eli5 why can you not just go into a medically-induced coma to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal?
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You can??! But there are, of course, complications with any medical procedure. And a coma is something we literally dont understand super well, and the complications can be extremely severe. There are a myriad of ways, medically to deal with withdrawals. And 99% of them have better outcomes than comas.
Are you a Jordan Peterson fanboy and trying to find some way to cope with what he’s become?
Lots of people enjoy hard drugs in moderation. Plenty of people with legitimate pain management needs who can’t get access to the opiates that would help because others abuse them.
Lots of folks take stimulant meds without abusing them, yet their access is restricted because others might.
You can.
A lot of the chemicals we use to put you in a coma are probably in the same class as what you’re withdrawing from, so no help there.
Being in a coma isn’t good either. Being on a vent is super bad for you.
Knocking people out isn’t nearly as safe as media portrays it, even using medical techniques.
Most of the time when you’re being put under nowdays, you’re not unconscious, your brains just blocked from forming memories and you’re really out of it.
Interestingly, this happened to my FIL with cigarettes. Was in a coma for a few months and when he woke up he was past the worst of the cravings so that was that. The coma wasn’t worth it, as other people have pointed out, as there were very serious complications.
We don’t do coma, but in some extreme cases of withdrawal, we do heavily sedate. The pt. can still breathe and protect their airway, but they’re able to sleep through the worst of it.
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