amount. In the case of opioid-based painkillers, overprescribing leads to unnecessary addiction, in turn leading to heroin or fentaynl abuse, breakup of families, overdose, etc. If you’re underprescribed opioid painkillers, you just…
>If you’re underprescribed opioid painkillers, you just feel temporary pain (or not, since non-opioid painkillers exist).
Without taking a political stance on regulated pain killers, I'd like to point out that the concept of 'temporary pain' is largely a myth. There has been much work done (mostly with chronic pain sufferers) to show that pain (and more generally over-excitation of nerves) can cause permanent nervous system damage, brain chemistry changes, and CNS rewiring/plasticity-like changes.
Much of this research originated from the correlation between chronic pain sufferers and un-treatable (or difficult to treat) depression.
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#178I must applaud the doctors, as they did the right thing, and even gave explicit and detailed explanation. Pain is indeed important. It is a feature, not a bug. If you don't know what resting after a surgery means, then you are in need of more pain, not less, as pain is exactly what effectively teaches you what to do and what not to do. Also, Ibuprofen is really bad for your kidneys. If you take it, then make sure to…
>Pain is indeed important. It is a feature, not a bug.
Indeed, but features have a cost.[0]
[0]:https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2014/07/study-reveals...
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
This study showed that a Tylenol ibuprofen combo was as effective as opioids (and with zero chance of addiction). If course it's likely to vary in effectiveness by patient and depend on the type of pain. I can't help but feel that pharmaceutical companies probably don't want a lot more studies like this coming out. https://www.healio.com/family-medicine/pain-management/news/...
On the contrary, since nobody in the US is willing to prescribe opioids any more, hospitals are doing Tylenol IV drips, and pharma is now charging 10x for acetaminophen. They’re just fine with the hysteria and the studies, they still get paid.
> since nobody in the US is willing to prescribe opioids any more
Since when? I was given opioids when my wisdom teeth were pulled a year ago, far more than I needed.
From what I understand, opiate prescriptions are down, but only by 10-20% or so.
Re: After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
It must be. I've had Vicodin a few times, and found it had had no effect other than pain relief. There was no experience of a "high" or euphoria. I have never finished a prescription, as it simply stops occurring to me to take it once the pain is gone.
>I have never finished a prescription, as it simply stops occurring to me to take it once the pain is gone. I hope you don't do that with antibioticum.
Actually the new literature says it's okay to stop antibiotics early.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/883545