How can doctors stop the "pain medication addiction"?!
Question: At work lots of people going through detox are for pain meds such as oxycontin and lortab etc. Most times, if you look at their charts there was a previous injury such as a back or whatever. A nurse told me that pts will get pain meds to stop the pain, and when they get home they cannot get that some dosage outside. So you will have the "frequent flyers" to the hospital.
So how can doctors lessen someones pain, without them becoming dependent?
What can doctors and nurses do about "clock watchers"?
Answers: At work lots of people going through detox are for pain meds such as oxycontin and lortab etc. Most times, if you look at their charts there was a previous injury such as a back or whatever. A nurse told me that pts will get pain meds to stop the pain, and when they get home they cannot get that some dosage outside. So you will have the "frequent flyers" to the hospital.
So how can doctors lessen someones pain, without them becoming dependent?
What can doctors and nurses do about "clock watchers"?
The best thing would be State-mandated detox procedures, including mandatory weaning from addictive drugs (with exceptions based on certain DRGs or with the concurrence of two physicians) with penalties imposed by the State on nurses, doctors, and patients who fail to comply.
Use of non addicting medications for pain, such as Ultracet, would also help. A new class of pain drugs called coniotoxins shows great promise.
But in the end, early, frank, and explicit drug education in our schools, and developing a culture of personal responsibility and accountability, are the only ways that we will make a dent in drug addictions.
There are other pain drugs that are not so addictive. Oxycontin was not known to be as addictive as it was thought, the drug manufactors did not disclose this when they went around selling it to doctors. Also as an alcoholic/addict, I know better than to let a doctor perscribe this to me. The only defense I have is to stay mentally healthy so that I can say no to it. Easier said than done, I realize, because I dont have cronic backpain, but I feel I do harbor some of the responsibility to stay clean.
The problem really is how do you measure pain? 'Hey Doc I have back pain, do something' and yes the person might have a pulled muscle, has lost their job, in the middle of a Divorce or moving house. So stress + pain + depression, a vicious circle because under stress you feel more pain if you are depressed you feel more pain, so you see the Doc rolling around in pain. Now what is the Doc supposed to think? On a scale of one to ten, is this a one, or is this a ten? Therefore the Doc prescribes what he believes is a drug for pain at the scale of 8, when in reality the pain is but 2, but due to outside influences, stress, depression, the Patient has the worst pain on the Planet. Patient takes pills and the pain subsides at the same time the depression is eased and stress reduced, so Patient thinks these pills are excellent. Now the problem is I am about to run out of the drugs and really do not want to be in that deep hole again, so I ask Doc to refill the prescription. 'Hey Doc the pain has gone, those pills were great, but now the pain is coming back, what do I do?' Therefore Doc refills the prescription.
Doctors have to trust the Patient, they do not have the time to sit down and ask what is going on in the Patients life outside of the pain. Therefore Patients put all their problems down to the pain and the magic pill is excellent. But now fear takes over, if I stop taking the magic pill, will the bottom fall out of my world. The vicious pain cycle.
That is why more and more Charities are offering courses in how to 'self-manage' pain using if you like a hollistic approach. Turn the negatives into positive and postive thinking break the pain cycle. I am not sure why you assume the Doctors should STOP the pain medication addiction, because the Doctors do not have the addiction, but the Patients have the addiction and that can be to alcohol, illegal drugs, you name it. Good Luck