Found very interesting info in a medical artical re: pain & meds.... must read

Chronic Pain
#1

Hi everyone... so I was checking around Web MD and found this article which I plan to share with my pain management doc and reg. doc. as well....  you can look it up at www.webmd.com/back-pain/features/back-pain-medication-addiction

It's VERY interesting to say the least. Here are the parts I highlighted....

"people in desperate and debilitating pain aren't getting the painkillers they need because of inflated fears of addiction.  While opiod painkillers - like Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin - have risks, they're often OUTWEIGHED BY THE BENEFITS EXPERTS SAY."

"...there has been a much greater rise in the number of people who are using these medications safely and benefiting from them."

"There's this myth out there that if you take an opiate, you automatically become enslaved to it, " Zacny says," That's NOT THE TRUTH AT ALL." 

"Khoo says these drugs relieve pain immediately and allow people to get out of bed, start physical therapy, and change some of the behaviors that caused their back problem in the first place. "But it all hinges on

being able to get out of be
d," says Khoo, "and without these drugs, that first step is sometimes just too painful"

"Despite a good treatment plan, the pain remains.... patients who develop chronic back pain often have multiple problems with the spine, due perhaps to arthritis or a history of heavy labor, that can't be corrected surgically.  He also says people who don't respond to one ore two surgeries are more likely to develop difficult-to-treat chronic pain.   It's this small population of people who have chronic pain and hard-to-treat problems that usually need long-term medication.

Still, many think that the narcotics that don't last very long - such as quick-release oxycodone or Vicodin - may pose a somewhat higher risk of causing addiction.  For opiods that last only a few hours, the pain will return.  Over time, repeated medication can lead to a TOLERANCE to these drugs. 

When tolerance developes, higher doses will be needed to get the same effective pain relief.

"There is also a widely held belief that people who are in pain are

less likely
to experience euphoric effects from a drug.  The idea is that the
medication is targeted
 -
it goes to the pain on
ly and doesn't cause other euphoric effects, meaning that
people with real pain are less likely to become addicted.

"In part because of the stigma of prescription drug addiction, chronic back pain can sour even the best doctor-patient relationships.  Over time the patient becomes increasingly frustrated by the doctor's inability to cure his or her pain.  Meanwhile the doctor may become suspicious of someone who always refills powerful narcotics."

Doctors get affraid when dealing with patients with chronic pain because they don't want to be the ones handing out hardcore painkillers all the time," says Khoo.  "

But that leads to a lot of undertreated patients with real back problems.
 
These are people who are in so much pain that they're just not functional human beings."

"Doctors should not be afraid of treating pain," Miotto tells WebMD.  "There are addicts out there who don't have pain but shop around and hustle for medication.  But I think that there are very few compared to the number of people who have terrible pain and need help."

 

Some of you may want to print this or look it up for yourselves to bring to your doctors.  Being posted on such a highly regarded sight may prove to have some impact with your docs.

Best of luck,

Sue

 

 

#2

Thank you so much for sharing that…i do totally agree!!!

#3

Interesting topic and needed by most of us!!  Thanks for sharing.