I was listening to NPR this week and heard a story about Suboxone and was going to post the link here but I stumbled across something else on NPR.org/health section that caught my eye. This is a quote from the article.
From small towns to big cities, prescription painkiller abuse is a growing problem. The number of drug poisoning deaths in the U.S. tripled between 1999 and 2008. Drugmakers tried to curb the burgeoning addiction, such as coming up with a new recipe for the popular and widely abused OxyContin in 2010 that makes it harder to crush and snort.
But the move prompted some users to search for other prescription painkillers, and many have found their replacement in a drug called Opana.
“I’ve seen the mother and the father go to the doctor. It’s a big day; it’s like a festival,” says Stevens. “Everybody’s over at the house, waiting on them to get back from the doctor and the pharmacy. They come in with their four or five different narcotics. Nothing wrong with them at all physically, and those narcotics are gone within 30 minutes.”
The problem is that Opana, which was approved by the FDA in 2006 for chronic pain prescriptions, is so potent. In Scott County, Ind., 31 people have died since last year because of Opana overdoses.
Opana’s maker, Endo Pharmaceuticals, has tried to halt the trend by following in the steps of OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, and releasing a reformulated, harder-to-abuse pill earlier this year. It’s difficult now to find one of the original pills in Scott County pharmacies.
The reason it caught my eye as well as the article on Suboxone was the manufacturer. I had no idea that Beckitt Pharmaceuticals developed suboxone with money from the Federal Government. I have been long opposed to Suboxone for the simple fact is has been marketed as a ‘Miracle’ solution to prescription pill abuse and is simply nothing more than an updated version of the failed methadone program of the 1970’s. People in desperation are sold misinformation about the treatment and success rate of Suboxone as it is a temporary solution to a long term problem.
My wife and I received some text messages from our daughter last night who continues to move around with the traveling circus that is her Uncle’s life. I am frustrated to the point of anger that she is staying with him and his loser girlfriend. I wanted so much more for her but she is blinded by immaturity and youth as he can do no wrong. That living the way they do is cool and as long as she is comfortable with it nothing will change.
Expectation is the doormat for resentment. Most of the difficulties I struggle with today are based in expectations and intolerence. All I can do is try to be realistic about people, about situations and realize that I am not in charge of what other people do or say. I can only try and maintain a balance in my life of realistic perception of reality and myself.
I still have yet to ask someone to sponsor me in this area, with over 6 1/2 years of being clean I am still being stubborn! I have my eye one one fellow whom makes a lot of sense when he speaks. His name is Ken and I feel he may be a good fit for me. It’s just getting up the damn courage to do it. I know in the long run I need it and plan on asking him the next time I see him, hopefuly on Tuesday.
I hope this post finds you well.
Take Care,
Bob D.