Pain Killer Addictions
It is no secret that pain killer addictions can lead to the downfall of anyone from a teenager to a normal blue-collar guy to celebrities to the medical professionals who treat them. It does and has happened every day. There is no blueprint or model for who becomes addicted to painkillers and who manages not to.
A teenager can hurt himself in a football game. His doctor can prescribe painkillers and before he knows it, he feels like he cannot function unless he has a painkiller. Or a young girl who is at a party with friends. Going through puberty is hard enough but she does not understand how her friend can be in such a good mood when her parents are divorcing and her grades have slipped. The young girl thinks her own world is falling apart because she just broke up with her boyfriend. Her friend offers her some painkillers, telling her they help the pain on the inside as well. Before she knows it, she has become addicted to something that will cause her downfall.
A blue-collar guy has worked for the same company for years. A rough economy has brought about some layoffs and job losses as the company decides to downsize. The man hurts his back but out of fear of losing his job, he keeps quiet and takes painkillers, doubling up on them to get through his shifts so the supervisor does not suspect. In the end, his downfall is a job loss anyway because he has become addicted to the painkillers.
A major celebrity has been quietly addicted to painkillers for years. The glitz and glamour of star treatment hides a painful secret, whether physically or mentally induced. The celebrity gets to the point where he cannot make it through the day without his doubled or tripled dosage of painkillers. He may have several physicians unknowingly filling prescriptions for him or he may have just one who “looks the other way”. However, all the fame in the world cannot stop his downfall.
Many times, a physician has lost his or her license to practice by over-medicating patients and looking the other way. The physician for Elvis Presley lost his license. The physician for Michael Jackson is charged with manslaughter. These two doctors found their fifteen minutes of fame as physicians for celebrities, and also have brought them a lifetime of regret for bringing harm to their patients. Yes, the celebrities made the choice to have the medications but the doctors could have said no and kept their self-respect and licenses to practice medicine.
The spiral of painkillers, being addicted to them and the downfall brought on by them are felt by those addicted and everyone around them. Drugs and painkillers do not discriminate; they are harmful to anyone who takes them irresponsibly and those involved as second-hand.
A disturbing number of teens are not getting drugs on the street, but rather from the family medicine cabinet. There is also more acceptance of taking a pill vs an ‘illegal’ drug.
Bill
You are absolutely right! With presciption drugs there seems to be no boundaries, celebrities or the blue-collar worker, even the unborn are not safe.