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In reply to the discussion: Heroin deaths double after painkiller crackdown [View all]ColesCountyDem
(6,943 posts)I suffer from long-term, chronic pain, the result of a spinal injury. I was and am 'lucky', in that my injury was diagnosed and treated at a university teaching hospital by both a top-notch orthopedist and a top-notch neurosurgeon. Everything that could and should have been done to treat my injury for the best possible outcome was done, and done in a timely manner. In other words, I received world-class care, and will always be grateful that I did.
Though greatly improved after the above treatment, I was left with moderately-severe, chronic pain. I was referred to a pain-management specialist, and tried the whole spectrum of 'non-pharmaceutical' therapies: physical therapy, a TENS unit, steroid injection, nerve blocks, etc., none of which proved as effective as a combination of NSAIDS and narcotics.
As a result of 'pill mill' physicians and recreational pain-medication junkies, I now submit to a monthly drug screen. Yes, it does help my doctor monitor the serum level of my narcotics, to ensure that it remains at a therapeutic level, but it also serves to protect us both: my doctor can prove that he is treating my pain correctly and monitoring my usage, and I can prove to any neo-Nazi cop or drug-enforcement group that I'm taking, not selling my medication. The price of this testing is $1500/year, thirteen times the cost of the medication itself!
I feel sorry for folks who become addicted through the (initially) casual use of narcotics, and I want them to get help, but they're also causing me and my doctor problems, and I don't appreciate that.