They literally just switched it to something else. If you're on gabapentin for anything off-label (anxiety, bipolar disorder, ect) then, congrats, you're a victim of the opioid crisis!
Not to mention all the abandonded addicts held captive by their own country's medical system. I know people that are being denied help because a doctor prescribed them something that makes them a red flag patient. They didn't want to be an addict you told them it was their only hope!
Please ignore me I'm manic rn
Death to America. Solidarity friend. My wife and I are on several different medications for anxiety and depression. We can't help feel that they are just used to help take the edge of late state capitalism.
Our depression is weird because we used to work in biology/ecology, seeing the natural world you love being killed off for profit was too horrifying and disheartening for us. Combined the with inaction on other societal problems like healthcare and even gender/sex equality just made us fall into a deep pit of sadness.
I think that most people under 40 feel this way to some extent.
Big mood
I've been trying to taper off various things to operate on as few meds as possible. (Still need some) But this political climate and literal climate make it hard to stay away from antidepressants/anti anxiety meds.
Are you and your wife doing therapy? It always feels odd for me to go in once a week and be like "yeah wow capitalism still got me fucked".
I'm uninsured right now so I am not but my wife is. Her experience is basically yours.
One thing I think we really need to think about going forward, is why mental health within the constraints of capitalism aren't effective at treating so many diseases of despair. Richard Wolff's wife, Margret Fraud, offers some Marxist/socialist analysis of mental health that focuses a lot on how material conditions affect mental health. I think stuff like that is important but I'm not sure how to communicate it.
It's like Dems have forgotten that one of Trump's appeals in the Rust Belt was "I'll tackle the opioid problem". He didn't, of course, but even him saying that was more than the Dems did.
Rural Midwest. I know where you're coming from. Luckily I'm at least in a semi competitive district, but that's of little compensation when it's Republican vs Republican-lite. We've stood up a drug court that has had zero clients (somehow no one meets their very exacting criteria), which is about the most lib thing imaginable.
That anti legalization vote was a real kick in the junk. Such an easy win, but the Dems are so afraid of their own shadow they would rather condemn people to prison than make things slightly better for everyone.
I understand. I love having libs say things like "quit living in a red state". The electoral map has poisoned their brains. 58% to Trump also means 42% "not Trump", you assholes. Trying to get good folks into local power has been mildly successful, since municipal positions don't have affiliations on the ballot. But once you go to county and above (and county is a lot of power, especially in rural areas!), gotta publish affiliations on the ballot.
I remember just how baffling it was for journalists to discover that, if you live in rural areas and lose your license because you're behind on court payments, people are gonna drive. Have to make $ to pay off the court, and if you get popped, that's more $, but you gotta keep driving. Keep doing it, and you wind up in jail. The journalists didn't understand that's how it works when you're poor.
For anybody looking to get off opioids, kratom can definitely help the withdrawal symptoms. It's the only thing I've seen help a friend of mine who tried several times.
There's a lot of kratom types and brands, apparently, so do some research first!
Edit: I ran this by her, she said to also research delivery methods (powder, cap, or disk(?)), and dosage, before starting.
kratom saved my ass completely. i wish I had discovered it earlier in my life.
Yeah, I honestly thought my friend was going to wind up dead (multiple car wrecks while nodding, at least one OD), but it's been one of the great pleasures of my life to see her get clean.
I'm glad it worked for you too!
i lost a friend to a nod crash so i'm glad yours is getting clean! i use kratom regularly just keep any cravings away (and it's worked for years). sure it's addictive on it's own when used daily but absolutely nothing like an opioid (no waking up withdrawing or feeling stupid or tired or anything. plus it's inexpensive and you can easily taper off).
o7 Never have I ever wished someone more dead than the people making money off the lives of those who were already hurt.
No you're right I won't ignore you, this country and its people are dying. It's a massive travesty and historians will have to include the opiate crisis when talking about the collapse of the USA.
I hope they fucking do I want someone to recognize this. I know it's my mental illness making me overly emotional about this right now and the people close to me suffering triggering it. But fuck man this is hard.
And I really care about this, honest, I volunteer at a needle exchange program and try to raise awareness... it just isn't enough I can't do enough.
No one person can ever do enough to fix this country, it always takes collective action. You are already doing so much more than most others and it's obvious you care deeply about the others around you. Thank you comrade for doing your part to try to ease the suffering of this dying nation's people. :red-fist:
Thank you, I'm gonna imagine the real Lenin is saying this to me, get really high, and take a bath. ❤
that's one of my favorite things to do too have a good time lol ♥️
Here's some info on Gabapentin addiction: https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/gabapentin/
Please recognize the symptoms and always taper off gabapentin, some claim it has withdrawls worse than alcohol.
I mean, I took Gabapentin for several years, stopped cold turkey, and the withdrawal was basically not noticeable, maybe slightly harder to get to sleep (YMMV).
It feels kinda nice and relaxing, but doesn't really get you high especially considering there is a dose ceiling above which you don't get any additional effects.
It is in no way in the same league as a recreational drug to most opioids.
The link I posted says physical dependence is a possibility and I only speak from friend's accounts, not my own. It also really depends on how much you have and what it is for. I imagine people taking it for seizures don't expeirience much trouble from it but what the fuck do I know lol
No but it is serving the same function now that doctors cannot prescribe opioids like they used to.
hey buddy imma put down my fentanyl foil and tooter for a second to say: buy. research. chems. yeah maybe there aren't that many grey-market opioid analogues rn but surely the itch can be scratched with tianeptine, poppy seed tea, and some benzos. ofc don't combine
