Addiction. A word that everyone has heard recently on their nightly news real recently.
The opioid crisis has been getting worse – but what is being done to stop it? Doctors are still prescribing prescriptions such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, at an alarming rate. There are enough prescriptions written in a year to cover every American to have one full bottle of pills.
It is no wonder that America has been dealing with an extreme drug problem.
Up until recently, doctors did not prescribe opioids at such a large rate. Majority of the patients who received the extreme drug had just received a surgery or were living with Cancer.
It was not prescribed the way that it is today.
With the introduction of new drug regulation laws at the turn of the century, certain practices began to change. Patient "pain level" began to be an important part of treating a patient, as well as new marketing techniques made drugs, like Oxycontin, a household name.
The rise of prescription drug use later led to the usage of heroin. When it became more difficult to obtain prescription drugs, people began to start searching for other ways to feed their addiction: heroin. In addition to the crackdown, heroin is also the cheaper option.
The Kentucky Drug Control Policy says, "The growing number of people who began abusing expensive prescription drugs are switching to heroin, which is cheaper and easier to buy."
Ultimately, the rise in prescription drug usage (that was originally labeled a "safe option" for patients) is leading to the rise of heroin use.
It has been shown that people choose the quick fix to hide the symptoms of the problem, rather than identifying the actual issues and treating that. People would rather use medication instead of going through physical therapy and treating the actual issue, not just the symptom.
I understand that sometimes we need to use these drugs. Sometimes it would be in the best interest to use them. With that being said, maybe it is about time we recognize what we are doing to our bodies.
When we ask for medication to deal with our issues, we take the risk of never really understanding what is wrong. Once we are hooked, it becomes harder to leave the drugs behind.
I have a proposition. The next time we have a choice, ask for the harder option. demand that you actually identify what is causing the pain and fix the actual problem, not the symptom. Go through the route of physical therapy, surgery, more pain before it gets better.
I promise that you will feel more rewarded when you are done and will be thankful to not have handed over your life to the drugs that are killing thousands.
