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America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

economist.com

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Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#311

Post by glangdale »

mholmes680 wrote: post #290
glangdale wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Postman's book is now 32 years old! I read it as a teenager, which dates me... I'm not sure about the Amusing Ourselves To Death stuff or the tut-tutting about cooking and gardening, but overall, though, I think you're on the right track. I'm sure that between automation of both manufacturing and services, big-box retailers and the fact that the covering of the 'long tail' is done very well by web-based business. It'…

>>cooking and gardening two examples of many, admittedly probably too personal. Others: technology obsolescence, and the move toward not actually OWNing anything so nothing to learn to repair. >>If you even half-believe the 'technological unemployment' worry, the scary part is that the non-automatable jobs that involved providing goods and services to those displaced by technology will also suffer. Yes... My context…

I feel the 'parent context' too. I have kids old enough to be thinking more seriously about what they want to do when they group up (i.e. early teens) and it's difficult to know what to tell them. I suspect that many of the hopefully lucrative paths you mentioned will be things that gets more and more 'sealed' and routinized (i.e. robot repair == "remove broken assembly, put in new assembly, send broken assembly to factory in low-cost geo for salvage/repair").

It's not all doom and gloom, of course, and I think it's important to maintain a positive outlook esp. in front of one's kids when talking about this stuff. And of course, the growing helplessness and screen addiction of many of their peers suggests that in competitive terms, finding and holding a good job might be easier and easier (which isn't very encouraging overall, but appeals to the "amoral familism" streak I occasionally get).

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#312

Post by cheald »

GordonS wrote: post #183
cheald wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, those commercials are painful. If you're taking so many opioids that you have trouble pooping, maybe the solution is to take fewer opioids rather than adding another medication to the mix. Really damning commentary on how easily and flippantly we overmedicate.

Even a low dose of less potent opioids such as codeine or dihydrocodeine can cause constipation

So get some extra fiber and pop a Colace if it's really bad. Adding another prescription medication seems like a pound worth of solution for an ounce's worth of problem.

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#313

Post by laughfactory »

hive_mind wrote: post #208
interfixus wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which Denmark is this? Doesn't resemble the one I live in. Neither the robberies problem nor the legal pure heroin, and most certainly not the disappearance of burglaries - not statistically, not anecdotally, and not according to the several people of my acquaintance who have had it happen to them.

In the USA, there's a fantasy Denmark that exists in the media. In the fantasy Denmark, there's no crime, all the women are hot blondes who never get fat, there's cheap weed every where (and apparently free clean heroin), the furniture is sleek, all the men are feminists who never objectify women (there's no porn), the school system is fantastic (every child is good at math), the healthcare is free and high-quality,…

You're right. That's totally the way we perceive Denmark, and pretty much the rest of Europe.

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#314

Post by malandrew »

This article I recently submitted had some interesting stats on the relationship between opiates and the welfare state:

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/our-miserable-21...

Although the entire article is worth reading, jump down to the paragraph that begins with "The opioid epidemic..." and read for about ~5 paragraphs if that's all that interests you.

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#315

Post by trome »

magic_beans wrote: post #271
trome wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhh, hate to break it to ya, but even with insurance its not all roses and sunshine in the USA, you can easily go 6 months waiting for a knee replacement here. Watched a family member go through 4 over the past decade, and its a slow process no matter the insurance provider. Plus, hospitals here on the West Coast have amped up doing a bunch of skeezy stuff recently, you could easily end up with a non-functional leg a…

How does one person need 4 knee replacements in 10 years?

Poor post-op care for the initial two, combined with Stryker making some very low quality knee replacements. Thus why you'd need another knee replacement after a decade

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#316

Post by trome »

runamok wrote: post #308
magic_beans wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does one person need 4 knee replacements in 10 years?

Because American health care payments are based on quantity and not quality? ;-)

Partially, the upstream vendor (Stryker) made some defective knee replacement joints that wear out prematurely, causing pain and issues walking. Opening the knee back up and replacing most of the parts with better designed parts is what has to be done after a decade, then you get to sit there for months and heal.

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#317

Post by magic_beans »

trome wrote: post #315
magic_beans wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does one person need 4 knee replacements in 10 years?

Poor post-op care for the initial two, combined with Stryker making some very low quality knee replacements. Thus why you'd need another knee replacement after a decade

That's devastating :(

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#318

Post by 3131s »

martinald wrote: post #274
3131s wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually pretty hard for legitimate patients to get opioids in many circumstances. My mother has chronic pain from a surgery and has been on a very low dose of oxycodone for years now (10mg a day, I think), and she regularly is subjected to urine and other tests to prove that she's not an addict. My grandpa just had an operation and later at home ended up in a lot of pain, but he could not get oxycodone for two…

10mg of oxy is not a low dose. That's equivalent to 75mg hydrocodone (Vicodin) or 150mg codeine.

Huh, I might be basing my perception on what is high vs. low from knowing some people who abused oxycodone. I believe my mom takes 5mg twice a day, and from what I'm reading that still seems pretty light. Oxycontin pills are minimum 5mg, correct?

Erowid puts that in the "light" category for users with some tolerance, FWIW:

https://erowid.org/pharms/oxycodone/oxycodone_dose.shtml

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#319

Post by zaccus »

magic_beans wrote: post #271
trome wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhh, hate to break it to ya, but even with insurance its not all roses and sunshine in the USA, you can easily go 6 months waiting for a knee replacement here. Watched a family member go through 4 over the past decade, and its a slow process no matter the insurance provider. Plus, hospitals here on the West Coast have amped up doing a bunch of skeezy stuff recently, you could easily end up with a non-functional leg a…

How does one person need 4 knee replacements in 10 years?

Aggressive rheumatoid arthritis could be one reason.

Re: America’s opioid epidemic is worsening

#320

Post by rabboRubble »

cheald wrote: post #162
6stringmerc wrote: post #47

The first time I saw a TV commercial here in the US for a pill to battle opiod induced constipation, I realized just how many people are taking large doses of the stuff. Pretty staggering to me.

Yeah, those commercials are painful. If you're taking so many opioids that you have trouble pooping, maybe the solution is to take fewer opioids rather than adding another medication to the mix. Really damning commentary on how easily and flippantly we overmedicate.

My Dad was prescribed tramadol for arthritis pain. Apparently tramadol is the entry level opioid. He reported to me zero relief from the pain and "poop like bricks". He doesn't want to take any more.

I've encouraged both parents to try legal marijuana products in their state before experimenting more with anything opioid related.

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