[ad_1]
There, I told him. I am "out of the closet", in itself.
I've been battling chronic back pain for 18 years and I've been using opioids for eight years. I am not addicted to medication and do not take more than what my doctor prescribes.
I am always aware of the threat that I will become dependent one day, or worse, that my level of tolerance will increase and I will need more and more pills to receive the same relief. I have to fight addiction, but more importantly, I have to fight the pain.
The opioid crisis debate often forgets patients with chronic pain who take these medications responsibly. Many of us yearn for an affordable alternative to opioids, which have many unwanted side effects.
I am sitting with a disability, which means that I can not sit for long without pain, because of lumbago (low back pain) and sciatica (pain that pulls on my left leg). I also have fibromyalgia, which affects different parts of the body at different times. It's hard for me to get around, sit down for dinner, visit my family and friends, or sometimes tie my shoes. I am the very definition of a patient with chronic pain.
My doctor first prescribed an opioid in 2010 after a back surgery (lumbar fusion at the L5-S1 level). The decision to have surgery was not taken lightly by my doctor or myself. I've spent 10 years trying to fight pain in other ways: chiropractors, physiotherapists, acupuncture, acupressure, dry needling, yoga, meditation, massage, biofeedback and steroid injections and collagen. Surgery was a last resort. So were the opioids. I had tried all other non-opioid analgesics on the market. The operation of the back was a failure, and my doctor decided to keep me on it.
Opioids are not my only tool for fighting pain. My favorite method is to lie on large blocks of ice and let the weight of my body sink into them. I also use heat pads, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit, sprays, patches, and just avoid sitting or standing too long because it aggravates the pain. The sprays and patches are smelly, the TENS units are bulky, the heating pads need electrical outlets, and the ice packs ask me to lie down, which is difficult in public. Opioids are not a quick fix, but they are portable when other forms are not reasonable.
At home, I can control my pain with fewer pain medications, but this results in a cycle of isolation. I'm afraid to travel because it's hard to sit in public places, so I tend to stay at home, sometimes days at a time. My doctors want me to live my life, even if it means taking the full dose of pain medication. They are more worried about my isolation than about my threat of addiction.
Courtesy of Rick Lunkenheimer
Patients like me live in fear of further crackdowns on opioid prescriptions. In October 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration changed the medication that I used, hydrocodone, to a Schedule II drug. At the time, I saw my doctor once every two months for a checkup and a prescription that included another refill. After the change, hydrocodone could not legally be filled without a brand new paper script, so patients needed an appointment each month.
I've doubled the number of appointments with my pain specialist a year. This may seem like a small inconvenience to the patient, but it has forced pain specialists to plan double or triple the number of appointments each month to take care of prescriptions for all their patients.
Thus, appointments with the doctor became a scarce resource, and the net result was that many patients with chronic pain were not able to take their medications because all the pain doctors were submerged during the transition. Other doctors were not willing to give opioids to a patient who was new to them, even if the patient had been taking opioids from another doctor for years.
Many patients with chronic pain have already made an extra effort to fight us diseases with Western and Oriental treatments. We tried things that did not help and did not try things that are too expensive and not covered by health insurance. We do not mind peeing in a cup to help fight the opioid crisis that has afflicted others. Instead, we are concerned that new regulations will make more patients ineligible and we will not make the cut, despite the use of these drugs for years. We fear repeal – and does not replace corrections, where the government restricts opioids but alternatives are still not covered by insurance
The use of opioids is often associated with heroin because opioids are synthetic versions. of the poppy seed used to create heroin and can have similar effects. It is there that stop the similarities. One is prescribed by doctors for medical purposes, while the other is a street medication used for recreational purposes. Heroin destroys lives. Opioids can also ruin lives if they are prescribed and used recklessly, but for most people, it can give them back a part of their lives. For example, it allows me to leave my house from time to time.
In the war against illegal drugs, it is essential to fight each other: 1. stop drug traffickers and 2. help addicts. 19659002] The fight against the opioid crisis is similar: 1. Limit opioid prescriptions (especially for acute pain) and 2. Help people addicted to opioids.
I applaud these efforts. However, because opioids are not designed to be recreational drugs, there is a third aspect of this war concerning chronic pain. We must also fight the medical cause. In short, we must be willing to pay for more advanced (and expensive) medical treatments.
It is not acceptable to stop treating chronic pain. It is not acceptable to tell people to "live" with. It is real and affects people's lives in a catastrophic way.
Advocates of anti-opioids must be pro-something else. Often, they point to alternative medicines, such as acupuncture, but do not ask health insurance companies to pay for these more expensive treatments. They talk about the benefits of medical cannabis in replacing opioids for pain management in some patients, but do not require legalization at the national level, let alone a requirement for insurance companies to pay for it. Advanced pain management centers have been successful in getting patients out of opioids, but they are well beyond the financial reach of most people.
It is not acceptable to stop treating chronic pain. It is not acceptable to tell people to "live" with. It's real and affects people's lives in a catastrophic way. Many who have suffered from acute pain, such as an accident or surgery, still do not understand how the chronic disease affects an individual. Chronic pain is not just acute pain for a long period of time. The long-term pain changes the lifestyle of the patient and isolates him. Knowing that chronic pain will never improve prevents patients from living life to the full.
Opioids and other painkillers are not intended to cure diseases or solve structural problems. They are there to handle the pain. For my part, I do not expect a cure. My only goal is to control the pain from day to day. We can not deny that our country is facing a dangerous opioid crisis, but we must also recognize the positive effect of opioids on those who need it most. We can not ignore the pain that leads to opioid prescriptions in the first place. We must be prepared to accept that the cost of resolving the opioid crisis represents a higher cost for health care. Is this a pill that we are ready to swallow?
When my friends and family talk to me about my disability, I often hear phrases beginning with "Did you try …" and the sentence ends with something that I'd tried and did not work, or would like to try but it is not covered by my insurance. When I look for new treatments to manage my pain, I no longer think in terms of tradition versus alternative medicine, nor eastern or western approaches. My concern is: Will my insurance company pay for this or not? I read all kinds of stories about revolutionary treatments, but none of them is covered by insurance or at my fingertips.
I would like to stop taking opioids. Believe me; I would like. The side effects are almost as serious as the pain. But I have not found an appropriate alternative. My sitting disability makes the session painful. Therefore, I tend to stay at home when I can, avoiding the social interactions and daily activities that most people take for granted.
Taking my pain medication can help me dine or watch a movie. This can help me spend six hours out of the house rather than just four hours. The drug will not completely eliminate the pain, but it could reduce it from a pain level 7 to a pain level 3. That's the best I can do without adequate pain management .
Opioids can be dangerous for some, they've just helped me live my life.
Do you have a personal story that you would like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we are looking for here and send us a location!
[ad_2]
Source link
