A primary care doctor delves into the opioid epidemic

Our nephew Christopher died of a heroin overdose in October 2013.1 It had started with pain pills and experimentation, and was fueled by deep grief.2 He was charismatic, lovable, a favorite uncle, and a hero to all the children in his life. His death too young was a huge loss to our family. I have always felt that I didn’t do enough to help prevent it, and perhaps, in a way, even contributed. Good intentions with unintended consequences My medical training took me through several big-city hospitals where addiction and its consequences were commonplace. Throughout all of it, great emphasis was placed on recognizing “the fifth vital sign,” i.e. pain, and treating it. I distinctly remember as a medical student wearing a little pin with the word “PAIN” and a line across it. One was considered a bad doctor if they didn’t ask about and treat pain. And so, treat we did. This medical movement, combined with the mass marketing of OxyContin and a swelling heroin trade, has created the current opioid epidemic.4 It generally starts with pain pills: Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycodone or OxyContin, either prescribed or given or bought. Quickly, a person finds that she or he needs more and more of the drug to get the same effect. Almost overnight, they need the drug just to feel normal, to stave off the horror of withdrawal. Street heroin is cheaper and easier to come by than pills, and so, people move on to the next level. Just like Christopher. Recent data from the C...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Source Type: blogs