Physicians have lost their minds

[anneboleyn]

93. The rabid reefer madness re:opioids (the new "war on drugs") hurts legitimate patients. People who

say extremely lame and insensitive and clueless comments about how they didn't need pain killers for x or y -- wait until you experience real pain. The OP's post broke my heart. Severe untreated pain is the worst thing one can imagine, and it makes life unbearable. I also have heard the insulting comments that a patient should just take more ibuprofen as that "worked for me"or that a prescription painkiller made them sleepy or whatever. This make me so angry I can't even breathe. I have posted long threads about this issue before as we dealt with this issue with an extremely ill relative with horrific bone pain from cancer, and the opioids were the only thing that gave her any relief and any quality of life. What I witnessed changed my life -- my entire outlook -- forever. Before I didn't truly understand how bad things can get and that pain, and suffering, like that existed. Yes of course I knew that people suffered, and I had suffered myself, but I had never seen it up close. I had never seen what severe chronic pain does to a human being -- untreated chronic pain is absolutely a DEATH SENTENCE. The indifference to this suffering requires a level of cruelty that I don't understand, and it terrifies me that we see more of this callous indifference everyday.

The idea that some asshole politician could strip her of a right to proper care and proper pain treatment is APPALLING. I simply don't understand why anyone on the left, especially people who support legalizing marijuana for example, would play into right wing rhetoric. People who use these drugs inappropriately (ADDICTION as dependence is a different issue in medical treatment) should be treated as they are treated in Europe. It is a MEDICAL PROBLEM. Locking them in jail or punishing people with real pain because of people who abuse the system and abuse the drugs is frankly evil. It is the kind of thinking republicans promote all the time: certain "bad" people exploit/use illegally Medicare/welfare/food stamps/prescription medications therefore we should cut off these programs entirely and/or limit food or medical to three days ma see Chris Christie's "solution" to the issue in New Jersey).

I will never understand why people first of all think that their medical experience is the same as every else's or that they won't find themselves in need of pain treatment in the future (it didn't hurt that bad...or I've never had severe pain so I don't really get it). I even see that right wing memes creep into it (war on drugs rhetoric, who cares if legitimate patients like the OP suffer because some people use drugs illegally and it's far more important that we focus on them and fuck the people who are screaming in pain, they don't really NEED these drugs -- they can ruin their livers with mountains of Tylenol or kidneys with mountains of ibuprofen or their stomach linings with buckets of aspirin that won't work, etc etc). Our relative was treated like a drug addict even though the pain was very real and from a terrible disease. She had to go in every single month, of course, and deal with the always unfriendly pharmacy and deal with all of the hoops and disapproving looks every month, because asshole politicians have taken this on themselves as the new war on drugs. It's a lot easier to terrify doctors and terrorize sick patients than to track down drug lords isn't it?! And people wonder why the suicide rate skyrockets for people with chronic pain.

Jesus this is depressing. It is making me cry with rage.