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Comment by dixie_land | Hacker News Reader

I was prescribed Oxycondon (the generic) for kidney stones and it really helped me get through excruciating pain. (My stones are not seriously enough to require surgery but you gotta sit through the pain to wait for them to pass through).

But as soon as the pain become remotely manageable I stopped it and just used NSAIDs.

Because it doesn't take a genius to look up online what you're taking and know the side effects (I'm counting addition as one)

To this day I keep the unused pills close just in case but I honestly never once tempted to use them for recreational purposes.

I guess my point is that it takes two to tango and let's not throw personal responsibility out of the window when talking about opioids.

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So you're saying you disobeyed your doctor's recommendations in managing a common type of acute pain and you think that justifies demonizing other people who have had different experiences? That seems not only callous but also extraordinarily naive and self-absorbed. You can't know what other people's experiences were like, especially those with chronic or more severe pain.

your anecdata doesn't account for the range of experiences that can lead others into trouble.

different people have individual relationships with opiates. Some have no trouble keeping recreational enjoyment occassional. Some are able to use them therapeutically then taper off. Others are more susceptible to problematic abuse, irrespective of whether they were prescribed or sourced elsewhere.

your anecdata is as much about good luck as a morally superior appreciation of responsibility.

All anecdotal, but I had severe kidney stone issues as well - I know the pain!

I had several kidney stones while I lived in Sweden, and they did give me opiates for it - but only at the hospital. I was prescribed Diclofenac (an NSAID) as a fast-acting suppository to take home, with instructions to take that and then go to the hospital if I had another stone.

The next time I woke up with cramps, I did as told, and the meds worked quickly to reduce the pain to manageable levels until I got to hospital.

Perhaps there are medical reasons to prescribe some patients a take-home opiate for this.. but I can't help but wonder if kick-back programs and so on are playing a role here for what treatment path doctors choose.

> Perhaps there are medical reasons to prescribe some patients a take-home opiate for this

...and to prescribe so many that the GP commenter has enough left over to be used in future.

Last time I was prescribed opiates, I got a standard prescription. There were about 20 pills, inside a box. The box had 20 bubbles, each with one pill in it.

Unsure of how long the pain would last, this worked. I was able to sleep a few nights and work out the pain since I had a few things to do. I had an xray planned just in case, but it wound up being necessary.

I don't see the point of taking more pills than I have needed, so they are in the cabinet. I also don't see the point of breaking up a bubble package at the pharmacy. They are made to both keep costs down and ensure pill safety. No pill miscounts, for example. Bubble packs have shown to help slow down suicides as well (people have to work harder to get the pills out, giving them time to rethink things at the last minute). I don't have a history of asking for pain medicine.

The time before this was for gall bladder surgery some years ago. As soon as I didn't need the pills, I stopped taking them. This was in the US, so they were loose pills, but I*m not sure they numbered more. I did need one later when I returned to work as the first day was rough. I assume the prescription I received was standard procedure after the operation. Just because I didn't need that many doesn't mean that someone else didn't.

for people downvoting this: did you have something to add to the discussion?

or do you just have to downvote anyone who shares a first hand experience that happen to not fit into your narrative?

I thought the judging was a bit much and highly ironic when coupled with early addict behavior ("let's keep those opioids around just in case").

I think by "just in case" he meant in the case of needing them therapeutically not recreationally.

If you have the self-control the idea is having some in case you fall and break your arm or something(Obviously only for serious injuries).

If your problem warrants opioid painkillers you'll get them as part of your hospital visit to fix the actual problem.

i'm curious whether you experience chronic pain yourself. opioids are a dangerous class of drugs, and the decision to use them is based on weighing the severity of a person's pain against the inherent risks of using the drugs. in a certain sense, i find it quite inhumane that this decision can only be made by someone who has no accurate way of knowing how much pain the patient feels.

One of my molars worked itself loose, which hurt like hell, and my mom had some OxyContin laying around from when she broke her wrist so...on that particular day I was very happy my mom was displaying "early addict behavior".

to clarify by just in case I meant for the kidney stones: some argue it is more painful than labor or getting kicked in the nuts (luckily I didn't experience neither)

The preponderance of people who developed an addiction to prescription opioids were following their doctor's instructions in good faith — which instructions were taken from Purdue's disclosures, and included things like "take every 12h" for a drug they knew was only effective for 8.

In that context, "it doesn't take a genius" and "personal responsibility" are rather victim-blaming.

I downvoted because you can't see this situation through anything but your own lens and decided to victim blame. It's great that you didn't get addicted, but it's awful that you're saying it takes two to tango.

Why are you hanging onto drugs that are illegal for you to possess?

Drugs prescribed to you are not illegal to possess. Nor will someone you live (or is visiting you) with get in trouble for being in the home with them.

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