Recent study shows nearly 5% of all babies in Utah are born addicted to opioids.

Wherein lies a cure?

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/one-nation-overdosed-utah-s-children-at-center-of-opioid-crisis-1059289155953



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2017 11:50PM by Amyjo.

Opiate painkillers can provide phenomenal relief from chronic pain (which could, I think, drive a person to suicide if relief is not available.) I have prescriptions for two opiate medications which help me deal with pain from an old spinal injury.

I use them as a last resort. We invested in a hot tub, which helps to relax knotted-up muscles. I recently discovered Icy Hot Lidocaine patches, which are very effective if the pain is localized enough. I sometimes get relief from Tiger Balm.

The best way for me to keep control of the meds is scrupulous record-keeping. Every time I take a dose of painkiller, I write down the date, time and dosage. My DH knows where I keep my medicine log, so he can check if necessary. (It's never been necessary for him to check, but it's there.)

There have been times when the pain has become so overwhelming that I am tempted to take another dose earlier than I am supposed to. But so far, I've been able to distract myself with a dip in the hot tub, or treating myself to a new (online) book. Or re-reading an old favorite. Whatever works.

Your carefully monitored and controlled use is understandable because in essence isn't that what they're medically approved for?

These babies being born are to parents using them recreationally, and then they pass their addiction onto their newborn babies.

Utah is a state of extremes. People are either overly conforming or they tend to go bat sh*t crazy. Feeding addictions is an expression of rebellion against the overly controlling church that dominates not only its members in Utah, but state and local politics, still.

I hope if I'm ever in need of pain management as you are that I will be as scrupulous. There are days I cannot manage without my Aleve.

I think that people are becoming addicted even under legitimate prescriptions (I'm not talking about chronic, incurable pain here.) I'm lucky in that I don't like how opioids make me feel. So even when I have had a prescription (i.e. after surgury,) I have only taken them for 2-3 days.

My most recent post-surgical prescription was for 800 mg. of ibuprofin. It worked about as well as anything was going to in terms of alleviating pain. I think that doctors are figuring out that using alternative pain relievers might be a better way to go.

Amyjo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Utah is a state of extremes. People are either
> overly conforming or they tend to go bat sh*t
> crazy.

If that quote doesn't describe TBM family to a T I don't know what does. They hit both ends of the spectrum on a regular basis.

it isn't any kind of feeling that I would go batsh!t crazy over. I cannot imagine why people would overdose on this stuff. It's not that much. At least, at the dosage I stick to. But aye, there's the rub, no?

Melania is off to WV for an infant opioid photo op.

She should visit Utah.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2017 10:58AM by Shummy.

It's heartbreaking that so many mothers put their addictions ahead of their babies welfare.

It's hard enough to live without having the added burden of addiction forced upon innocent babies.

Our nation is destroying itself within, without a single bomb falling on us by our enemies. Mao Tse Tung once predicted China would conquer us without dropping a bomb. It meant not only economically but societally also.

Between mass killings, the opioid epidemic and natural disasters - we take a hit with each one over and over again.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2017 11:18AM by Amyjo.

There are some things I've learned as a nurse caring for drug addicted newborns in two states.

When I first started working with these infants I was disgusted, angry, and very judgy with the parents. I assumed that these children should be taken away and the mom should be sent to jail.

Fathers didn't get assigned much blame from me. I think that's pretty typical, I mean, what do they have to do with it? Hmmm.

I learned that the kids do way better if they can stay with their parents or grandparents. This isn't someone's theory. This is evidence based. Parents who are motivated to get treatment and stay clean are that child's best hope for a good future.

I don't have the actual numbers, but the majority of moms are very motivated and caring. They take their babies home. They receive treatment and the kids are monitored.

LOTS of the moms have LOTS of problems. Bipolar, chronic illness, domestic violence, addicted partners, poverty, low IQ, past abuse. No woman wakes up and says I want to be an addict and get pregnant.

Not surprisingly, most of these pregnancies are unplanned and wouldn't have happened if quality birth control would have been accessible and affordable.

Some women with chronic pain and prescription opioid use choose to have babies. Some women on methadone choose to have babies or have unplanned pregnancies. Those babies use tapering doses of morphine just like the other babies.

A small percentage of women really don't care. They come in high, deliver, and walk away. Maybe they care enough to know that they are bad news for their kid. Hard to know.

There is no known harm to babies from a mother's marijuana use. It's a red flag and child protective services monitors, but babies aren't removed for that.

Alcohol is the devil.

Sorry for my small book. These are my perceptions and I could be wrong on anything.

Dorothy

Interesting observation. My 38 years as a neonatologist has translated into a number of observations but some in contrast to yours.
1. Nicotine withdrawal is brutal but brief
2. Marijuana use is a red flag but for the likelihood of polypharmacy
3. Opiates, PCP and meth are expensive. Prostitution is profitable and the presence of these drugs suggests careful sexually transmitted disease evaluation
4. Fathers are most often addicted themselves and enablers.
5. Birth mothers or family members almost always obtain custody unless mother is currently in or facing incarceration

Gatorman



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2017 11:34PM by gatorman.

Crystal meth is a comparatively inexpensive street drug. Now the real cost Hf prolonged us is probably comparable to any other drug though.

Is PCP a common drug for people to mess with where you live?

Had to deal with it several times in the last year. Polypharmacy however is the norm

Gatorman

"multiple substance addiction?" My DH is a mental health therapist, and he has had clients who use, say, marijuana and are alcoholics. And yet, somehow, they manage to remain functional.

I watched my widowed mother pickle her brain with alcohol after my father died. She had also smoked two packs of cigarettes a day since her teens. Her alcohol abuse spiraled out of control and eventually cost her her job. Fortunately, she was old enough by then to get Social Security widow's benefits.

Mormon Stories recently interviewed a guy who battles opiate/heroin addiction: http://www.mormonstories.org/thomas/ It's eye-opening to hear a firsthand account of what it's like and I have more empathy for people dealing with it the more I learn about it.

Avoiding opiates unless the pain is absolutely unbearable is a really smart move.

I hope Thomas makes it!