Of course while YMMV, I've found the same thing - I've been prescribed opioids for pain, and I found that Advil worked just as well, without the side effects. I do understand that opioids have their place - for example I was told that Advil was not safe to take before surgery so I was stuck with the prescription meds.
On example that made an impression on me: a couple of years ago, I had arthroscopic surgery on a knee. When the surgery was done and I was being discharged, a nurse came to me with a percocet script and told me to take one every xx hours. Having taken percocet in the past and being familiar with the aforementioned side-effects, I asked her if she wanted me to take it for pain management, or if there was another reason to take it (blocking the formation of blood clots for example). I'm fairly pain-tolerant, so if it was a pain management thing, I wasn't going to take it. Her response was "just take the pills." That was not helpful. If doctors and nurses are just shoving these things down patients' throats it's not surprising there is a problem out there.
On example that made an impression on me: a couple of years ago, I had arthroscopic surgery on a knee. When the surgery was done and I was being discharged, a nurse came to me with a percocet script and told me to take one every xx hours. Having taken percocet in the past and being familiar with the aforementioned side-effects, I asked her if she wanted me to take it for pain management, or if there was another reason to take it (blocking the formation of blood clots for example). I'm fairly pain-tolerant, so if it was a pain management thing, I wasn't going to take it. Her response was "just take the pills." That was not helpful. If doctors and nurses are just shoving these things down patients' throats it's not surprising there is a problem out there.