• Echo Dot
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    413 days ago

    I always find it weird that in the US they just give you a big ol’ bottle of drugs. In Europe if you buy painkillers you get like 12 individually wrapped tablets.

    • @dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 days ago

      From the UK, had an operation and got given 10 codeine phosphate 30mg. Then went to the doctor who gave me 120 more. I was then hooked and went through a stage of CWE (Cold water extraction) with over the counter ones. Then the darkweb and eventually Xanax.

      • Echo Dot
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        2 days ago

        That’s pretty irresponsible of them giving you 120. When I was given codeine they point blank refused to give me anything other than a weeks supply, if I needed more after that I had to go back to the hospital to get reassessed.

        • I agree. In the end I had to get the doctors to put a note on my account that said whatever i said don’t give me opiates.

          If I recall when I was prescribed that amount he was going to give me 60 but asked if I paid for my prescription and as I said yes he doubled the dose. I guess to try save me money. Which is ironic cause I spend a fortune on the darkweb.

          I’ve got another operation booked soon and I am worried they will prescribe me again.

      • ivanafterall ☑️
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        32 days ago

        CWE

        The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a category system for hardware and software weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It is sustained by a community project with the goals of understanding flaws in software and hardware and creating automated tools that can be used to identify, fix, and prevent those flaws.[1] The project is sponsored by the office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is operated by The MITRE Corporation,[2] with support from US-CERT and the National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.[3][4]

        • @chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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          82 days ago

          It’s actually getting more difficult in the US.

          Opioid painkillers can now only be given at hospitals or prescribed by surgeons or pain specialists. The GP or Urgent Care center can’t do it.

          It’s been a real problem for me. I do understand and agree with the rule change on a societal level, but when my back gets truly bad, I really do need an Oxy. Usually, it just takes one pill along with some steroids and anntiinflamatories to start the healing process and allow me to start walking to the toilet again, but to get that one pill, I now have to go to the ER and pay $4,000.

          • @S_H_K@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            12 days ago

            A team of researchers in my country is working on a chronic pain treatment that does away with painkillers for life. They tested on rats and dogs they started trials of humans this year I think. Backed by the government obviously no farmaceutcal put a dime on it afaik.

      • Echo Dot
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        53 days ago

        I think you could do yourself some serious mischief even with 12 pills. Depends on the drug of course.

        I think it’s more about stopping people from taking expired medication since if you’ve just got a huge bottle it’s probably going to sit in the cupboard for years and years. I probably go through 7 or 8 packs of 12 pills a year, again depending on medication.

        If it’s codeine you’re lucky to get 10 tablets per pack. I’ve even seen it as low as 6. But then something relatively harmless like antihistamine you get like 40 in a pack. Presumably if you overdose on those you would just be very mellow.

        • @cynar@lemmy.world
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          72 days ago

          The purchase limit was entirely to stop suicide by overdose. It was amazingly effective. It turns out that the effort to go in and out of stores multiple times, to buy the drugs was more than most people could do.

          It’s slightly annoying, but worth it.

            • @cynar@lemmy.world
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              82 days ago

              As someone who’s been there, for most people it’s transient and/or a call for help. If someone really wants to kill themselves, they will. These steps are for those who fail to control a momentary intrusive thought.

              It’s also worth noting that an overdose on paracetamol or ibuprofen is an awful way to go. It likely won’t kill you quickly. You’ll recover initially, but die to liver failure. This can take weeks in hospital. Imagine the horror of watching a teenage daughter die slowly over 2 weeks. She doesn’t want to die, she never intended to. She just wanted mum and dad to pay attention to her about the bullying at school.

            • Echo Dot
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              2 days ago

              Absolutely.

              Almost everyone who is attempted to commit suicide and has survived say they regretted it. People don’t really want to die they just can’t think of how to progress but that’s usually because they’re not in a healthy mental state rather than because life is literally unlivable.

              My cousin suffered from severe depression and killed himself and he had a perfectly good life there was absolutely no outside reason that he did that, it was entirely because he was ill.

              People who want to die because of actual medical reasons usually plan it out a bit more thoroughly and tend to go with methods other than overdosing on painkillers.

              • @Admetus@sopuli.xyz
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                12 days ago

                Kevin Hines is one of those failed suicides who now talks suicide prevention. His perspective on changing his mind starting to fall is probably common to all suicides.

      • @Samskara@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        The idea is that overdosing is more difficult because it takes more effort. Accidental overdosing is also less likely. A bottle you can put to your mouth an just put it all in at once.

        It also has the advantage of being able to cut off some off the blister, so you can take four or whatever pills with you without having to use extra packaging.

      • Echo Dot
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        42 days ago

        I don’t think I’ve ever had bottles even prescription drugs have always been in individual wrapped packets.

        At one point I was on some pretty strong painkillers and I’m pretty sure they didn’t trust me even with the individually wrapped tablets they were individually boxed, with “Monday Morning”, “Monday Afternoon”, etc written on them.

        • @TwanHE@lemmy.world
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          32 days ago

          Really depends on the prescription. I’ve gotten boxes with 120 1000mg ibuprofen powder bags because I needed to be on them long-term.

          My meds for my adrenal gland also come in 200 pill bottles (1 a day). But then my POTS heart meds come in 12 pill strips when I need 6 a day.

          • The Menemen!
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            2 days ago

            Sometimes bottles would make more sense. A relative had a heart transplantation and takes a dozen different pills every day. Setting up the weekly pill rationing is crazy. A lot of work because of the blisters and so much waste.

        • Darren
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          12 days ago

          My ADHD meds have always come in a bottle (in the UK), but I guess that’s because I’m supplied a month at a time.