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1. Mark's Story

Mark* is a middle-aged man from Provo, Utah. He recently underwent a relatively minor outpatient surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor. As is usual for most surgeries, he was prescribed pain pills, also known as opioids, to manage the post-surgery pain. He was very grateful to have them for the first few days because the pain was quite intense. He took these pills until he no longer needed anything for the pain, and he had only used one-third of the prescribed pills. He was prescribed far more than what he needed. Fortunately, Mark’s doctor had informed Mark that he should stop taking his pain pills as soon the pain had subsided. Many people believe that they need to finish their prescription pain pills for them to be effective. This is not the case! Opioids are very addictive. Taking them for long periods of time increases the likelihood of addiction. While pain pills can provide significant benefits for managing post-surgery pain, pain associated with cancer treatments, and chronic pain, they need to be properly controlled to decrease the potential risks of addiction. Click here to learn more about prescription pain pills: http://www.opidemic.org/

*Name has been changed to protect privacy

#prescriptiondrugs #painpills #opioids #drugabuse #substanceabuse #overdose #overprescription

2. Tyler's Story
Tyler used to play soccer religiously. In a sense it was his life growing up, especially in high school. When he was 15, he tore his ACL and they gave him morphine. At first, he didn't think much of it but after getting home and continuing to take Vicodin to relieve some of the pain, things kinda went downhill from there. Some of his soccer buddies would come over to check on him but they didn't have the same values Tyler did so they would always be smoking or trying to get high. After a few visits they started abusing his prescription and eventually got Tyler to join. They would get high together. That's when his addiction started. After his meds had run out he then turned to a friend to find another way to get high so he started smoking marijuana which later turned to coke and eventually heroin. It has taken him years of treatment and years of fighting through hell to finally get his life back all because of one surgery. Click here to learn more about the #UtahEpidemic: http://www.opidemic.org/

3. Bryce's Story 

Bryce was given a prescription for opioids after his bone marrow transplant. Of his experience with the medication he said, “The thing that bothered me most was my ability to cope with pain almost disappeared. After taking them for a period of time my pain tolerance dropped significantly. It dropped to the point that I felt as if I needed to just take them on a loop in order to stave away the pain.” Click the link to learn more about the #UtahOpidemic.  http://www.opidemic.org/

4. Tonya's Story
My mom has breast cancer and she had to have a double radical mastectomy, resulting in being prescribed multiple pain medicines. This was her experience on paying for these: “Your dad and I were nervous because my pain pills my oncologist prescribed me after my double mastectomy totaled to $25,000 a month and we were not sure whether or not it was worth it and why insurance wasn’t covering it. After about a month, we were able to figure out the issues we were having with Blue Cross and they ended paying for more than the majority of the pills, and we just had to pay $10 a month.” Tonya does not let this stop her from fighting! Join Tonya and continue to fight to help cancer patients get the medication they need for their cancer. #FightCancer

5. Opioid abuse is a rising issue in Utah. Learn more about it and what you can do to prevent it! #ACSCAN #UtahOpidemic

6. Heroin users aren’t the only people at risk for a drug overdose. According to the Utah Department of Health anyone who is taking a high dose of opioid drugs for long-term pain management is at risk for an overdose. Click the link to learn more about the risk factors for overdose, signs of an overdose and how the drug Naloxone can save lives so that you can be prepared to help yourself and your loved ones. #NaloxoneSavesLives

http://www.opidemic.org/overdose/

7. 16,000 people die annually from prescription opioid abuse. What can be done to curb this problem? This video proposes a prescription for reducing opioid abuse. This would require education, monitoring, and policy changes. #TossTheExtras Watch this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUoYS_eseCw

8. Many people think they need to take prescription opioids to fight off pain, though are other options that will not lead to addiction. Talk to your to doctor to #AvoidAddiction and to stop the #UtahOpidemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wjv-P62mU4 

9. “Drug poisoning deaths have outpaced deaths due to firearms, falls, and motor vehicle crashes in Utah,” says the health department’s website. A news release from the department says Utah ranks fourth-highest nationally for drug overdose deaths. http://www.standard.net/Health/2016/12/11/Health-department-Opioid-abuse-is-a-Utah-epidemic