Character models and their problems

[elfs]

This afternoon, I stopped by the local pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions that Omaha and I had called in, some of her epilepsy medicine and some fexofenadine, an allergy med, for myself. The allergy pills were generic, and differently shaped this time from the last time, and oddly smaller. They had run out of medium bottles for Omaha's med and they only had these bottles as big as my forearm.

While I was waiting, I saw a pretty young woman her early 20's come in to get a prescription. My first reaction when seeing her was that she could have been a perfect model for Shandy Oxenhollar, the catalyst character for the next Misuko & Linia story: a little soft and short wearing beaten brown cargo pants and aging bomber jacket, reddish-brown gently curled hair, big glasses, big breasts, and a cheerful smile. She even had a grey sweatshirt tied around her waist, just like the character.

I was wearing my glasses, which give me 20/15 vision, what I'm used to having. I could read her prescription from where I sat. It was clear on the label of one of those large bottles in which you usually get prescription cough syrup. Methodone. And I thought to myself, no, that's not a problem I'm giving to Shandy. She's got enough already.

Comments

[edichka2.livejournal.com]

Methadone is also commonly used these days for chronic pain, though the person you spotted doesn't sound like she fits that profile....

- Eddie

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what he said. I know of people who have no history of drug problems, who have methadone prescriptions for chronic pain.

[grum]

I'm not sure I'll grant that it's common, but it is definitely done.

Part of the reason it's not common is the doctor's presumption that they shouldn't try it b/c the patient will fear they'll be taken for an addict. Part of the reason doctors continue to believe this is because patients continue to react badly at the suggestion. Patients continue to react badly largely due to fears of what others will think when they've jumped to the incorrect conclusion.

That said, I haven't looked the frequency up either.

[phoenix14159.livejournal.com]

Yep. ankareeda_rm was on it for her severe chronic pain until she developed side effects that made it a poor choice. It worked very well for a while.

At first she was embarrassed about it, but then decided that was silly and started telling people she was on it. Talking about it is the only way to get people to change their point of view. I'm pretty sure it was initially developed as a pain reliever anyway; it's used for addicts because it binds to the same receptors as heroin but has a smoother curve.

Oh, and there's always the possibility that the woman in the store was picking it up for someone else; I picked up those Rx's (and her current meds for that matter) more often than she does.