2640: K-hole

[Michael's Servant]

with Julia Solomon – Job skills; Trump’s world tour; Georgia sheriff punishes himself for indecent exposure (kind of); Flint City Councilman pawns his computer; a listener calls in to warn Keith about Vicodin; Baywatch and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword reviewed; Wonder Woman women’s only screenings; Valerie Smith: Hampton’s white resident, politician wannabe, and n-word supporter; Bill Cosby upset black comic celebrities aren’t supporting him

Guest:
Julia Solomon



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[Sparrow]

ooh! Bear and i respectively have 3B and 2A curls which means his perfectly relaxed, double helix spirals charm crowds with their jaunty bounce and my waves barely qualify.

[Sparrow]

fun fact: pill addiction has given rise to a growing heroin problem down here (stronger, cheaper, easier to find). a number of rashes of dangerous batches killed lots of people lately.

Powerful new drug Gray Death gaining popularity

[Sparrow]

the most common example of how this shit gets started i can distill down into a single experience: a guy fell off a ladder. he doesn't have time to let himself heal b/c if he doesn't work his family doesn't eat and the medical bills are about to start rolling in, so he takes the pills to keep going. it's not hard to find a doc to write scripts like candy for longer than necessary. eventually you do run out of either access or money, but you still have to work. so you find the last guy who fell off a ladder and on and on and on.

the opiates come in b/c instead of affordable healthcare where one injury, sickness, or procedure doesn't bankrupt your family, we have this.

[Lanfear]

Also its generally easier to get pain meds of any kind in America, in Germany even easy painmeds like Aspirin can only be sold in a pharmacy behind a counter and more dangerous ones like paracetamol (US = Tylenol) can only be sold in small packsizes because its kinda easy to overdose and wreck your liver.

And even that is not stopping Germany slowly developing serious problems with opiates. And from everything I read its already super fucked up in the US.

But Keith is fine so obviously science is wrong about this topic.

[flerchin]

For a quick $40 copay Keith can have a 5 min discussion with his doctor on whether he should be worried about his vicodin usage.

I'm literally waiting in a doctor's office right now to pay my copay and have my knee checked out.

[Electric Squirrel]

The thing about Trump shoving the prime minister of Montenegro at NATO is more messed up when you consider that Montenegro joined NATO and Russia is currently at odds with Montenegro as a result of Montenegro joining NATO.

[memecherry]

I've had a little bell go off in the back of my head with the talk of increased vicodin usage... Here are my few cents:

Surgery doesn't always fix things, and yes folks get addicted after surgery (it's actually a VERY common running theme in many addict stories, especially athletes).

After my ankle surgery I weened off the pain meds within a couple of days & transitioned into medicated edibles to help with the pain.

I want to offer CBD oil as an option for Keith if he finds himself needing to continue pain management after surgery. It's non psychoactive hemp oil + less impact on your liver, etc.

Also make sure you are diligent with your PT after surgery if you go that route...

[Todd]

I am in no way saying that there aren't some people who might become addicted from day 1, pill 1.

However, prescribing painkillers for a stubbed toe? Taking painkillers for a stubbed toe? Neither of those is normal. Yes--shithead doctor, but I think there's something else going on in this story.

[theycallmepyro]

I have an ongoing back and shoulder issue. I used to avoid painkillers because I was worried I'd eventually stop feeling the effects, and either the pain would get worse or I'd need stronger drugs.

I had a chat with my doctor about it (bless the NHS, fuck those who want to take it away) and he explained that by suffering through the pain I'd make it worse - by adjusting my posture to compensate, I would start to experience associated issues (which was what had started to happen).

Thankfully I can get by with over-the-counter stuff like Brufen most of the time, but I haven't shied from stronger things either. It's fucked up that things like The Oxycontin Express exist, but at the heart of it there's science designed primarily to help. Don't avoid it - educate yourself, be skeptical, and stay safe.