Nowadays unless you're over 65 you'd be labelled with "drug seeking behavior" (in your records) and sent home with nothing and a "come to the hospital when you pass your stone." Forget the fact that the difference between drug-seeking behavior and legitimately needing something stronger is indistinguishable, and forget the fact that it will cost thousands upon thousands of dollars for you to do it in hospital. Thank God they're keeping you safe from the evil Sacklers
I understand that addiction is a big problem, but this was a male doctor looking at a whole in my testicles, and telling me he can't give me painkillers
My wife had some core muscles in her back collapse. Think unable to walk and could only crawl with me holding her hips up. When she went to the primary doc, he thought it was drug seeking behavior. When she went to the ER they luckily decided that she was serious and gave her the most powerful muscle relaxant available - Valium. She had no idea, but it it saved her life.
The best muscle relaxant / antispasmodic depends on the patient and the situation. Valium is a safe indication from someone not dealing with those medications, as a temporary measure.
All benzodiazepines (including valium - diazepam) create dependence.
It was extremely scary to go through.
That is, it seems like nowhere else has the idea of purification through suffering really taken hold at such a widespread level for so long. I'd argue its because its just the flipside of the Prosperity Gospel. If you assume that one's physical conditions are a reflection of one's spiritual choices, then your first move when someone says "I'm in pain, please help me with my pain" is to ask "What have you done to deserve this pain? I won't remove God-given pain; if you deserve it, it would be a sin to do so", instead of "Here's something to make the pain manageable while we figure out how to remove the source of the pain".
I loathe the prosperity gospel too, and never miss a chance to blame its preachers where I can. But in this case I think glorification of suffering can’t be blamed on them because suffering was also fetishized by mother Teresa.
It does seem to be a uniquely American problem though.
Scratchy robes for monks in certain orders has long been a thing all over the world. But successfully banning comfortable clothing for all, regardless of religiosity, is really more of an American thing.
And that of course goes back to the Puritans around at America's founding, who were deeply opposed to anybody having fun or enjoying themselves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans#Behavioral_regulation...
I also recall reading of Calvinists who came to American in the mid-1800s to be free of such things as vaccines and insurance, because they thought those things interfered with God's plan. A plan, apparently, wherein a lot of people suffered while others stood around and quietly gloated that they were god's favorites.
And yet benzodiazepines are taken by vast amounts of people as if it was water.
