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Weather the public knows that a person is taking opioids for pain is irrelevant. If I needed them I would take them no matter what anyone else thought. The OP is correct. If a person needs pain medications they should have it available even if they get addicted. After all most of us are addicted to eating so we should stop eating because it is addictive.
I think this fear of addiction is an emotional remnant of the Puritanical opposition to pleasure combined with the Catholic assumption of perpetual guilt. Neither have any use except to allow the village elders or the priests to control the flock. The question is not weather a person is addicted to a particular drug but how well they handle the addiction. There are millions of people addicted to the drink of alcohol after dinner but they are not progressive alcoholics.
If people need opiates for pain they should have a steady supply at an affordable price. Having their drug supply curtailed because it might be addictive is absurd. Addiction is preferable for both society and the individual than needing to buy from the black market to satisfy the addiction or the eventual suicide to escape the pain.
Should people who suffer from chronic lifelong pain be punished because some people abuse such medications??? Many people who rely on such medications do not abuse these medications yet find it harder to be treated. Never mind the dirty looks and disrespect from not only the public but from doctors themselves. Addicts will always find a way to get high yet those who suffer daily unrelenting pain are more likely to commit suicide than go on living in pain.
Absolutely not! No one in pain should be punished because some choose to misuse narcotics. I'm nineteen and I have been going to numerous chiropractors, sports health and general doctors to find help for my Chronic neck pain and still absolutely no resolve. I was prescribed hydrocodone and doctors are very scared at giving these types of drugs out especially to someone my age even if you are in pain because they are scared of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) taking always their license. I will run for office one day and I will push for major drug reform in this country not because I am someone who wants to do drugs recreationally but instead realize that so many have been ignored because doctors are scared of getting in trouble by doctors. The War On Drugs has to end and we need to instead initiate a War On Addiction.
Can you explain why a doctor would refuse if there was really no effective alternative? Or are there alternatives as effective as narcotics in all cases?
Not trying to bust your chops, just curious how common it is for Docs to not want to prescribe certain meds even when/if indicated?
Ignorance, selective or otherwise. Personal/professional bias. Laziness. A few off the top of my head.
How in the world can the general public give you dirty looks and disrespect you when they would have no idea you are on medication.
Most Pharmacists are too busy to care what medication any one customer takes so the stares, dirty looks and disrespect appears to be imaginary.
A Doctor who is a Professional will not treat their patients the way you describe when they know the patient is not abusing the medication and if they do then you are with the wrong Doctor.
When I used to go and pick up my script and the Pharmacists, counter person and surrounding customers would either see or hear what I was picking up. I've had doctors blame my low dose as the cause of other health problems to the point I stopped taking them a year ago. Of course my other health problems did not go away and my neuropathic pain has just increased. Never mind the nurses who also treated me as some sort of drug seeker. That in it's self take a toll on a person.
Of course I must be imagining this treatment even though I been suffering for over twenty six years. Ask anyone who suffers from a chronic pain condition where there is no cure, it not rare it's the norm. Let me add I have had four back/neck surgeries, have stenosis of the spine in multiply areas. When my neck collapsed I was stricken with Hydrocephalus which required a shunt. The shunt has helped a little bit but I loss my hearing and suffer from tinnitus because of the shunt surgery.
Can you explain why a doctor would refuse if there was really no effective alternative? Or are there alternatives as effective as narcotics in all cases?
Not trying to bust your chops, just curious how common it is for Docs to not want to prescribe certain meds even when/if indicated?
It can depend on the laws of the State the Dr is practicing in. Some require that patients on narcotics for 3 months or longer be drug tested and sign a pain contract. Not all Dr's can comply with the regulations. Also, some states require attendance at medical education seminars before a Dr can rx narcotics for more than 10 days at a time.
many, many get hooked on pain killers, and some of the fault is the doctor's amount prescribed
be it ty3, percs, or valuim
the key is to take as little as possible
after I was injured in Iraq, I could have easily gotten hooked on that crap..but I have a high pain tollerance and dont like to take too many meds if possible
my script said 1-2 every 4 hours...I would take 1/2 every 8 hours and just deal with the pain.....
Thank you for your reply. I also have a high pain tolerance and never abuse the medication I took. There has been studies that when people are truly in pain addiction and getting high from such medications is low. I weaned myself off of 15mg Oxycodone I took for six years and had physical withdrawal symptoms but that is to be expected. I'm in pain 24/7 but I'm lucky that I have the support of my wife and kids to help me at this time. Good luck with your struggles.
There are other treatments for chronic pain than opiates....pain pills should be for short-term or end of life pain management. If you have chronic pain, a pain clinic should be a must.....these pills ARE addictive and abuse DOES happen all to frequently.
With less than 5% of the world's population, the US consumes 80% of prescription opioid pain killers. It is one of many factors that makes healthcare in the US as costly as it is. How likely is it that US people have a substantially higher prevalence of people in chronic pain than the rest of the developed world?
Accidental death from prescription drug overdose is now the leading cause of preventable death, more than car accidents.
There are other treatments for chronic pain than opiates....pain pills should be for short-term or end of life pain management. If you have chronic pain, a pain clinic should be a must.....these pills ARE addictive and abuse DOES happen all to frequently.
Are you a DR?
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