# Oxycodone- is it a big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213 "2010-09-27T13:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/61 "2010-10-01T22:31:21Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > > [@FallenAngel](#): > > > > I was at a medical office manager’s convention a few months ago. One of the managers had been with her practice, an Oxy and opiate abuse outpatient treatment clinic in waaay rural West Virginia. When she started there, it was a one doctor practice. Since then they’ve gone up to four full time docs and 20-odd support staff. She said there was enough patient demand that they were looking to add one or two more docs in the coming year. > > That doesn’t surprise me. Drug addiction is a huge issue in rural areas nowadays too…I used to see an unbelievable amount of meth addicts when I was working in a rural midwestern locale (not quite as far out as the one you’re talking about though). > > I’ve been following [the writings of a blogger whose son died several months ago from his addiction to opiates](http://mamapundit.com/2010/09/more-than-the-drugs/). The human cost of prescription pain medication abuse is enormous. Living in rural, middle-of-nowhere WV, I can believe it easily! My tiny town has two walk-in clinics, but neither of them will do any kind of opiate/prescription pain control the first time they see you. After you are an established patient, you may be able to talk them into a 'script for some Vicodin if you’ve got a particularly painful kidney infection. . .but until then, nope. I’m sure this is why. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/62 "2010-10-01T23:10:05Z")
Is opiate addiction a ‘big deal’? LOL YES! ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/63 "2010-10-02T02:59:26Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > … The human cost of prescription pain medication abuse is enormous. The human cost of _not_ prescribing pain medication when it’s needed is also enormous. A lot of doctors are afraid to prescribe the stuff, and thus a lot of patients needlessly suffer horrific pain. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/64 "2010-10-02T04:16:53Z")
Yea, don’t I know about it. Had to suffer through a supposedly “tertiary” care of a secondary flare-up of gout. Couldn’t get a second refill of 15 tylenol 3, due to my Brother’s history. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/65 "2010-10-02T09:25:19Z")
> [@Ring](#): > > > [@lavenderviolet](#): > > > > … The human cost of prescription pain medication abuse is enormous. > > The human cost of _not_ prescribing pain medication when it’s needed is also enormous. A lot of doctors are afraid to prescribe the stuff, and thus a lot of patients needlessly suffer horrific pain. Agreed! My MIL is 88YO, and has terrible pain from arthritis in her hips. Because of her age, she’s not a good candidate for hip replacement. If she walks for more than a minute or two, she hurts badly, so she’s pretty much sedentary, which means she’s gaining weight, which is harder on her hips. . . I haven’t figured out why the docs haven’t just given her ‘the good drugs’ (like Oxy), take her driver’s license away, and let her be pain-free! I mean, yeah, she _might_ get addicted. But she’s 88 freakin’ years old. So what if she gets hooked? She doesn’t have a job or kids she’s responsible for or anything. If they gave her enough drugs to control her pain, at least she would get up and _move_ more! Her quality of life would improve dramatically! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/66 "2010-10-02T14:53:49Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I think it’s a body chemistry thing. Some people just don’t mesh with downers I’ve taken opioids medically and besides pain relief and making me sleepy they’ve never done much for me. I don’t really see what is so special about being sleepy- it happens to me every night, without fail. Sure. that “the whole world is comfy pillows” feeling is nice, but not really that nice. If I want to sleep, why not sleep for free without bad consequences? For some of us, feeling sleepy is something we’d kill for. Stupid chronic insomnia. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/67 "2010-10-02T15:55:20Z")
Oxycodone, no. If taken properly. Oxycontin on the other hand is bad news! Don’t ever take it unless you have cancer with no survival rate. I have never tried it but the drug stores are being held up for it weekly and anything that makes a person do a hold up is nothing I want to try. I’m a recovering alcoholic and that was enough hell for one lifetime. A little pain never killed anyone. I suck it up and pray and stay busy. I also have a brain implant that helps. I’d stick to taking Vicodin as prescribed for moderate pain. Not like chicklettes like House does. My doctor told me that if you take it as prescribed it will take the pain away but you won’t become an addict. I take it less then prescribed because it makes me feel mocus. A friend of mine that is an ex heroin addict said he would need to take a 30 day supply of Oxycodone to get high. I don’t know what the high is like but he nods off and drools and his teeth fall out on the floor. Not a pretty sight. Addicts are so pathetic that I never want to go there. Also Vicodin has Tylenol in it and you can really do some Liver damage by taking it too much. So pick your poison with care. After kicking cigs and booze I really don’t want to get addicted to anything else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213.md?page=3)