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OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

latimes.com

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Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#91

Post by DanBC »

gragas wrote: post #38
notburnt wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I've noticed: in the US people generally have an aversion to being even mildly uncomfortable. And, it's culturally acceptable to be on medication so people take it for basically any inconvenience. Sweating a little? Crank the AC. Small headache? take a pill. Bad day? Have a drink. Workout left muscles sore? Another pill. Sprained ankle? Obviously you need pain medication! It's easy to see how there is a low…

I think you could say the same thing about almost any first world country.

The US has more people using opioid medication than any other first world country.

For people who've used opioid medication in the past year most of the developed world has a figure of around 1% or 2%. The US has over 5%.

Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#92

Post by mnm1 »

Alex3917 wrote: post #76
dismantlethesun wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you characterize as drug abuse?

> What do you characterize as drug abuse? I tend to think about drug misuse, rather than drug abuse, since not taking certain drugs can be just as irrational and damaging as taking too many drugs. But basically I think people should use drugs as tools to maximize their utility based on their needs and values. And I think that drug misuse is anything that leads to significantly suboptimal utility that's clearly not ju…

So it's not misuse if I can justify it internally.

Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#93

Post by mowenz »

gragas wrote: post #29
mowenz wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is cultural. Money/greed on the supply side. Lack of happiness on the demand side.

>Money/greed on the supply side. Lack of happiness on the demand side. You have nothing to back that up. In fact, all the evidence I've seen points towards the opposite: the places with the least opiate abuse are (1) not happy countries (2) with very strict laws. See Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, etc. If money and greed on the supply side, and lack of happiness on the demand side is the true cause of this, surely t…

It's hard to be scientific about this. For example, you wrote of Singapore being unhappy, but in my experience in Singapore people seem really happy. A lot more than in the States, as far as I can tell (and especially far, far less anger).

Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#94

Post by mtdewcmu »

jschwartzi wrote: post #33
mtdewcmu wrote: post #16

Doctors should be more skeptical of pharma companies' marketing claims, right? Who believes everything they read? There's probably a case to be made that the FDA should have been more involved, too. The data on how fast OC released its drug would have been available to the FDA, if not doctors.

Every time one of these articles comes out, people say that the FDA should have been more involved. Every time we hear about some new drug that Europe, India, or China has that is still being cleared in the US, people say that the FDA needs to step back and let pharma companies innovate. Which is it? I honestly don't think the FDA is culpable in this. They're there to ensure that the manufacturer is meeting a minimum…

If the manufacturer claims that it works for 12 hours and it clearly doesn't, then then that's false marketing. The FDA could stop them from making that false claim without taking the product off the market.

Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#95

Post by razorunreal »

Alex3917 wrote: post #76
dismantlethesun wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you characterize as drug abuse?

> What do you characterize as drug abuse? I tend to think about drug misuse, rather than drug abuse, since not taking certain drugs can be just as irrational and damaging as taking too many drugs. But basically I think people should use drugs as tools to maximize their utility based on their needs and values. And I think that drug misuse is anything that leads to significantly suboptimal utility that's clearly not ju…

That seems like an unnecessarily abstract way of saying "make good choices".

Drug abuse seems straight forwardly defined as using a drug for purposes other than as prescribed. Not following the schedule or following it when it is unwise to shouldn't be considered abuse as long as you are still using it to manage pain. Of course that boils down to intent, which is hard to determine.

Re: OxyContin's 12-hour problem (2016)

#96

Post by MacsHeadroom »

sergior wrote: post #78
stronglikedan wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Search "kratom" (Mitragyna speciosa). It helps people kick their opiate addiction every day. It's not a magic bullet by any means, but it helps by mitigating the withdrawals to a tolerable point. Good luck - I know how you feel.

I think it is worth mentioning that it actually kills pain and I am yet to experience any side effects. Only problem is to find the right dose, but it is a minor obstacle in comparison to the hell offered by pharmaceuticals. I have been taking Kratom for a month now and after a week dropped all pain medication prescribed by doctor. I feel like I am getting my life back. I feel that there are forces out there trying t…

> I feel that there are forces out there trying to make it illegal, because it interferes with the profits of pharmaceutical companies.

Sadly this harmless opiate replacement is schedule 1 in seven states and counting.

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