Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2016
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2016 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-letters-to-the-editor-htmlstory.html
Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Nicole Hussey
Note: Nicole Hussey suffers from chronic pain and lives in Los 
Angeles. She wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.

I USE PAIN MEDS, BUT I'M NO ADDICT

Not all pain medication users are addicts. That sentence had to bemy 
first because it is a truth that is not well represented. The media 
have chosen to tell you ever more frightening tales about 
prescription pill abuse without letting you know about us-the 
responsible users. Opioids, narcotics, barbiturates, muscle relaxers, 
corticosteroids or tricyclics are a part of our daily medication 
regimen, but we aren't looking to get high.

I certainly don't deny there is a major problem with prescription drug abuse.

Pain reduction can be intensely pleasurable, even intoxicating, 
especially if you're hurting. Many famous figures and regular 
upstanding citizens have fallen victim to the grip of addiction; some 
have died because of overdoses.

And then there's everyone else. Endometriosis or migraine sufferers, 
those with misfiring nervous systems and cancer survivors are just a 
fraction of those who take prescription pills simply because we 
experience intense levels of pain.

We obtain our prescriptions from legitimate doctors. We follow 
guidelines to ensure we don't overdose. We understand rebound pain. 
We would give anything to no longer suffer from chronic pain, and 
thus to no longer need medication.

And our conscientious use of pain medication actually benefits everyone else.

Pain medication keeps us out of the emergency room so it's less busy 
when you need it. Maybe you've broken a bone. Perhaps your child has 
a high fever. You might have chest pains or a terrible cough. 
Emergency rooms are very busy and you will probably wait for hours 
before you are seen, but at least we're not there.

If our pain has gotten so bad that we cannot see straight, if our 
pain causes our heart rates to spike and our blood pressure to drop, 
if our pain means we either call an ambulance, or take a pill-we take 
a pill. Pain medication lets us take care of ourselves.

Pills make living an option. Suicide rates for those who suffer from 
chronic pain, while understudied, are undeniably high. Some medical 
studies show rates at two times that of the general public.

At a certain point, our pain can be so persistent that no amount of 
alternative medicine, psychological care or loving friends and family 
members can outweigh the maddening effects of pain. Finding a 
medication that works, even just a little, can make us feel it's 
worth pushing on.

The red tape, forms and rules around pain medication are becoming a 
hazard for the responsible user.

Doctors have become sheriffs, counting and doubting each pill popped, 
questioning us as we writhe in pain. Pharmacies keep logs of who 
fills what opioid where and when, swiping our IDs as we cower at the 
counter under wary glances. Emergency rooms delay dispensing our 
medications for fear of accidentally feeding an addict. All of these 
shaming measures just to try to prevent people from using pain 
medicines recreationally.

There is nothing recreational about our pain. It is a monster we try 
to cage using every possible method. Sometimes pain medication helps. 
We don't want people to die of opioid overdoses. What we want is 
reliable access to therapies, including pain medication. Please 
understand we are the majority.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom