Comment by dqv | Hacker News Reader

Comment by dqv | Hacker News Reader

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Fun story about seeking actually. A dentist prescribed me opiates (two different kinds but I can't remember what) for wisdom tooth removal. I filled the prescription in case I needed them but ibuprofen ended up being fine.

Later my psychiatrist retired so I needed to find a new one. The new psychiatrist interrogated me about my use of opiates. He asked if I had taken opiates before. I answered no because I hadn't. This was his gleeful gotcha moment where he pulls up my prescription history to find the opiate prescription and accuse me of lying about drug abuse.

It was a university health system and he was pushing a new medication on me. That same day I found out the manufacturer of the drug he wanted to put me on had made a $10 million donation to the university. I guess he was going to try to get me to feel like a drug abuser and like I have no choice but to take this new medication?

Anyway, he was successful at making me feel like I was a drug abuser so I just left and stopped taking psychiatric medications altogether. I probably didn't need them. Also you can be labeled a seeker even if you fill the prescription instead of going back to get it.

> so I just left and stopped taking psychiatric medications altogether

Wow, for some conditions that sounds like not at all an outcome a psychiatrist would like to be responsible for.

These medications - zolpidem and adderall were easy to get off of. It was maybe a month of discomfort and then things started to get back to normal. They were helpful with getting my life back on track. I stopped taking the zolpidem when the retiring psychiatrist ignored a refill request (that I made during business hours with advanced notice). I decided from there that I wasn't going to be dependent on medication to fall asleep.

The new psychiatrist was how you might expect any psychiatrist to be - fake sincerity. So yes, there was a sense of "oh no we don't want you to stop cold turkey ;) why don't you take this new medication." The recommendation to change to a new medication manufactured by a major donor to the university was a red flag that made me decide to stop altogether.

Right, not saying anything about your situation or pretending to know the details. But the phrasing was reminding me of people I have been close to who take antipsychotics. Medication compliance is a huge issue with those, a good doctor will be extremely cautious.

I wonder what I’d get labelled as. About 7 years ago, I got a prescription for 30 Tylenol #2s after I fell off my bike and broke my collarbone and black eyed myself.

I took ~10-15 then and would occasionally take one as needed in the intervening 7 years and still have some left.

Would this paint me as a responsible user or a monster taking prescription meds without doctor’s supervision)?

Neither, because you didn't share the story. Oh wait, you did under a pseudonym. Look, nobody cares about such a small thing. You should dispose old medicine after expiration date, and you should not use strong drugs recreational / without prescription.

That being said, I did same with Ritalin. It helped me focus during times I needed (same reason it got prescribed though not for using it casually but regularly). Eventually I got rid of it though.

Heck, even Ibuprofen 600+ mg can only be bought with prescription. For a oral medicine / huge swelling I had to get a procedure, and this helped. I got prescribed Oxazepam because of my fear of needles. I used 1x 10 mg before the night of procedure, 2x 10 mg an hour or so before procedure. I walked like a drunk. Yep, I get why this stuff is addicting.

I kinda suspect the codeine doesn’t work for me and one day I’ll get morphine or something and go “ohhhhh, I get it now”.

(Tylenol with small amounts of codeine is over the counter here, but meh).

Why do you need opiates of all things to deal with tooth removal?!

its a procedure with a painful recovery?

because it hurts.

This has been common in the US for decades now, I was prescribed them as a minor for my wisdom tooth removal. I was also fine with ibuprofen.

I'm assuming there were significant kickbacks to oral surgeons from the opioid sales people.

That is extremely standard, why would you assume there "were significant kickbacks from opiod sales people?"

Most of the time it would be generic vicodin and cost under $20 for enough to take for a few days.

Wisdom tooth removal is a whole different ballgame than plain tooth removal, with painful complications possible (e.g. “impacted” wisdom teeth).

The same reason I had to go to a specialized surgeon, have a pre-visit to analyze the problem teeth, and be put under for the operation. I basically had a surgeon digging around in my jaw with operating tools for two hours - and I was a barely functioning person for like a week afterwards.

It's pretty painful, especially if you have all four removed at once. But, I think pharmaceutical propaganda has made people believe that there is really a way to kill the pain. Something I've learned from opiate addicts is that it doesn't make the pain go away - it just makes you feel good enough to forget the pain.

It was my opinion before doing it that I would be feeling some amount of pain no matter what I did. So I just followed the other aftercare instructions first - ice it, take ibuprofen, (lightly) swish with warm salt water. The pain was reduced enough that I didn't feel the need to take the opiates.

Im with you. I had the full 4 wisdom teeth removed at once and I got by just fine with ibuprofen. However, you have to understand that like most things in biology, there's a bell curve which exists for measureable pain tolerance. There are definitely people who find that level of pain unbearable in the same way you and I might find a hot poker unbearable. It's not irresponsible as a provider to offer pain meds for that.

As someone that's had back pain my entire adult life, not everyone has the same constitution. Understanding, of course, that not all pain is 'the same'. My level of tolerance is likely because I understand the /significant/ risks of addiction. I'd rather not be in pain, obviously, but not at the risk of being a junkie.

I definitely get the impression that a lot of people sucked into pain med addiction are not the sort that have had a lot of previous experience with pain. Making it doubly irresponsible to prescribe such highly addictive medications for them.

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