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.
Is opiate addiction a ‘big deal’? LOL YES!
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.
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.
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!
For some of us, feeling sleepy is something we’d kill for. Stupid chronic insomnia. 
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.