Trapped by opioids. We as a society have determined pain to be something not to tolerate. As humans, we have physical and emotional pain. What is interesting is that opioids don’t just eliminate certain types of physical pain; they eliminate emotional pain at least temporarily while the drug is in effect.
Let’s define narcotics and opiates. Narcotics are not made from opium, such as Fentanyl.
Narcotics such as Ultiva, Sublimaze, Duragesic patch, Dextromethorphan (NyQuil, Robitussin, TheraFlu, Vicks, Mucinex DM), Dextropropoxyphene (Darvocet-N, Darvon), Loperamide (Imodium) Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), Oxymorphone (Opana) Meperidine (Demoral), Methadone (Dolophine), and Carfentanyl (Wildnil, for veterinary use) are created in a laboratory. This is not a complete list. Opiates are made from opium from the poppy plant, such as Heroin, Morphine, Codeine, and Opium. Narcotics are now called opioids as well as opiates. Both narcotics and opiates are highly addictive. Going forward, I will call narcotics and opiates the same term, opioids.
Key to addiction: Predisposition
Opioids adhere to the pain receptors in the brain. People who become addicted to Opioids have a predisposition for addiction. Predisposition means an inherited trait for dependency on anything from alcohol, drugs, or food.
There are 1000s of people with comparable stories, all of them a bit different. Our story seems to be one of finding every hole that our health system has created or overlooked, or hasn’t cared about. Maybe they serve some kind of dark agenda. My beautiful girl was the one sacrificed to this horrible situation. She was seventeen, unmarried, pregnant, and ready to give birth. She was scared, but excited. As a family, we embraced her and her lovely girl. Her boyfriend went to college the week before she gave birth. Her doctor was a family friend, and her OB-GYN was well known in our town.
It was five or six in the morning, and I was taking my beautiful Anne to the hospital. Before we went, we stopped at IHOP to get breakfast. It was so much fun, and I was nervous about the experience and what the future would hold, but I did not want her to know. We were making the most out of an unexpected situation. It was dark out, and she told me how much she liked going early to breakfast. Then I reminded her of our vacation trips and when we went to get on the planes, as it was always early in the morning. My beautiful Anne had her hair braided into two long braids. She was lovely and ready for her new adventure.
After we finished breakfast, we headed downtown to the hospital. We had wished she would have been able to have her baby where she and her brother were born, but her insurance stated she had to use the hospital downtown. The birth was scheduled because she had cholestasis during the pregnancy. It’s a liver condition that leads to intense itching. It can lead to complications for the baby, including stillbirth. The interesting thing about this is that my beautiful Anne diagnosed herself; the doctors didn’t listen to her when she let them know she had extreme itching, especially on the bottoms of her feet. I had her speak to the doctors more than once about the itching of her hands and feet, but they ignored her. She then continued to research what it could be. She called me while in school and begged me to talk to her OBGYN and let her know that the itching was very intense. I called, but the doctor was out of the office, so the receptionist made an appointment for Anne to come in after school. Before she got in for the appointment, the doctor called and told her she most likely had cholestasis. They requested she come in right away. They then prescribed medicine and immediately scheduled a time for delivery, telling beautiful Anne the condition could harm the baby.
I still remember her lying in the hospital bed and her gorgeous mahogany brown hair braided in two braids, and she looked so beautiful, scared, and excited. She had a long labor. No added medication and a normal delivery. The nurse said to me she was the most mature 17-year-old she had seen with a brand new baby. At that moment, the nurse handed us a bottle of OxyContin. I did not think anything of it. The nurse did not give any warnings or information about the OxyContin. I was ignorant of the idea that narcotics would be given after having a baby. I just did not have a thought like that. I believed she would not need anything but ibuprofen or acetaminophen, as I had after having a baby. She did not take any medications at the hospital, and she did not complain of having terrible pain. Everything was normal.
We headed home with the sweet baby and a happy but nervous momma. Nana, me, was nervous too. Anne’s bedroom at home was all set up for a new baby. Beautiful Anne had had a wonderful baby shower with her friends to offer well-wishes and share in the joy. Anne settled in to take care of the baby. A day passed, and she asked about OxyContin. I told her not to take it and to try ibuprofen first. I did not know, nor did I investigate what was in that bottle. I struggle personally with not paying attention and finding out it was a narcotic. I would have thrown it out. That bottle of pills changed the trajectory of Beautiful Anne’s life. Ultimately, it changed the trajectory of everyone’s life.
When, as a society, did we decide it was Ok to send narcotics home in a bottle? It has been known all of my lifetime (I am 60) that narcotics are highly addictive. My daughter had a baby. She was not blown up on a battlefield, and they were not trying to keep her alive at all costs. Maybe then it would be worth the risk of addiction, but not a teenage girl giving birth to a baby. In addition, the father of her sweet baby had left for college, leaving my beautiful Anne feeling abandoned.
