Aa
Question about Pain Management
I've been giving this a lot of thought. Because opiate withdrawal is not life threatening, doctors are handing these things out like candy. Yes, you get that little pamphlet advising you that these drugs can be addictive. The truth is that these drugs were never intended for long term use. I think it would only take a few minutes out of a doctors time to show you a short video of what these drugs can do over prolong use.........addiction and dependence is a very fine line and showing a short video of what one will suffer as a result of prolonged use (watching someone suffer withdrawal) as a possibility may make the patient make alternative choices.
There is no reason that I can see for doctors to be prescribing medications that at one time were strictly for patients on their death beds.........virtually nobody reads those pamphlets anyway, so where does the responsibility lie?.......If you are informed correctly, then your doctor can accept no blame.
Nauty
There is no reason that I can see for doctors to be prescribing medications that at one time were strictly for patients on their death beds.........virtually nobody reads those pamphlets anyway, so where does the responsibility lie?.......If you are informed correctly, then your doctor can accept no blame.
Nauty
To Naughty:
You say:
There is no reason that I can see for doctors to be prescribing medications that at one time were strictly for patients on their death beds.........virtually nobody reads those pamphlets anyway, so where does the responsibility lie?.......If you are informed correctly, then your doctor can accept no blame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So what about the guy in the wheel chair who can hardly grab the wheel to make it go or the lady with the cane who can barely walk across the room. Should he stay in bed or her in a chair because they are not on their "death beds" and shouldn't qualify...maybe they should just buck up to the situation and tough it out?? I don't think so. They need a life too and sometimes their only option are the pain meds they take just to function.
You see Naughty, this is where a lot of us in the Pain Forum are. So it is not fair for you to say that pain medications should be just for the cancer patients. To me that is being prejudiced and totally unfair.
At one time in my life, I felt as if there were no hope for my pain and that I wasn't going to live like that. I pondered the idea of just ending it all. After many Doctor visits and countless hours of therapy, I was introduced to pain meds. The Doctor did not hand them out like candy in fact, I am monitored every two months. I can live my life now and not feel like there is no hope. I hope that someday you can see our side of this.
Please take care,
Molly
You say:
There is no reason that I can see for doctors to be prescribing medications that at one time were strictly for patients on their death beds.........virtually nobody reads those pamphlets anyway, so where does the responsibility lie?.......If you are informed correctly, then your doctor can accept no blame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So what about the guy in the wheel chair who can hardly grab the wheel to make it go or the lady with the cane who can barely walk across the room. Should he stay in bed or her in a chair because they are not on their "death beds" and shouldn't qualify...maybe they should just buck up to the situation and tough it out?? I don't think so. They need a life too and sometimes their only option are the pain meds they take just to function.
You see Naughty, this is where a lot of us in the Pain Forum are. So it is not fair for you to say that pain medications should be just for the cancer patients. To me that is being prejudiced and totally unfair.
At one time in my life, I felt as if there were no hope for my pain and that I wasn't going to live like that. I pondered the idea of just ending it all. After many Doctor visits and countless hours of therapy, I was introduced to pain meds. The Doctor did not hand them out like candy in fact, I am monitored every two months. I can live my life now and not feel like there is no hope. I hope that someday you can see our side of this.
Please take care,
Molly
I won't bother trying to change anyone's mind, because that probably won't happen.
but i'll tell you what happened last night.
I have been in more pain than usual over the last month or so. sometimes really quite bad(hate to say it, but i was starting to get that better off dead thing going in my head). and last night it was really getting to me so i went to see my dr.
i sat in the waiting room for 1hrs 40mins doubled over. trying not to let anyone see that i was struggling to keep the tears at bay. my dr knew right away that things weren't good and i told him as much. for the 1st time since i've seen this dr i straight out asked for something stronger for the pain. his response was NO. the best i could get was a referral to the pain clinic.(which i accepted). he knew that i wasn't coping well with the pain and i even told him that it's starting to get to me mentally. his answer was still no.
where was the dr who throws pills at me like they're candy?
he wasn't on duty last night, he's never been on duty.
oh and Nauty, your comments were quite offensive, particularly after i just drove one and a half hours in pain, sat in a waiting room doubled over for 1 hr 40 mins, was very upfront with my doc, and got no help.
perhaps i need to lie and be more manipulative?
for an addict, the difference between psychological addiction and physical dependance may be a fine line, but for non-addicted CP sufferers it's a mile wide.
but i'll tell you what happened last night.
I have been in more pain than usual over the last month or so. sometimes really quite bad(hate to say it, but i was starting to get that better off dead thing going in my head). and last night it was really getting to me so i went to see my dr.
i sat in the waiting room for 1hrs 40mins doubled over. trying not to let anyone see that i was struggling to keep the tears at bay. my dr knew right away that things weren't good and i told him as much. for the 1st time since i've seen this dr i straight out asked for something stronger for the pain. his response was NO. the best i could get was a referral to the pain clinic.(which i accepted). he knew that i wasn't coping well with the pain and i even told him that it's starting to get to me mentally. his answer was still no.
where was the dr who throws pills at me like they're candy?
he wasn't on duty last night, he's never been on duty.
oh and Nauty, your comments were quite offensive, particularly after i just drove one and a half hours in pain, sat in a waiting room doubled over for 1 hr 40 mins, was very upfront with my doc, and got no help.
perhaps i need to lie and be more manipulative?
for an addict, the difference between psychological addiction and physical dependance may be a fine line, but for non-addicted CP sufferers it's a mile wide.
I love this forum, and people like Mollyrae, Tuckamore, mindlink, nick30 and many others have been so insightful it's actually cheered me up more than once. To know there are people feeling the same, or going through similar things is extremely empowering. I thank all of those in the Pain Management forum for being helpful, caring and all around awesome.
So for that reason Nauty, I can't say what I really want to say to you due to potential repercussions. Let's just say, you're WRONG. You don't really know what you're talking about, like a lot of people and I'm sick, and tired of hearing it. People like you are the ones that lump addicts and pain patients together, blurring the line and making it harder for people to get help. Would you say the same about a kid snorting anti-psychotics, and someone with a mental disorder who takes them to function? NO!
I seriously doubt your tale of taking meds and what not, frankly you sound like an ex-addict who's on a high horse, just like ex-smokers who get in the faces of smokers and deride them for their bad habit. You have no right, absolutely no right. You cannot say "I am in pain and I don't need them so no one else does" that's just....ugh. I have chronic pain, but I wouldn't say a cancer patient doesn't need them! Everyone is different, no one's body is the same and we all handle things differently. Frankly, I think my experiences with surgeries, pain, injuries and such have strengthened me somewhat against what I deal with. Without all that, I might feel 50% worse than I do.
So please, save your preaching. You have a right to your opinion, but to say we in the Pain Management forum are addicts wording things differently because we're in denial is irresponsible, offensive and derogatory. Watch what you say next time, I implore you.
So for that reason Nauty, I can't say what I really want to say to you due to potential repercussions. Let's just say, you're WRONG. You don't really know what you're talking about, like a lot of people and I'm sick, and tired of hearing it. People like you are the ones that lump addicts and pain patients together, blurring the line and making it harder for people to get help. Would you say the same about a kid snorting anti-psychotics, and someone with a mental disorder who takes them to function? NO!
I seriously doubt your tale of taking meds and what not, frankly you sound like an ex-addict who's on a high horse, just like ex-smokers who get in the faces of smokers and deride them for their bad habit. You have no right, absolutely no right. You cannot say "I am in pain and I don't need them so no one else does" that's just....ugh. I have chronic pain, but I wouldn't say a cancer patient doesn't need them! Everyone is different, no one's body is the same and we all handle things differently. Frankly, I think my experiences with surgeries, pain, injuries and such have strengthened me somewhat against what I deal with. Without all that, I might feel 50% worse than I do.
So please, save your preaching. You have a right to your opinion, but to say we in the Pain Management forum are addicts wording things differently because we're in denial is irresponsible, offensive and derogatory. Watch what you say next time, I implore you.
I applaud you for finally being informed about narcotics being addictive. I knew that going in, but finally chose it anyway. It is always a shame when anyone, addict, or other, messes things up for people who truly could benefit from something. Criminals can get guns, so honest people have a hard time obtaining them for protection. People hijack planes so the rest of us have to go through hell to get on a plane. There are always going to be people who abuse substances - any substance. But it doesn't mean there isn't a legitimate reason for using that substance. I'm glad food isn't outlawed just because most of American's abuse it!
My use of narcotics is an unfortunate necessity. I feel "normal" on them, as far as psychological parameters are concerned. It doesn't relieve all of my pain - nothing would - but it helps me at least function. I have two kids and am on my own. I'm disabled and sometimes can't get out of bed. I can't imagine anyone believing that everyone else experienced things the same way they did. You say you didn't even know they were addictive. Did you have a diagnosis? Have you ever felt pain that was so intense that all you could do is scream? rock back and forth? Have you ever had post-surgical pain? Would you tough that out too?
I was not lucky enough to have a normal MRI, nor scan, nor blood work, nor x-ray, nor spinal tap. All my tests were positive and abnormal. While in the hospital one time trying to make the decision to go off these meds, on a reduced dose, my pain doc came in, sat on my bed, and his arm accidentally touched and moved my leg. I screamed involuntarily and he just looked at me and said - you just can't do this. I've tried tens units, PT, biofeedback etc. At some point, for some people, there just isn't another choice. Are there some who fake it and abuse? Of course there are! But why are you throwing stones at all for the sins of a few?
I would suggest a course in empathy.
I do wish you well and I'm glad you've found a successful path for yourself.
Jan
My use of narcotics is an unfortunate necessity. I feel "normal" on them, as far as psychological parameters are concerned. It doesn't relieve all of my pain - nothing would - but it helps me at least function. I have two kids and am on my own. I'm disabled and sometimes can't get out of bed. I can't imagine anyone believing that everyone else experienced things the same way they did. You say you didn't even know they were addictive. Did you have a diagnosis? Have you ever felt pain that was so intense that all you could do is scream? rock back and forth? Have you ever had post-surgical pain? Would you tough that out too?
I was not lucky enough to have a normal MRI, nor scan, nor blood work, nor x-ray, nor spinal tap. All my tests were positive and abnormal. While in the hospital one time trying to make the decision to go off these meds, on a reduced dose, my pain doc came in, sat on my bed, and his arm accidentally touched and moved my leg. I screamed involuntarily and he just looked at me and said - you just can't do this. I've tried tens units, PT, biofeedback etc. At some point, for some people, there just isn't another choice. Are there some who fake it and abuse? Of course there are! But why are you throwing stones at all for the sins of a few?
I would suggest a course in empathy.
I do wish you well and I'm glad you've found a successful path for yourself.
Jan
Nauty: Well, I just disagree.
Ghilly: You are entirely entitled to do just that.
Nauty: I suffer chronic pain and have difficulty functioning and even getting out of bed but I no longer rely on medication to "get me through the day" fact is ..you take them for any long period of time and your addicted. I believe there is a very fine line between addiction and dependence.
Ghilly: I'm sorry to hear that you, too, are a chronic pain sufferer, but the key here is that it is your choice to suffer chronic pain and have difficulty functioning and even getting out of bed. It is your own choice to no longer rely on medication. I choose not to spend the one life we get suffering in pain and not able to walk when I can take medication and enjoy my life almost as well as people who don't have to take meds. It is NOT a fact that if you take opiates you get addicted. It IS a fact, however, that you get dependent. The line between the two is only fine to the addict who is trying to convince everyone, including themselves, that they don't have a problem. When you are an addict, you can't wait to take your next dose, and as soon as that "buzz" starts to go away, you're looking for it again and are taking more meds. When you are dependent, you take a dose to get rid of the pain, and you don't take another one until the pain starts to become unbearable again. For me, there are days when I do have to take my dose every four hours. Then there are those nice, warm days when it's dry out that I will take a dose when I wake up in the morning, and I'll look at the clock and see that it's 3:00 in the afternoon and I have gone 8 hours without taking a dose, and depending on how well my pain is doing at that point, I may not even take one then, and I've been wrestling chronic pain for 13 years now. For someone who is dependent, it's the pain that reminds them to take a pill, not the urge for a buzz.
Nauty: It is a doctors responsibility to help you when you go to see them. If you say your in pain they prescribe, what else can they do. It's their job to help, even when they know your a faker.......they take MRI, Scans...do all the test and nothing comes up, but your in pain?.......
Ghilly: Most doctors will not start out immediately giving someone narcotics. If they do, when the person goes back to try to get more, most responsible doctors will not automatically just refill them. If it seems that there is no improvement, they will refer you to a specialist for more in-depth examination of the problem. They will not continue to just write prescriptions for opiates because the person asks for them.
Nauty: I think there are just as many addicts in the pain management forum as there are in the addiction forum......they are just in denial. I read their posts and I read the same things just worded different to convince themselves they are not addicts.
Ghilly: Just because you had a problem with them and became addicted doesn't mean that everyone else is in the same boat. Perhaps you are trying to convince yourself that everyone has a problem that they're in denial about just so that it makes you feel that much better about yourself getting hooked on them?
Nauty: I took my meds. "as prescribed" and suffered horribly when I finally found this place and figured out what the "f" was going on. unless you have tried everything to manage your pain....its way to easy to pop a narcotic and oh, boy do they make your chronic pain feel better don't they?........they did for me.
Ghilly: It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself here more than anyone else that you took your meds "as prescribed". There had to be SOMETHING more going on that you "figured out", because had you truly needed the pills for chronic pain, you would have seen the difference or differences between the behavior of those who were addicted to them, who would do God knows what in order to get what they wanted, and what you were doing. It seems to me that you must have seen addictive behavior going on with yourself as well, and it's just easier for you to say "I took my meds "as prescribed" than it is to say "I started taking extra doses because I liked the high." Something I have seen with the folks on the Substance Abuse board is that they are brutally honest about themselves, they are not afraid to say "I was addicted and I was doing horrible things to get my fix". They also tell people that if they really and truly need the meds to control chronic pain, there is nothing wrong with taking them. Why do you think the whole world should hurt right along with you or risk being lumped into the category of "addict"? Better yet, why are you being so judgemental of others who are in chronic pain? If you lied to yourself and others to justify taking pills, that was up to you. But don't accuse us all of doing the same just to make yourself feel better.
Nauty: Its my personal choice to suffer it out and use non-narcotic ways to manage my pain as much as I can.
Ghilly: That's exactly right. It's YOUR choice. I don't choose to spend my life bedridden and in chronic pain just so that I can say I don't take medicine. I have adhesive arachnoiditis. A doctor who suffers from it has written in his book that it is "living with the pain of cancer without the release of death." I do not choose to live with that pain when there is an alternative. You are welcome to if you want to.
Nauty: PA's can prescribe narcotics, so that's not true and yes.......they hand them out like candy........I see people going in for minor surgery and their doc's just keep refilling them for months.
Ghilly: I don't know of anyone who is in this situation. I know people who had surgery who couldn't get anything stronger than 800mg Motrin post-surgically, and the one person I know who had hip replacement surgery got a prescription for 20 Vicodin ES with ONE REFILL, and after that, that was it. I don't know where you live that all these doctors and PAs are just scribbling off prescriptions left and right, but it's not around where I live.
Nauty: I dunno, I guess I am just an angry wench!
Ghilly: No, but you do seem to be judgemental and not at all willing to recognize that not everyone is out trying to score pills to get high, and that not everyone who takes opiates takes them because they want to. You have said some very unkind things to people who have a hard enough time making it from day to day without hearing from a total stranger that they are a drug addict in denial. Just because you became an addict doesn't mean everyone will, and it is not fair to try to either frighten or intimidate people out of taking meds that help them to have some quality of life just because you did not do well with them.
Ghilly
Ghilly: You are entirely entitled to do just that.
Nauty: I suffer chronic pain and have difficulty functioning and even getting out of bed but I no longer rely on medication to "get me through the day" fact is ..you take them for any long period of time and your addicted. I believe there is a very fine line between addiction and dependence.
Ghilly: I'm sorry to hear that you, too, are a chronic pain sufferer, but the key here is that it is your choice to suffer chronic pain and have difficulty functioning and even getting out of bed. It is your own choice to no longer rely on medication. I choose not to spend the one life we get suffering in pain and not able to walk when I can take medication and enjoy my life almost as well as people who don't have to take meds. It is NOT a fact that if you take opiates you get addicted. It IS a fact, however, that you get dependent. The line between the two is only fine to the addict who is trying to convince everyone, including themselves, that they don't have a problem. When you are an addict, you can't wait to take your next dose, and as soon as that "buzz" starts to go away, you're looking for it again and are taking more meds. When you are dependent, you take a dose to get rid of the pain, and you don't take another one until the pain starts to become unbearable again. For me, there are days when I do have to take my dose every four hours. Then there are those nice, warm days when it's dry out that I will take a dose when I wake up in the morning, and I'll look at the clock and see that it's 3:00 in the afternoon and I have gone 8 hours without taking a dose, and depending on how well my pain is doing at that point, I may not even take one then, and I've been wrestling chronic pain for 13 years now. For someone who is dependent, it's the pain that reminds them to take a pill, not the urge for a buzz.
Nauty: It is a doctors responsibility to help you when you go to see them. If you say your in pain they prescribe, what else can they do. It's their job to help, even when they know your a faker.......they take MRI, Scans...do all the test and nothing comes up, but your in pain?.......
Ghilly: Most doctors will not start out immediately giving someone narcotics. If they do, when the person goes back to try to get more, most responsible doctors will not automatically just refill them. If it seems that there is no improvement, they will refer you to a specialist for more in-depth examination of the problem. They will not continue to just write prescriptions for opiates because the person asks for them.
Nauty: I think there are just as many addicts in the pain management forum as there are in the addiction forum......they are just in denial. I read their posts and I read the same things just worded different to convince themselves they are not addicts.
Ghilly: Just because you had a problem with them and became addicted doesn't mean that everyone else is in the same boat. Perhaps you are trying to convince yourself that everyone has a problem that they're in denial about just so that it makes you feel that much better about yourself getting hooked on them?
Nauty: I took my meds. "as prescribed" and suffered horribly when I finally found this place and figured out what the "f" was going on. unless you have tried everything to manage your pain....its way to easy to pop a narcotic and oh, boy do they make your chronic pain feel better don't they?........they did for me.
Ghilly: It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself here more than anyone else that you took your meds "as prescribed". There had to be SOMETHING more going on that you "figured out", because had you truly needed the pills for chronic pain, you would have seen the difference or differences between the behavior of those who were addicted to them, who would do God knows what in order to get what they wanted, and what you were doing. It seems to me that you must have seen addictive behavior going on with yourself as well, and it's just easier for you to say "I took my meds "as prescribed" than it is to say "I started taking extra doses because I liked the high." Something I have seen with the folks on the Substance Abuse board is that they are brutally honest about themselves, they are not afraid to say "I was addicted and I was doing horrible things to get my fix". They also tell people that if they really and truly need the meds to control chronic pain, there is nothing wrong with taking them. Why do you think the whole world should hurt right along with you or risk being lumped into the category of "addict"? Better yet, why are you being so judgemental of others who are in chronic pain? If you lied to yourself and others to justify taking pills, that was up to you. But don't accuse us all of doing the same just to make yourself feel better.
Nauty: Its my personal choice to suffer it out and use non-narcotic ways to manage my pain as much as I can.
Ghilly: That's exactly right. It's YOUR choice. I don't choose to spend my life bedridden and in chronic pain just so that I can say I don't take medicine. I have adhesive arachnoiditis. A doctor who suffers from it has written in his book that it is "living with the pain of cancer without the release of death." I do not choose to live with that pain when there is an alternative. You are welcome to if you want to.
Nauty: PA's can prescribe narcotics, so that's not true and yes.......they hand them out like candy........I see people going in for minor surgery and their doc's just keep refilling them for months.
Ghilly: I don't know of anyone who is in this situation. I know people who had surgery who couldn't get anything stronger than 800mg Motrin post-surgically, and the one person I know who had hip replacement surgery got a prescription for 20 Vicodin ES with ONE REFILL, and after that, that was it. I don't know where you live that all these doctors and PAs are just scribbling off prescriptions left and right, but it's not around where I live.
Nauty: I dunno, I guess I am just an angry wench!
Ghilly: No, but you do seem to be judgemental and not at all willing to recognize that not everyone is out trying to score pills to get high, and that not everyone who takes opiates takes them because they want to. You have said some very unkind things to people who have a hard enough time making it from day to day without hearing from a total stranger that they are a drug addict in denial. Just because you became an addict doesn't mean everyone will, and it is not fair to try to either frighten or intimidate people out of taking meds that help them to have some quality of life just because you did not do well with them.
Ghilly
You're awesome.
You are reading content posted in the Addiction Forum
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
