Within ten minutes she gets up with the IV wires still in her arm, ready to leave. “My colleague was in a dent, because of course that wasn’t possible at all. Oxy is a pain reliever instant works, but is also really heavy. When Eveline emailed me about this, I immediately recognized it as the mess it is. And she’s been taking four times my single dose for seven years. I couldn’t even stand on my feet at the time, but she needs that amount to function. I couldn’t imagine anything about that. ”
No script
Villerius eventually follows Eveline for eight months, during two quit attempts. “What has stayed with me is the total lack of guidance. Evelines GP and pain doctor could not help her, the pharmacy was unable to answer her questions about scaling down and the dangers thereof. I thought that was really bizarre to watch. You read in newspapers how big this problem is, but there is no script. I noticed that she really had to do all this herself, even during the corona crisis. She has felt very lonely: no one told her what was normal or warned her of what was to come. She really had to figure it out for herself. ”
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Oxycodone: Solitary Fight Against Pain
Oxycodone is not only popular among patients, the painkiller can also be found on the takeaway menu of many drug dealers. People without chronic pain are more likely to experience intoxication after taking oxycodone, a temporary feeling of euphoria. Nevertheless, Villerius is particularly concerned about the group of people who use oxycodone for a long time to treat pain. This is often a great solution for short interventions: afterwards you switch to paracetamol or you go for treatment at the physiotherapist and your body slowly takes control again. If you keep taking oxycodone systematically, your body will not recover.
Villerius: “Then you become physically dependent as well as mentally. You don’t want to be without it anymore because you are afraid of the pain. Pain that also returns irrevocably, in the case of chronic pain. That fear promotes addiction: you unconsciously start anesthetics. And why would you use paracetamol for that, when oxycodone is so easy to get? “
Knowledge
During conversations with doctors, the documentary maker discovered that the painkiller is still fairly quickly prescribed. “Usually with acute pain or after surgery, purely because it works very quickly. As a doctor you naturally want your patients to be in no pain, you want to pull them out of hell as quickly as possible. But what struck me is that there is very little knowledge about how to get rid of that painkiller and how terribly addictive it is. Oxycodone is apparently the best pain reliever, but also the most addictive: it is a devil’s dilemma when people are really in pain. ”
In addition, according to Villerius, there is not yet sufficient knowledge about the long-term effects of the opiate. Awareness when prescribing oxycodone is already improving, but the risk is mainly in the repeat prescriptions. “How is that going in that automatic mill? Some doctors have developed a system in which an additional doctor checks whether the prescription is still needed and signs it, some enter into discussions with patients. But there are also quite a few doctors who prescribe so much oxycodone on an annual basis that they do not really know how long and why. If someone is prescribed oxycodone through the hospital, every GP should actually invite them and start a conversation about everything that comes with it. ”
Don’t start
Villerius feels that the oxycodone story is far from over. “This short documentary is close to the skin and very personal, but I think this subject lends itself very well to journalistic sequels. There is more to this. Eveline’s story raises so many questions, I think there are still countless people who recognize themselves in this. I think it would be nice to hear those stories and to know why people got oxycodone, or doctors discussed possible alternatives. A number of doctors are already very committed to this, but a much larger percentage seems to lack that knowledge. That’s not a blame: most doctors really do what they can, but oxycodone should perhaps be given a more prominent place in basic training. ”
In any case, Villerius hopes that people will remember one thing from this short documentary: “Don’t start. If you do take the oxycodone, ask your doctor if there is an alternative or a plan for after the pain. In any case, start the conversation. It’s not that I think this painkiller should be banned, I believe it is a solution to many things. But I do want to make people aware of the dangers. ”
Also read
Eveline has been dependent on oxycodone for 7 years: ‘Every movement hurts’ or go to LINDA.nl/oxycodon
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