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"?
___
Repeated question I know but I want some more hits.
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"?
___
Repeated question I know but I want some more hits.
I'm glad you asked, and let me assume you are the patient.
If you are expecting the physician to do it all, and cure your pain, you are in for a roller coaster of uncontrolled pain.
Assuming you have been properly examined and diagnosed, and have no cancer or other severe progressive disease, there is a lot you can do.
first, understand there is a mind-body continuum. When you are in pain, you get depressed. When you are depressed, the body releases chemicals which make the pain feel worse.
Many assume that their life is over except for the taking of the pain pill. I suspect doctors have overdone the "by-the-clock" pattern of dosage in trying to prevent breakthrough pain.
So there you are, in your bedroom or on the sofa, watching TV and the clock. You think about nothing but the pain. Your friends don't want to hear about it. You lost your job and survive on welfare. Your spouse is long gone.
THE GOOD POINT IS YOU ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION. You are at the bottom of the barrel, but you are looking up for the first time.
There is a strong shift in medicine toward an approach where the patient is critical in the management of his/her own recovery. The patient, after detox, must decide if it is worth turning the brain to mush for temporary pain relief, or if there is a way to regain health and overcome the painful condition.
There are lots of medications that are not narcotic or barbiturate. We are using the antidepressants and anticonvulsants with significant reduction of pain levels.
Meditation, yoga, prayer,hypnosis, relaxation exercises and mental imaging, all working in the same way on the mind and body, cut the flow of neurotransmitters, and stop amplifying the pain sensations. Exercise releases pain relieving endorphins while also calming brain overactivity. Many swear by just having a healthy diet with moderate exercise. I believe learning as much as possible about the body and your pain cause, learning to increase activities without flaring the pain, and regaining a social life are capable of overcoming the pain, often to the point of it's going away completely.
Pain avoidance and fear of activities are key causes of persisting failure of treatment and prolonging the pain.
I can say that I do understand your dilema. Sometimes not only do we get physically dependent on pain medication but we can and sometimes do get emotionally addicted to the medication. Your doctor should be able to help you get into a group session that deal with the problem that you are facing. You may find the name and the times the group meets in the telephone book.
Unfortunately that is an ongoing problem. It effects the way some Dr's prescribe pain meds. Some don't prescribe enough to help the person and that person has to suffer. Pain is subjective , so you can't say that person isn't in pain when he shows no physical signs, yet when you do see someone groaning and moaning you sometimes wonder if he is overreacting. You can't go by blood pressure as people who have chronic pain, it has very little if any effect on their blood pressure. They do say that Acupuncture is effective toward pain control and it is now used in some hospitals and Dr's. office.