The son-in-law of a neighbor recently died. He committed suicide, due to his opioid addiction.
He was a Fire Department Captain, in his late 40s, husband and father.
He was injured on the job, given prescription pain meds, and apparently wound up seriously addicted, lost his job, and jumped off a freeway overpass into passing traffic.
The medical profession is wonderful at surgical repair, helping folks with short term pain problems, but really lousy on the back end, getting people off the deadly drugs.
This I know from personal experience, as well. Fortunately I got myself off pain meds, but got a good look for myself.
My orthopedic surgeon is great. So is his PA. But neither one told me about the drugs, or about their plan to get me off them pronto.
We need doctors that are better educated, with better skill at getting people off the deadly drugs, IMO.
* Now you can claim you have really, really severe pain, that only opioids can treat, and my reply is you may be addicted to the drugs, and unwilling to try getting off. But you should really try. It might save your life. And no, I am not a trained medical professional.