Outside my Area of Expertise (20170328)

          The previous offering in this series was about cancer, a thing that once was rather academic but is now very personal. This piece is about my old friend pain and now it probably will be with us always. I follow this with a diatribe concerning the lack of skeptical thinking about an unpopular topic.

          Pain!, what can you do about it? Paul A. Offit, MD has written a rather succinct article (God's Own Medicine, Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2017) about "History's unlearned lesson about opium-based pain relievers and addiction."

          Offit traces from 1803 to the present, the development of opium-based pain relievers and their concomitant lethal and addictive properties. His final paragraph summarizes his thesis well:

          In the end, the medical profession's stubborn belief that it can separate pain relief from addiction has created a problem that will take decades to undo.

          I am certain many of you can comment, far better than I can, on the effects of using opium-based pain relievers. Other than some Heroin cured MaryJane back in the day, my only exposure to opium-based pain relievers was the day, as part of a post-op régime, I attempted to consume two Percocet tablets. Fortunately, my ability to swallow malfunctioned as I was about to put the second tablet into my mouth. So, with only half the dose I simply waited a relatively short time before being confident enough to sleep that night. Growing up we were too poor to afford prescription pain relievers so I simply learned to deal with pain my own way. Some would probably call it meditation, I simply thought of it as a robust endorphin (once I learned the term) production. I am lucky, from the very first case: It is not clear how far my cousin twisted my hip, but the pain was extreme. The doctor ordered three weeks of bed rest for the bruised socket to heal. During that time I successfully explored various "states of mind" to make it all bearable. Over the subsequent years, much to the consternation of many medical professionals I have never used pain killers, period. If it should ever come to pass that my only option is to use opium-based pain relievers, well let's just say, I know much more pleasant ways to die.

          It is not clear to me why Dr. Offit chose to publish this piece in the Skeptical Inquirer but I am glad that he did as it provided context of which I was not aware. It is disconcerting that in 2015 "More young people died from opioid overdose than from motor vehicle accidents." I do wonder though that nowhere in his article did the good doctor mention marijuana.That is strange, indeed.

          Now for the Diatribe: I am disappointed in Ronald A. Lindsay and the skeptical community in general for not being as skeptical of the GMO based industry as they are skeptical of the homeopathy industry. Dr. Lindsay (Why Skepticism?, Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2017) does a fine job of detailing the problem with homeopathy even though its products are benign. I am saddened that he and his ilk refuse to subject GMO's to the same scrutiny.

          Sure we can eat GMOs with no ill effects, so what??? Just like super duper strength homeopathic "solutions" we can consume with impunity. But, what about those mega-farms perpetually growing monocultural corn as they dump ever more toxic herbicides and pesticides in the pretense of "feeding the world" bullshit.

          Have they forgotten evolution's time metric is not the steady ticking of the atomic clock but the births and deaths associated with generational cycles? Are they unaware of the pace of evolutionary change even as climate shifts force habitats inexorability to create mass extinction events. Have these "skeptics" lost their minds and no longer understand the folly of driving natural systems into nonlinear regimes? Where is the skepticism when it is most needed?

          One of the nice things about leaving Nebraska is that I will be far away from public water fountains warning me not to let the baby drink the water. It's about the economics · · · STUPID. At least in Medford I have a ghost of a chance of teaching some "hippies" some real science. I doubt I will ever get through to the people like Dr. Lindsay that insist the GMO resistance is solely vested in those that talk of "frankenfoods".

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Its about the economics, Lots of money to be made on Opiates and GMO's ( more yield per acre). Higher profit no matter what the toll is on the masses. masses The body of common people or people of low socioeconomic status: "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" (Emma Lazarus).

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Creosote.'s picture

@pro left @pro left
per acre, at a far higher cost, as first you must buy the seed from the corporation, then the glyphosate (same corporation) that will kill the weeds but not your corn, and both are costly enough to have driven many farmers out of business. And meanwhile the weeds mutate to survive. The high yields are a huge fiction; traditional sustainable and organic farming yields are far higher.
Moreover, the actual damage to the persons applying the glyphsate (called Roundup) is now mounting, as some 600 people have been diagnosed with a form of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Opiates can be helpful if you still have to keep working actively. Supplements like Celadrin, however, can reduce back pain amazingly, and you can get many weeks' worth of pain-free yardwork done for $17 or so.

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PriceRip's picture

@Creosote.

          I think you have identified the source of my angst. The reality that GMO processes have not yet created deadly monsters does not alter the fact that the process is not profitable by the most fundamental measure, yield per acre.

          If I could find an authoritative source to substantiate that as a fact in a general statement of production over a broad range of situations, then maybe I could have an effect on the dialogue in the Skeptical Inquirer crowd. I would like to find some way to break them from their "lazy hippies are afraid of frankenfoods" shtick.

          So, thanks for the suggestion, and I will see what I can find.

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@Creosote. That's exactly what they intend to do, put the family farms out of business so the corporate owned farms can flourish.

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PriceRip's picture

@pro left

          My wife worked with a coalition that assisted small (id est not big corporate businesses) farmers in the midwest as the situation entered a meltdown due to public policies that had generated an economic bubble.

          This work helped "save" the family farms in this and many other areas. I fear the same cynical capitalistic philosophy will succeed in the future where it didn't in the past.

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PriceRip's picture

@pro left

          In the 1960s I dreamed of the day "follow the money" would be a thing of the long dead past. The reality is that it is more true now than then primarily because of the technological advances during the intervening time.

          My dad liked to say, "The hurrier I go the behinder I get." It's like trying to make progress up a greased pole. The whole "make money to make more money" thing was supposed to die as we all moved on to honorable pursuits.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-T_Of9fh8w]
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riverlover's picture

gulping to over 8 hours. Not a problem with addiction for me, just turning down the pain knob. I still have more pills, all contain Tylenol, not good for limping liver. I may part with pills and just be grumpier. And spend more time horizontally. Louise Penny is a good writer. I am now sleeping longer than my dog.

GMOs can now be made by editing without herbicide resistance. My jury is still out. they were fun to make in the lab.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

PriceRip's picture

@riverlover

          I keep hoping that you will soon be telling us of long walks in the woods and many joyful encounters with the local fauna. In the mean time, keep the weight off the foot. For the past three weeks I have been badgering my wife about stepping up with the "good" leg and stepping down with the "bad" leg. it would all be so comical if it were not so painful.

          One of the first things I learned about medicine: addiction usually occurred when there is no therapeutic need for the drug. That point of view is from the 1960s and only reflects my contact with individuals associated with the no longer extant Eastern Oregon State Hospital, so take it with the usual amount of NaCl.

          GMOs can now be made by editing without herbicide resistance. My jury is still out. they were fun to make in the lab.

          Okay, now I am officially confused: I thought that one of the "beneficial" traits was to have herbicide resistant corn in the vast fields of Nebraska. I have reached this understanding because of the heavy promotion of Roundup Ready® Corn® (or maybe I should write "corn" ‽ ) in Nebraska.

          Your "fun to make in the lab" made me think of Oppy's

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Fortunately the "Power of the Dark Side" is not so very enticing for most of us. And for those so inclined access to knowledge is sheltered by many years of Grad work and PostDoc slavery.

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riverlover's picture

@PriceRip and yes, now I think or must consider, lead with right (good) foot up, lead with bad foot left down. Many clumps. I wish there was a waterproof and skid-resistant covering for a to-the-knee cast. I suspect an old galosh would work, seem to have gotten rid of those.

Pain-free wishes to us all!

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.