I am as above board as I can be when it comes to my medicine (never take more than 1 a day, never ask for more, etc) but the song and dance for getting refills, let alone a new or changed prescription, makes me feel like a criminal hunting for his next fix.
I can't imagine what it must be like for people who legitimately need opiates.
It seems bitterly ironic that the people who need those stimulant medications the most tend to be those who will have the most trouble jumping through all the hoops, and continuing to perform the song and dance on time every month.
The 'good news' is the active compound in Desoxyn is widely available at cheap prices and surprisingly high-purity in hypo-regulated markets. It is, in a way, easier to acquire (on every street corner and through the mail) than many very boring prescription chemicals. So there is at least a theoretical alternative.
Amphetamines for ADHD is one of the most effective treatment there is in all of medicine, along with things like insulin for diabetics and benzodiazepines for anxiety.
Unfortunately, self-medicating with N-methylamphetamine is an extraordinarily unwise thing to try. It is hard to recommend that anyone who is already prone to substance abuse attempt that maneuver.
Yeah, but this is true for all debilitating conditions, like chronic pain, chronic insomnia, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia or any kind of psychosis, many kinds of physical disability, etc. It all makes it way harder to get to the doctor and do the things you gotta do to get better. A real catch-22 for millions of people daily.
My 78-year-old father, who doesn't even drink or smoke, gets Norcos for his back. He's a pool player and he just uses them when he plays long enough to trigger his back pain; on a normal day at the house, he won't use any.
The hoops and ridiculous requirements he has to jump through are crazy. He just got a random drug test the other day. He has to meet with the doc all the time. They ask him stupid questions (I've been in the room). He has to fill out the same form each time with all these questions about addictive behavior. He's got to bring his pill bottle with him; not allowed to have too many pills, or too few, or you get in trouble. Doc was quizzing him about why he has other prescribed medications. And on and on.
My dad has to set aside pills so that he doesn't lose the prescription, since he doesn't use as many pills as he's prescribed; it's highly important to him, as he's played pool nearly every single day for about 57 years and he is going to hold onto that as long as he can.
I think it's really hard to look at the opioid epidemic and not think that these medications should have a really high bar to acquire. I'm sorry your father has to put in so much effort.
Opioids should require a reasonable bar, if we go from a really low bar to a really high bar, all we are doing is making the same mistake twice, but in opposite directions.
The wildly excessive prescription of oxycontin & opioid is a crisis and a tragedy. If the response is an overreaction in the opposite direction, the result is also more tragedies.
Pain doctors seem like they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place now. You have a whole population of patients who have been given pain meds like candy, and when you suddenly take them away they're left dealing with the problem. Some of them turn to street drugs out of desperation, and that's a countdown to another fentanyl overdose.
Then there's people with chronic pain who may legitimately need the medication on a continued basis (some of whom have had their dosage increase to dizzying levels during the opioid crisis!) You frequently have patients with chronic pain who, after the pills are taking away, spend their time thinking of ways of killing themselves, as a pain management option. They cannot deal with the all-natural, constant torture.
When I look at the opioid epidemic, to me it's really hard not to think that the onus should be on pharmaceutical companies to not advertise their pain medication to doctors as non-habit forming when they are the very opposite, and results in those extremely addictive pills being given like candy to an entire population.
Look for a different doctor/psychiatrist, perhaps one in a wealthy area. I was 20 and my guy gleefully offered to up my dose. He asked me like 10 filter questions that had obviously 'correct' answers like "Do you struggle to pay attention?"
I originally sought psychiatric help because of extreme depression. After meeting me the doctor gave me a standardized survey to fill out - I assumed to take away with me and bring back. But he told me to sit down in the lobby and take it now. Turns out it was an adhd quiz kind of thing, and he knew that if I didn’t fill it out in his office I’d never remember to bring it back.
Meth isn't just any medication. The idea that meth is where to start is insane and not actually going to happen. The comment was ridiculous (maybe a joke?) It's a second-line treatment at best and still horrible for you. There are tons of other drugs to start with.
