Opioid Crisis in America Demographically….read to be educated
Catch up!
1/11/2022- I was diagnosed with COVID-19, and Pneumonia. I have been treated with the NEW antibody infusion and on quarantine for 10 days, I’m sure I will be catching up on my blogging since I can only watch so much tv. Shout to UofL Jewish Southeast Med Center who took care of me in their Emergency Room for 8 hours. My sats were low, my heart rate was up, i had to have 2 breathing treatments and medication, both doctor and nurse was great. THANK YOU!
Without further ado here is a brand new post:
So last night 1/11/2022, I was watching Wanda Sykes (a comedian who I love, if you don’t know who she is, you should)…any way, I was watching her standup and it came to this clip.
She makes it seem like a funny heeehee hahaha but what she’s really telling you is do your research. I am an African American female. I have the following diseases and conditions: Lupus (Systemic and Discoid), Polymyositis, Scleroderma, Raynauds Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Avascular Nercrosis (knees both have been replaced now showing in hip), Gastroparesis, Asthma, Interstitial Lung Disease, Antibody Phospholipid Syndrome (blood clotting disorder), ITP (Low blood Platelets), Carpal Tunnel, and Mild Neuropathy, I’ve had 2 histories of Pulmonary Embolisms, weakness and pain in legs I had to learn how to walk again, was admitted to Fraiser Rehab for one month. So needless to say, I have a lot of pain diseases. I have some pain meds at home that I take for my flare ups if they get too bad. My narcotic pain meds (Norco, Percocet, Flexeril,)
However stronger medications treat the symptoms sometimes when the flares do not work. So I do have to go to the Emergency Room for Pain control. I now have pain management team and we are trying different things but with me getting diagnosed with COVID-19 and Pneumonia I’ve had to push those appointments back. Don’t get me wrong 80% of the time the doctors and nurses will dialogue with me about my chart, its a pretty long chart history with all of my history. With most of my diseases being incurable doctors go with trying to treat the symptoms. Seems like a good plan right. Well wrong! When I go to the Emergency Room, I am terrified with this Opioid Crisis. I know how addiction works, I had two parents who were former addicts and it has scared me so much i’ve never wanted to try a drug. I mean I’ve never done anuthing smoked anything, anything. I also know addicted can run in families. So if I can get something that isn’t an opioid but can also handle my pain that would be perfect. Who wants to be in a fog everyday or sleep all the time? I dont. It has made it terribly hard for people like me who have the health background and NEED those medications to get them. You get scared ER doctors who wont give you anything because they just think everyone who asks for pain meds is a drug seeker.
What Wanda Sykes says in her stand-up is true. Caucasian women get opioids thrown at them, they could have a hang nail, here take this vial of morphine. I come in and its very clear that I am having a flare and in immense pain and I get told “well you have Lupus, you need to get used to pain,” or “We are not gonna just throw narcotics at it” (that time I hadn’t even mentioned pain medication.) It’s sad and terrible and makes people like me almost have a nervous breakdown before going to an Emergency Room because being labeled a drug-seeker. But let little Susie come in with a paper cut and she’s got morphine on deck no questions asked. I don’t even get a chance to be an Opioid Crisis victim, because I dont get offered the drug in the first place. Like I said earlier most doctors will look at my chart and put 2 and 2 together ok she’s here because nothing she has at home is working, so we arent going to waste time giving her something that we know is not going work. I don’t know where the other doctors got their degrees at but I’m thankful for the ones who have treated me like a human being and not a junkie.
WE see this. This has been a topic in a lot of Chronic Illness groups on Facebook. Having the courage to standup for yourself and fighting for you healthcare, oh no dont let us do that then we are labeled as being “difficult”, “angry”, “menacing” black people. Right? This angers me to my core. I understand that there are drug seekers out there but cant the doctors see they are punishing the REAL patients along with the drug seekers? If I hear one more person say “I’m tired of all the drug seekers”, Hell when I was a police officers I was tired of all the criminals but did that stop me from doing my job? No. If there is certain criteria that has been met about wither you’re labeled a drug seeker or not, it currently is not working. I’ve kind of changed the topic I had planned to write about here but the message is clear. I am a 37 year old African American female who was afraid to go to the emergency room this weekend because of being labeled. When I finally went on Monday it was actually warranted I have COVID-19 and Pneumonia. There is something seriously wrong when people are scared to go get help because they believe they won’t be listened to.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject…so comment below or email me!!
ellasha@javaandjabber.com
Ellasha
Some Food For thought…so you don’t think I’m just making shit up…
1, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843483/
2.
3, https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain