Painkiller Addiction

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How did I end up here? The girl wondered. She vaguely registered that she was soaked to the bone and shivering in the cold winter air. She sat on the doorstep of an apartment building, her mind clouded by the drugs coursing through her veins. The 20 year old woman had gotten a heart transplant a year earlier, her heart ruined by drug use and now was at her surgeons front door begging for more painkillers. When the surgeon came out to see her, she was horrified at the state the girl was in. The surgeon wondered if the girl was here for her, or for the man who lived in the same building. He would be willing to sell the girl drugs. The doctor gave her some food and money, although she knew the money would only go towards more drugs. This surgeon was my mother and this incident happened only 12 years ago. Now that woman is most definitely dead, her life ruined by painkiller addictions. And this isn't the only incident in which my mom has experienced the horrors of painkiller addictions. Painkillers need more regulations because the number of addictions and deaths are …show more content…

For example, a mother of four, Sarah Wilson, got addicted to painkillers after being in a car accident. In the peak of her addiction, she was taking up to 35 pills per day. Luckily, Wilson overcame her addiction, but it was a close call. Additionally, the CDC advises doctors to suggest ice, Ibuprofen and Tylenol before opioids and other powerful painkillers. Another issue with the painkiller epidemic is that doctors are giving out too much of them. Another woman had surgery on her ankle and was given a bottle of 60 pills. In the end she didn't even use one. But her nephew did. When he came to her house he stole the painkillers and overdosed just to see how it would feel. This is a huge problem, did this woman really need 60 pills? Giving out that amount is just a disaster waiting to

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