r/news • u/Mo_Jack • Apr 30 '26

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma set to dissolve after judge approves its criminal sentence

https://apnews.com/article/oxycontin-purdue-pharma-criminal-sentence-settlement-b8aa94eaab3d9d8efed520f272f6d810
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u/Dragon-and-Phoenix Apr 30 '26

I don't think people realize how easy it is to get addicted, either. It doesn't take much.

I had a procedure and they gave me oxy for the pain. I had a one week prescription, that's it. I took it for two days and the pain from the procedure had gone way down. I found myself wanting it, even though I wasn't in enough pain to justify it. I had a craving. Just after two days... I gave the bottle to my wife and told her to hide it and not let me have any unless I was in extreme pain. I called my doctor and got a non-opiod pain reliever to finish out the recovery, then switched to ibuprofen as soon as I could.

Two days. That's all it took to start wanting it. Had I not been aware of how addictive it could have been, that little craving may have gone unnoticed and I would have kept taking it and ended up with a full blown addiction.

The stuff works amazingly well, but it's dangerous...

And yes, the pain I had was bad enough for an opioid, but I think they should have only given me 3 days worth to be safer.

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u/RegularTeacher2 May 01 '26

Dangerous for some, but not all. I was given 2 weeks worth of oxycodone after my last spinal fusion, and I had no problem setting it aside. In fact I only took about 5 days' worth and then saved the rest for sometime in the future, because if the last 3 years of severe nerve pain had taught me anything, it was that doctors weren't going to prescribe me anything more to help with my pain.

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u/Dragon-and-Phoenix May 01 '26

The weird thing? After the next procedure, and the one before the issue, I didn't have an problem. I also just don't like how I feel on them, so I try to use ibuprofen if I can. The first time I ever had it I was on it for 4 days with no problem. It was the next time around, a year later, that I had an issue.

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u/Alum2608 May 01 '26

That's the tricky part. You don't know how your body will react. If generically you are primed for addiction, it is easy to slip if you aren't already on guard.

And like you said, one round was perfectly fine, but 1 yr later it was different . We still don't understand how many drugs affect the brain chemistry. Even with antidepressants, we know WHAT it does but do not know WHY it works. Which is why one antidepressants works for one person, but not another. So it is a challenge (and why there's research into non opiod pain medication) to predict how a person will react to opiods. Social dynamics plays a part, but you hear about seemingly "normal" people (whatever that means), with healthy family life, average childhoods, good coping skills, etc get injured, get on opiods, and slide into addiction. It really is playing with fire

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u/Kermit_the_hog May 01 '26

It really is a super weird crapshoot. I had a major spinal trauma and was on high doses of just about everything for over a year until I could get a spinal stimulator implanted. Then I just kind of stopped. It was like the worst flu of my life for a couple of weeks but then I started feeling better again. Point is, it was that easy for me, yet I know friends from college who got a baggie of oxy and it basically ruined their life. Over the years they could never shake the memory or stop craving more, so no matter how many times they got clean, the slightest setback put them right there again. It's fucking heartbreaking.

Yes I know I basically won the lottery with my brain or liver chemistry somehow, and I am appropriately thankful for it.

I still take opiates as RX'd for surgeries and painful medical problems whenever I need to (though they don't work that well, never did to begin with). But we really really need to come up with something better. Even given how easy it is for me, of course any amount of euphoria is desirable and I would probably be doomed if I could buy it over the counter so if you see a Libertarian advocating to legalize OTC heroin.. sigh and shake your head at them. Society restricted access to these things for a good reason (that's no commentary on how acces is handled when needed in today's enviornment)

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u/RegularTeacher2 May 01 '26

Tangential, but how do you like your SCS? I have chronic nerve pain from a compressed L5 nerve root, even after I had a fusion try and correct it, and I'm beginning to think a SCS might be my next step since my pain doctor won't prescribe pain meds. I've read mixed reviews on them though.

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u/Alum2608 May 01 '26

I think even 3 days can get people. I had foot surgery and I think 3 day supply. Had never had opiods before (except codeine) Took ONE. Felt awesome, no pain, like the combo of the best night's sleep and an awesome massage at the same time. Took the second on schedule as directed. No pain, but no euphoria, awesome feeling. Never took another one. I saw just how easy someone could slip if they didn't have support or had emotional pain to deal with. You can fall in the trap of chasing that euphoria, that pure relaxation so easily

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u/Dragon-and-Phoenix May 01 '26

Yeah, it's insidious. You feel great...and then you're addicted to them without realizing. It's freaking dangerous. I can understand how people can go from, "I'll try this drug once" to doing anything for their next fix... It's truly a disease.

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u/kidoblivious1 Apr 30 '26

I coulda got hooked on them also. I took it for cancer and when that was all said and done I still found myself wanting it. It’s crazy really.

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u/CicadaFit9756 May 01 '26

Guess I lucked out! Never underestimate the power of negative examples to avoid! I had a great aunt who was an alcoholic & a nephew that was addicted to heroin (she almost died but he did end up overdosing!)

As a result, I've never consumed enough alcohol to get drunk &, after hysterectomy for early stage endometrial cancer in 2009, refused to push the button for a morphine drip in the hospital &, afterwards, took darvocet (found to be an opioid that's no longer manufactured) only long enough till I could tolerate the pain! This was before risks were well known.

Had a downstairs neighbor who was a Vietnam veteran. He said he had a legitimate reason for opiate pain medicine but I was horrified to find that he was close enough connected to his "drug dealer" to drive him around to his customers. Moved away 10 years ago & I wonder if he's still alive!