image link (I am not endorsing this rehab place but I like the poster)
Without going into an exhaustive research rabbit hole, to learn a little about the origin story of Purdue Pharma, wikipedia does a good job of it.
I did not need to watch the HULU Original TV series, “Dopesick” to know that there is a massive opioid crisis going on in the U.S. I saw the ravages of it in my years working as a juvenile probation officer, but it wasn’t with the kids on my caseload, who mostly stuck to weed and booze, but with their parents. Parents who got a work injury of some kind, went to the doctor for healing and relief in the meantime, and ended up on Vicodin or OxyContin, and quickly got hooked. I have first hand experience with Vicodin. When I fell while riding my motorcycle back in ~ 2008 I cracked a few ribs and ended up in the ER. They sent me for a follow-up visit to my family doctor, and he gave me a prescription for 25 Vicodin (I don’t remember the mg.) I took as prescribed for the first day (or two?) but then I noticed that just before the next dose was due my whole body felt like it had been beaten with a rubber mallet. I knew something wasn’t right when it was my whole body and not just the cracked ribs. I dumped them down the toilet right then and there — which is a BIG MISTAKE TO DO as they go into the municipal water treatment system and may or may not be filtered out.
I saw that Michael Keaton starred in Dopesick and know he is very careful about the roles he chooses and I believe this is the first series I ever saw him in. That convinced me to give it a try. I was immediately drawn into the story, which alternates between a small Virginia mining community, where Keaton has practiced for 40 years, and the board rooms of Purdue Pharma and mansions owned by The Sackler family. It also covers many of the training sessions for the pharmaceutical reps that were sent out across the U.S. to peddle the drug using pamphlets, research data, etc. full of intentionally misleading data to “sell” their poison. Not only that there are various government agencies at all levels who are either trying to stop the madness — OR PROTECT IT.
What perhaps was most riveting and affecting for me in the series was watching the individuals who were affected by their addiction to Oxy and how they and their families were destroyed by it.
I won’t go into too many more details about the series, but I heartily encourage you to watch it if you have been affected by the chaos that ravages our land now from it, or if you just want to learn more.
I remember watching a Frontline documentary, “Opioids, Inc.” (2020) (S38, E21) a few years ago and was shocked then, but a documentary is educational without digging in to the emotional aspect too much. “Dopesick” does that.
Also! After finishing “Dopesick” I went out to YouTube and found out there are very recent developments in the case of Purdue Pharma and The Sackler Family. Videos follow.
Tao Talk 
I saw the series and it scared the hell out of me. I took Opioids for pain after my back surgery and then again after leg nerve surgery. I still use Tramadol for pain, but not often. My wife is a nurse, and like you, she’s seen the effects. Sackler’s are pariahs and deserve all the hell that can be released on them. Keaton does a great job in his role and I read that he believes he was hooked on them many years ago and managed to get off before it became too much of a problem. Good read and info.
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Phil it needs to scare the hell out of everyone and it should be banned. Too many ways to become addicted and to abuse it. What I appreciated (out of many things) in the series was how it showed how long this company has been death-dealers and have yet to be held accountable. I’m not sure what I think about the Supreme Court freezing the ruling and hearing the case in December. They better not be able to buy their way out of it, but with recent bribing coming to light involving Justice Thomas and others… I’m sure your wife has seen a lot. I like where it says in the show, “the older nurses hate it.” Bravo to Keaton for stepping up here and turning that experience to a public service that can help many. Thanks Phil. After seeing The Sacklers might skate again spurred me to write the post.
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Very well done, and to the point.
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I thought “Dopesick” was excellent. Early in the OxyContin days, it was heavily prescribed in our trauma unit. One of our Nurse Practitioners told me she was on a watchlist because of her heavy prescribing, but she wasn’t worried because all of our patients needed it and it was less addictive than the oxycodone we had been prescribing. (Ha! That was before we knew folks could overcome the timed-release feature and get high.) By the time I retired we were no longer prescribing Oxycontin and trying to wean oxycodone before discharge from the hospital. Like you, after my surgery my opioid use was very short-lived. After about two days I realized it hurt like hell to get out of bed, but after that I was fine. I could put up with intense pain for that minute or two. On the other hand, there is good research that shows that people heal faster when their pain is controlled – but there are other ways to control pain. (I’ll stop. I can talk for an hour about pain control – and did when I was teaching.)
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Steve, thanks for sharing your first-hand experience with it. What I see is that it is not only the addiction itself but all of the bad stuff that ripples out from it. So much crime is directly related to it. Those kids on my caseload started staying out on the streets more because of addict parents and their crazy chaos, get hooked up with others in the same boat, and kids that are stuck together like that will do things they would never do alone. Parent’s who lose jobs, homes, families, their mental and physical health and become empty shells with re-wired brains. There is no up-side to it. I think any non-chemical method of controlling pain is fantastic.
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Doctors don’t really investigate what they are prescribing in my opinion. I will no longer take anything without looking up the side effects and the studies that supposedly support giving it. Too often the supposed benefits are really small–a few percentage points–and the side effects are many and not worth it. Addiction is a terrible disease–the Sacklers should lose all their money AND go to jail for the rest of their lives. (K)
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WELL-SAID, Kerfe. They seem to be made of teflon, but we’ll see…
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They haven’t escaped yet. That’s something.
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I am watching PainKiller, it’s terrible to see the moral of these doctors and reps, how easily they destroy lives.
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Elizabeth what channel is that on? I’d like to see it.
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Netflix
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OK thanks, will look for it.
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I haven’t seen the series…it sounds really good.
I told you about my deal with them. The problem is Lisa…you lose either way you go. In my county they came down hard on opoids…even if you were hurting…you got nothing… When the addicts out there (this was before fentanyl) couldn’t get the 5 or 10 mg Lortabs…now they went looking for something to take it’s place…and that would be heroin. We had more heroin overdoses in one year than the previous 5 years combined.
I don’t know how they are going to beat this.
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Max they talked about the people who couldn’t get Oxy turning to heroin because it’s cheaper. What kills is when they take the wrong dosage by accident. I know people who have gotten locked up in jail who were addicts and when they get out they go back to the amount they were on when they went to jail. Their bodies can’t handle it :( Our country needs ENOUGH DRUG REHABS that know how to treat this. They talked about the old rehabs being designed to handle alcoholics but this is a very different type of substance than alcohol and people keep relapsing (or dying.)
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Lisa I probably shouldn’t have commented since I hadn’t seen it. But I am passionate about it… I know it’s a huge problem but when it turned to heroin…my first thought was…they made this nightmare worse by prescribing nothing. I may be completely wrong but that is the way I felt.
Yes I agree…they need more…rehabs or rehabs who know what they are doing. Unless someone killed someone or is supplying it to kids…they are not doing any good in jail…they need help not jail time.
I was also pissed off…when I had that kidney stone trouble…I got nothing. They treated me like a drug addict when I asked for something for the pain. That did piss me off.
I do understand both sides though.
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Max, they mentioned something called suboxone in the series to treat it but I don’t know much about it.
About you with your kidney stone trouble, it seems like they went in the opposite extreme, where because they had overprescribed they went in the other direction. Either extreme is horrible! Morphine would have been good, administered with you in the hospital and being watched closely to make sure you were ok. I’m so sorry you had to suffer with that pain!
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I know that drug. A friend I had used it to get off of pills. It basically stops you from going through withdrawals but you have to eventually get off of it. It worked well for her though….she is clean now.
I’ve talked to other people that had the same problem of asking for anything… its the way they treat you…now you can’t ask for anything. That is why I tried a gummy.
Lisa…I don’t want you to think that I’m saying drugs are good…not at all…but going cold turkey is what helped make heroin popular yet again…and killed people.
It sounded good to elected officials…stop it all! Well there are consequences doing that.
But…no I don’t have the answer! But yes…the over prescribing started this sh*t
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A story I heard a long time ago was about a young veteran who had liver problems. His doctor(s) kept looking at him like he must be an alcoholic and shaming him, but he wasn’t. They wouldn’t listen to him or his girlfriend. Well, he was being prescribed opioid with Tylenol mixed right in (one or both of the two drugs you’ve mentioned as I forget which has what). One day, the girlfriend learned that Tylenol is risky for the liver. So SHE threw the prescribed medicine away and insisted he not take it any more. I’m glad she had the confidence to trust her own thoughts… and he listened.
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Thank Goodness. I do NOT trust doctors. They depend on faulty premises and trust pharma reps. The true healer prevents illness before it reaches the person.
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I’ll check this one. I was prescribed opioids after my many joint surgeries but they didn’t suit me or help with the pain. So I never took after the first dose. It is a very serious problem in many countries around the world
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Oh Sadje that is so depressing to hear it is in other countries. In the series it talked about how The Sacklers did their level best to get Germany to accept it because Germany had the toughest regulations. The idea was if Germany gave the green light the rest of Europe would fall like dominoes. I would be very interested in learning how OxyContin got spread to the rest of the world.
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Oh I don’t think they prescribe oxy to opd patients. It’s sometimes used in hospitals. I was prescribed meds with opioids in them. I didn’t take that either
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Opioid addiction is a really ugly story. Coincidentally, I have an addiction-related post scheduled for tomorrow. When doing some background research for it, I came across a NY Times story from May (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/us/politics/drug-overdose-deaths.html) reporting there were nearly 110,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2022, according to CDC data, with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids accounting for 75,000 of these lost lives. These were moms, dads, sons, daughters and other individuals that will leave empty chairs at dinner tables across the country. I find it truly heartbreaking!
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:( “medicine” that kills. That number seems very low for annual deaths due to opioids. Those are the ones of record. Will look for your post tomorrow, Christian.
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