By Tammy M. Bolles, LCSW
Our stressed-out society is very focused on comfort. A spa, salon, or massage therapist’s office can be found on almost every corner. Who doesn’t enjoy an occasional foot rub or the ability to sit back for a pedicure without a care in mind? For most people, “comfort” simply means a time to relax and allow the stressors of life to fade from your mind for a bit. However, for those who struggle with chronic pain, finding comfort is an everyday challenge. As a result, chronic pain and opioid use often go hand-in-hand.
What Is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain lasts more than twelve weeks, most commonly after a significant injury or procedure. It can include post-surgical pain, pain from injuries related to an accident, lower back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, pain caused by Fibromyalgia, and pain caused by nerve damage.
As a result, people experience decreased mobility, changes in appetite, stress sensitivity, mood swings, and other psychological impairments. Someone who experiences chronic pain from an injury can also experience discomfort in other areas of their body. Post-trauma victims might have headaches, back pain, tingling, difficulty breathing, and anxiety and depression.
Standard treatment methods for chronic pain are therapy and medications. However, it typically requires multiple medications, and the side effects can often disrupt everyday activities. To relieve their chronic pain for even a few moments, doctors often introduce their patients to opioid pain medications like Vicodin, Percocet, Demerol, Lorcet, Opana, Oxycontin, and Fentanyl. These medications provide much-needed relief but can quickly become a pain-burdened individual’s new best friend.
Chronic Pain Management and Opioid Use
People often bind to opioids for chronic pain management. Opioids attach to receptors in the brain creating a sense of euphoria and pleasure throughout the body. This feeling significantly alleviates pain but individuals run the risk of becoming addicted to these substances once people begin using them for chronic pain management. Therefore, it’s important to understand the connection between chronic pain and addiction, so you can safely take these medications while recognizing the warning signs of opioid abuse.
When people begin to heal from and no longer need to take opioids for their pain, they still crave those pleasurable feelings of euphoria and relaxation. After someone takes opioid prescriptions for months or even years, the brain’s chemistry that’s responsible for emotion and mood regulation becomes altered. As a result, people build up a tolerance to these substances, requiring a higher dose to achieve the desired effects. This often leads to opioid dependence and addiction.
Opioid Addiction
Trouble arises when pain medications begin to rule your life. Once the body builds up this tolerance to the chemical and the patient needs a higher dosage to find the same level of comfort they experienced initially is where the cycle of addiction often begins.
The “new best friend” starts to reveal its dark side. Soon, all the patient can think about is their “new best friend,” and they become willing to do anything it takes to get more of it—even bypassing the doctor who prescribed the medication to seek alternate methods of getting their hands on it.
Having an opioid as your “best friend” might help you stay free of pain for a period of time. However, once it wears off and your body becomes accustomed to higher dosages, you may begin to recognize the signs of opioid abuse. Withdrawal symptoms include muscle aches, runny nose, anxiety, sweating, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and dilated pupils.
To rekindle the “friendship,” you may begin taking drastic measures to get your next dose, including lying, stealing, and manipulating friends and family—whatever it takes.
The Growing Opioid Epidemic
Although not all individuals with chronic pain develop an addiction, it has become a growing trend. According to the New York Times, the current opioid epidemic in the U.S. killed more than 33,000 people in 2015 alone. (Bosman, J.2017)
It’s unclear how many of these individuals suffer from chronic pain, but it does raise the question: Is opioid pain medication being overprescribed? It also leaves those suffering from chronic pain facing difficult decisions.
As a nation currently in an ongoing battle with opioid addiction, effectively managing chronic pain while preventing and treating addiction continues to challenge healthcare providers and chemical dependency counselors alike.
Overcoming Chronic Pain and Addiction
When you Google search ‘opioid use,’ you immediately see a lack of collaboration among physicians and addiction professionals as most of the articles focus on the viewpoint of one or the other. Influencing physicians and addiction experts to work side-by-side might be the key to pain and addiction-free solution in our current dilemma. There should be a better solution for those who suffer from chronic pain to relieve their physical pain without leading to addiction. The “cure” for chronic pain should not be worse than the disease.
If you suffer from chronic pain, you must take a proactive approach to treatment to seek relief. Educate yourself on the prescribed medication, consult multiple healthcare providers, and ensure all of your doctors are aware of all medication changes. Remain vigilant in your endeavor to find alternative life adjustments that might ease pain, such as a change in diet, exercise, yoga, meditation, or acupuncture.
As a precaution, you should also seek guidance from an addiction therapist or mental health counselor to ensure you don’t become dependent on the medication. These proactive approaches can help prevent a long and painful battle with opioid addiction that you never saw coming.
Addiction Treatment at The Meadows
If you find yourself addicted to prescription pain medication, you’re certainly not alone. The Meadows has helped many chronic pain sufferers free themselves from addiction and find practical methods for relieving their pain through our highly individualized treatment program. For more information, give us a call at (800)-244-4949. Our friendly staff is ready to walk you through your treatment options and will help you navigate your health insurance benefits.
References:
Bosman, J. (2017 06). Inside a Killer Drug Epidemic: A Look at America’s Opioid Crisis. Retrieved June 19, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/opioid-crisis-epidemic.html
Hedegaard H Chen LD, Warner M. Drug-poisoning deaths involving heroin: United States, 2000-2013. HCHS data brief, no 190. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved June 19, 2017, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db190.htm