CVS Nightmare- Is it a national phenomenon?

garland
Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:40:54 +0000

I didn’t think @bluebayou was being unsympathetic or judging. It’s just a very unfortunate fact that Oxy now has a really bad rap owing to the rampant abuse of it. And I have argued for years that the reaction to this misuse is unfairly harming those that need it legitimately to control severe, chronic pain. I also think that doctors who were legitimately helping people in pain were at times unfairly targeted. Many people are dependent on narcotic pain relievers not as an addiction, but as a way to make day to day life livable. Dependency is not the same thing as abuse. So I have incredible sympathy for those trying to acquire pain meds.

These two things lie side by side: the intractable addiction problem that has led to many thousands of deaths, and the legitimate need for pain reduction and the fact that it is much harder for people in severe pain to be treated now, despite the severe suffering they endure.

I don’t have an answer, but I think the country needs to do a better job of dealing with the reality of both these issues in order to reduce suffering overall.