Reply #30: Addiction and Pain

[Dogmudgeon]

I've taken quite a lot of oxycodone over the past 25 years, the result of several operations on my ear for cancer. The disease is gone, but the damage has left me in constant pain.

I have never been addicted to any of the opiates/opioids I've ever taken, though. I used to wonder about this until I started reading "the literature". And true enough, the levels of addiction of narcotic painkillers is much lower among chronic pain patients.

This is not to say that these drugs can be used like candy. Given a forced heads/tails choice, jchild's attitude is more likely to keep a patient healthy.

No need to blame the pharmacist or intern -- what is needed, by all patients who take painkillers, is an understanding of pain and medication management. It is not difficult to get that understanding, and with collaborative monitoring between the patient and physician, pain can be minimized or eliminated with a very low risk of addiction.

My biggest "fear" now is that as a result of Rushbo's self-indulgence, the FDA will impose another "crackdown", scaring physicians, making it tougher to obtain medication without jumping through WOD hoops, and doubling (again) the price of drugs like Percodan, Oxycontin, and other strong analgesics. The $50 per hundred generic oxycodones I pay is a big chunk out of my Bushonomics-modified income.

--bkl