DUEL with the DEVIL
Viewing comments for Chapter 30 "DUEL with the DEVIL - Chapter 30"The problem of creating a non-addictive painkiller
19 total reviews
Comment from T B Botts
Hi Jim,
I guess we never know how things are going to turn out when we make choices in our lives. Sometimes we can do something stupid and get away with it, and other times, it comes up to bite us in the backside. I hope that Brian will choose to tell the prof what he's dealing with. Perhaps his teacher has some kind of insight that will help Brian deal with the pain. One thing is certain, Brian can't keep going in the direction he's heading. His relationship with Jules, his sister and his college friends are all in jeopardy. Well done on your story.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Hi Jim,
I guess we never know how things are going to turn out when we make choices in our lives. Sometimes we can do something stupid and get away with it, and other times, it comes up to bite us in the backside. I hope that Brian will choose to tell the prof what he's dealing with. Perhaps his teacher has some kind of insight that will help Brian deal with the pain. One thing is certain, Brian can't keep going in the direction he's heading. His relationship with Jules, his sister and his college friends are all in jeopardy. Well done on your story.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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If we knew how they'd turn out, we probably wouldn't do many of the dumb things we end up doing. Good speculation about Brian and his prof. It will take a few chapters to see how this all unfolds.
Comment from Debbie D'Arcy
Oh dear, things are going from bad to worse. From the build up to the incident, we knew something was on the cards. So when it happened , there wasn't so much surprise as a recognition of the inevitable, given the condition Brian was in. I think the present day voice in the middle is inspired, never intrusive and gives the reader what we need to know as Brian wouldn't have appreciated the facts at the time. The follow-up with the teacher was, of course, very credible and my guess is that Brian is still a long way from divulging the truth as he starts disappearing into his own private, drug and deception-fuelled world. Very well done, Jim! Take care Debbie
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Oh dear, things are going from bad to worse. From the build up to the incident, we knew something was on the cards. So when it happened , there wasn't so much surprise as a recognition of the inevitable, given the condition Brian was in. I think the present day voice in the middle is inspired, never intrusive and gives the reader what we need to know as Brian wouldn't have appreciated the facts at the time. The follow-up with the teacher was, of course, very credible and my guess is that Brian is still a long way from divulging the truth as he starts disappearing into his own private, drug and deception-fuelled world. Very well done, Jim! Take care Debbie
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Yes, they are getting worse, and not at rock-bottom yet. You have very good instincts about this, Debbie. Thanks for your perceptive review.
Comment from barbara.wilkey
I hope Brian comes clean but he's an addict and may not. Kimi was injured and next time it might be more serious. I don't want to see Brian get in so deep that he hits rock bottom again. I really like this story.
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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I hope Brian comes clean but he's an addict and may not. Kimi was injured and next time it might be more serious. I don't want to see Brian get in so deep that he hits rock bottom again. I really like this story.
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Thanks, Barbara. This part is coming to a head soon, and he's going to need a lot of help to get through it. It's a good thing he has a good support system.
Comment from Cindy Decker 3
Jim, although you lost your story as fiction, many of your points are true.
After a serious back injury, I was given Oxi. I kept having to take more of it just to dull the pain a little. I finally withdrew from it cold turkey; I vowed not to take it again, as the withdrawal was "painful" physically and emotionally.
Your story lets the reader empathize with your character's circumstances.
I hope he finds his way through life. I'll keep reading.
Best wishes,
Cindy
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Jim, although you lost your story as fiction, many of your points are true.
After a serious back injury, I was given Oxi. I kept having to take more of it just to dull the pain a little. I finally withdrew from it cold turkey; I vowed not to take it again, as the withdrawal was "painful" physically and emotionally.
Your story lets the reader empathize with your character's circumstances.
I hope he finds his way through life. I'll keep reading.
Best wishes,
Cindy
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Oh, wow. Cold turkey, huh? Not the best way to get off it as you can probably attest to. I just recently got off taking Tramadol, a much weaker opioid than Oxy, and I took it very slowly. I started out by reducing it too fast, and it made me feel very jumpy. By stretching it out over about 3 weeks, it has been fine.
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Jim, I ran out of oxi on a friday night, and could not get a doctor to refill my script until the following Monday. I had no choice but to withdraw that weekend. I now take Motrin for my pain.
Best wishes, Cindy
Comment from Wayne Fowler
Nicely written.
Your ending the chapter as you did was excellent. I have a bad feeling, though, that Brian did not do the right thing.
I have to say I do not enjoy reading about bad choices when it comes to addiction. My best friend is dead, as is my youngest brother, one meth, the other alcohol.
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Nicely written.
Your ending the chapter as you did was excellent. I have a bad feeling, though, that Brian did not do the right thing.
I have to say I do not enjoy reading about bad choices when it comes to addiction. My best friend is dead, as is my youngest brother, one meth, the other alcohol.
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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That's really sad, Wayne, and I'm sorry to hear about it. Did either of them become addicted due to pain? That's really the scope of this story, as opposed to addiction in general. I don't know if there will ever be a solution to addiction for strictly reasons of pleasure.
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No. My friend felt he needed to work 24 hrs/day in his business and didn't realize the super addictive quality of meth to an addictive personality. My brother suffered from inherited addictive personality (as do I, hence total abstinence from alcohol). He committed suicide.
Thanks for your empathy.
Comment from Tom Horonzy
The genie in the bottle had become an ogre and was running loose, creating havoc. Time to pay the piper? We'll have to wait and see, but it will likely dim the glee Brian has had... at least for a little while.
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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The genie in the bottle had become an ogre and was running loose, creating havoc. Time to pay the piper? We'll have to wait and see, but it will likely dim the glee Brian has had... at least for a little while.
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Yeah, there will be no glee for a while, but you can't keep a good man down for long. Gotta get him well again so he can fight this ogre running loose. Help will come from an unexpected source.
Comment from BethShelby
Your story is helping me to understand how easily extreme pain can cause addictions to occur. I'm sure I go too far in the opposite direction trying to make sure it won't happen to me. I won't even take a low dose aspirin for pain and I do have a lot of pain at times with my back and knees. The dentist thought I was crazy when I refused to fill a perscription for pain medicine following dental implant surgery.
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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Your story is helping me to understand how easily extreme pain can cause addictions to occur. I'm sure I go too far in the opposite direction trying to make sure it won't happen to me. I won't even take a low dose aspirin for pain and I do have a lot of pain at times with my back and knees. The dentist thought I was crazy when I refused to fill a perscription for pain medicine following dental implant surgery.
Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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It can, but it doesn't always. The problem seems to be when, in addition to alleviating the pain, it also makes you high, and if you like that feeling, you may begin taking the medication for more than just the pain, if you can get your hands on it.
I think I told you that I took Vicodin, a fairly strong opioid, for 4 or 5 months when I had back surgery, and I never felt high from it. It just made the pain better. When the pain was largely gone, I had no trouble tapering off it. They don't typically prescribe it for that long anymore, though.
My wife can't take opioids, because they make her nauseous, and she vomits a lot.
My advice would be to follow your doctor's advice and take them. These days, they don't prescribe enough to get you addicted. If you notice they get you high or nauseous, you can just stop taking them, but the amount they give you won't get you addicted.
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Thanks but I avoid doctors like I do pain pills. I'm a little nuts. lol I want to be me even if it hurts. The slightest indication something I consumed is making me feel any way different makes me uncomfortable.
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Got it.
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
I am always amazed at how selfish over use of pain meds makes people. Their need or want always comes at the expense of everyone else. The way pain is handled is wacky. The pain does not go away ever. It is dumbed down only. And the meds effect every part of your life. Any other medicine woulld have been yanked off the market years ago for being so destructive. Why isn't it? Karen
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reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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I am always amazed at how selfish over use of pain meds makes people. Their need or want always comes at the expense of everyone else. The way pain is handled is wacky. The pain does not go away ever. It is dumbed down only. And the meds effect every part of your life. Any other medicine woulld have been yanked off the market years ago for being so destructive. Why isn't it? Karen
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Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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It would be great if you could cure the cause of the pain, but as you know, that's not always possible, so you're left with masking or blocking the pain signals.
Ever been to the dentist and had novacaine or lidocaine to numb your mouth before the dentist drills into your tooth? That is a real effective painkiller that isn't addicting nor does it make you feel loopy. In Part 2, we'll be getting into a lot of the science around that as Brian develops his own painkiller along those lines. I will try to keep it interesting and intersperse it with plenty of non-sciency stuff too for those who don't care much for the science.
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Just keep doing what you are doing. Karen
Comment from Wendy G
An excellent place to finish your story - leaving the reader to wonder which way his decision will go. I hope he chooses to confide his problem, but I don't think he will. He's on the downhill run, unfortunately. Very well written. Sorry, Jim, no sixes left.
Wendy
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reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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An excellent place to finish your story - leaving the reader to wonder which way his decision will go. I hope he chooses to confide his problem, but I don't think he will. He's on the downhill run, unfortunately. Very well written. Sorry, Jim, no sixes left.
Wendy
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Comment Written 24-Aug-2024
reply by the author on 24-Aug-2024
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No worries about the 6s, Wendy. I just enjoy hearing your comments and speculations. He's definitely going downhill now, but hasn't quite reached bottom yet. He's going to need a lot of help to recover from this one.
