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In reply to the discussion: How the opioid crackdown is backfiring [View all]moriah
(8,312 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 28, 2018, 08:54 PM - Edit history (1)
Physical dependence or even tolerance is NOT the same thing as addiction, though, and they should know that as well. If they're conflating them, they shouldn't be prescribing opiates at all.
I do find it a little more ethical to cut a person off of opiates without a taper than benzos, however. Actually, any doctor prescribing a benzo for more than two months had better taper their patient down, or they're risking a malpractice lawsuit should the abrupt withdrawal cause status epilepticus or manic psychosis.
I also think pain management doctors really should manage most non-cancer, non-acute pain requiring opiates, for the sheer fact that GPs don't always know the best ways to manage dependence, reduce likelihood of tolerance, and certainly aren't qualified to handle addicts who also suffer from chronic pain. My father's meth addiction shouldn't have stopped him from getting treatment for his pain, but it did make them choose methadone over other long-acting opiates (edit: and if he preferred downers to uppers, it'd probably have been Suboxone instead). It's (edit: both are) quite effective at relieving pain.