Heroin deaths double after painkiller crackdown

[Akoto]

41. Re: Unfortunately

Last edited Thu Oct 2, 2014, 10:27 PM - Edit history (10)

I am not a doctor, a physician assistant, or anything else of the like. I'm just a patient with an incurable syndrome which has little to no alternative treatment. I've had it since I was 17, and I'm now approaching 30. I think that part qualifies me to speak as a proponent of appropriate medication usage.

I'd first like to say that people come from around the world to be seen at the Univerity of Miami / UM/Sylvester. They do not, by any means, hand out narcotics or any other drug like candy at their pain management department. However, there *are* people for whom it's the only answer. Coincidentally, with respect to your recommendation of physical therapy, I went through that prior to medication and only got worse. It was the one and only alternative treatment which showed any peer reviewed efficacy for my condition, and some patients were intolerant to it. Unfortunately, I was one of them.

With full confidence, I can say that I would not have made it for as long as I have without UM's pain management. It has made the torture bearable, slightly so, enough that I can function around the house. I also see a psychiatrist for my chronic pain (who happened to be in pediatric pain management years before), and I receive medication for anxiety and depression from him. These conditions are natural companions of unending pain, and he agrees that I should take the medication.

I don't believe you're indifferent to suffering. I also *do* believe that, if there is a legitimate alternative treatment for a condition which has shown successful results in peer reviewed studies, then absolutely go with that. However, if a doctor is shooting in the dark because there's no obvious solution to a confirmed syndrome or other condition save for medicinal pain management, then I think they do the patient a disservice by refusing to prescribe. Pain is insufficiently addressed in our country due to an illogical fear of using opiates, even when the patient's circumstances clearly warrant it and the statistics are heavily against the likelihood of addiction.

These drugs are not evil, and people with legitimate chronic pain are statistically highly unlikely to become addicts. Dependency is a different animal, as I'm sure you know, and it's an inevitable consequence of long term use with many kinds of medications. However, a dependent is not abusing or receiving a high.

Lastly, a personal note: I fully acknowledge that I do not have your professional credentials. I don't intend to preach. However, I would ask you to realize that unless you're going through it yourself, the torture which accompanies chronic pain is something you simply can't comprehend. You can have an academic understanding of what patients go through, but you never truly grasp it until you're there; the human brain isn't meant to bear or process this kind of burden. Sometimes, people who seem desperate for help truly are and can't wait to go through every experiment there is.

I don't know if this is something you look at when deciding how to treat a patient, but I hope that you do or that it's something you'll give thought to. Naturally, you decide how your practice runs beyond your obligation to the Hippocratic Oath. I've come to know many physicians over my years of illness, from students to professors, each of them with their own style. However, I personally believe that "Above All, Do No Harm" should include the relief of intractable suffering.