Why Are Painkillers Wrong

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Although opioids are legal when prescribed by a doctor or dentist, there is a chance of exemplary people with moderate to severe pain unintentionally becoming hooked on this extremely addictive drug. People who become addicted to drugs feel guilt, embarrassment, and

Unfortunately, the producers of Purdue Pharma’s Oxycontin didn’t realize how easy it was to break that outer shell, and have instant access to twelve hours worth of drugs. This realization by the public, caused a devastating and widespread increase in addition to the drug, and the transition to the drug seen as a “street” drug. Unlike many other types of medications where you can be prescribed a dosage and stay on that dosage for a long time. "Your body adapts to Oxycontin. Essentially, you require more to get the same effect, and what happens is a steady escalation in dosage. After a year or two of treatment, you are on extremely high levels of these drugs (Tunnel, 2005)". Oxycontin transitioned from a lifeline for people with chronic pain, to an addiction caused by a greedy corporation.

In the early 1990’s many doctors were hesitant in prescribing narcotics because they were seen as harmful and habit forming. Purdue Pharma the creator of OxyContin changed the ways of the drug industry. Purdue changed the mindset of many physicians and family doctors inconveniencing them that the new to the market drug was revolutionary, with promises of quick pain relief that last up to 12 hours. With marketing adds like “Remember, effective relief just takes two” Purdue Pharma convinced doctors that it was virtually impossible to become addicted (HARRIET RYAN, 2016). The rise of OxyContin started in 1996. OxyContin

In addition to Vicodin, the pain killer Oxycontin is also widely abused. It is used to treat severe pain that is expected to last a prolonged amount of time. Oxycontin has many similar side effects of Vicodin along with sweating, itching, loss of appetite, and severe weakness. It works by blocking the brain from receiving pain messages. The reason Oxycontin is so dangerous is because it is highly addictive and is a central nervous system depressant. It is believed that a younger healthier college student is more likely to become addicted to the drug rather than an older adult taking it for pain reasons. This is because taking Oxycontin to get high has a completely different effect on the body (“Oxycontin”).

Many people have developed an addiction due to an injury and which were prescribed painkillers to manage and treat the pain. Prolonged use leads to dependence and once a person is addicted, increasing amounts of drugs are required to prevent feeling of withdrawal. Addiction to painkillers often leads to harder drugs such as heroin due to the black market drug being cheaper. Prescription drugs remain a far deadlier problem and more people abuse prescription medication than cocaine, methamphetamine heroin, MDMA and PCP combined. Drug abuse is ending too many lives too soon and destroying families and communities.

OxyContin is a controlled drug containing oxycodone, the active ingredient responsible for eliminating the pain associated with: injuries, bursitis, dislocation, fractures, neuralgia, arthritis, lower back pain, and pain associated with cancer. When taken according to the proper dosage, the oxycodone runs on a perfectly timed release in the body’s system in order to manage the pain. This narcotic, when abused, produces heroin like effects and can enable the user to develop a tolerance, forcing an increase in dosage per intake in order to achieve the desired effects. Though OxyContin is

To most people, pain is a nuisance, but to others pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amount of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine’s needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it.

The patients who are in pain requires pain relief, but many of them with chronic pain have trouble with prescribed opioids either due to psychosocial problems

This is inaccurate because prescribed opioids are still addictive. The truth is that people typically turn to street drugs because they offer the same euphoric and satisfying feeling but at a much cheaper cost. Everyone blames the drug-addicts because it was "their fault". But no one goes deeper than that. The Western ideology that "pills heal all ills" needs to end. In some parts of the U.S., pills are prescribed for almost anything you can think of, and doctors, not wanting to disappoint their patients, give more and more medicine and it is unnecessary.

Despite common knowledge that with extended use, opioids result in tolerance and addiction; the healthcare community quickly adopted the practice. At the same time, patient advocacy and pain management groups lobbied to loosen opioid prescribing restrictions (Manchikanti et al.). Concurrently, an initiative to identify pain as “the 5th vital sign” immerged to stronger prioritize pain management (Alexander, Kruszewski, & Webster, 2012). Spurred initially by an American pain organization, later found to be funded by the pharmaceutical manufacturer of OxyContin, this initiative was also quickly adopted by the medical community, and other medical and government organizations. Medical practitioners became the target for big pharma’s marketing strategies to further their profits, and they fell prey. Opioid medications are now commonplace in medicine cabinets across the U.S., benefiting the pharmaceutical companies to the tune of 10 billion dollars

The misuse of opioids has been around for over 20 years in the United States. In a 2017 article “Opioid Crisis”, it states that in the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies misled healthcare providers by informing them that patients would not become addicted to opioid painkillers. As a result, healthcare providers too liberally prescribed opioid pain relievers. Opioid abuse rates started to climb and it was clear that these medications were highly addictive. According to Volkow, Frieden, Hyde, and Cha (2014), between 1990 and 2010 death rates from prescription opioid overdose quadrupled in the United States. This surpassed the death rates from cocaine and heroin overdoses combined. Furthermore, they state that the epidemic is a result

This author goes into great depth in telling what these medications are and what they do. She even goes as far as to tell how much pharmacies profit from patients pain and addiction. Although overdose is a concern with these medications, pain can also cause some people to contemplate suicide. This made medical professionals step back and ask themselves what would be the best way to save a life in that particular situation. (Kirkey-3). Although Kirkey talks about the risk

Opiates, otherwise known as prescription painkillers, have become an enormous problem in the United States. Addiction, overdoses, and death are only a few of the problems caused by opiates. Painkillers can be prescribed to help lessen chronic pain, pain from surgery, pain from serious accidents, or pain from terminal diseases. Opiates are highly addicting and have become highly abused in the United States in the past few years. Prescription painkillers need to be banned in the United States because of the dangers they bring to the patients to whom they are being prescribed. The FDA needs to become more involved in the awareness of how dangerous these drugs are and place a ban on them.

These big drug companies like Purdue Pharma, started out with their marketing campaign that said that OxyContin was a good drug even for minor pain, promising that it was not addictive. This type of misinformation started the pro-opioid movement that quickly swept the nation. Purdue Pharma’s multimillion dollar campaign that convinced the masses that opioids were good for Chronic pain, and non-malignant pain conditions, should be treated with Opioids. It was