Narcotic and opioid myths – it’s time to smarten up
July 29, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
It’s time people started understanding the realities of narcotics and opioids, much-needed medications for so many people.
I don’t think the true action and benefit of narcotics and opioids (controlled prescription drugs) have ever been truly understood. And then, when the US government started its war on drugs, the people who needed the medications the most were the ones who found that they couldn’t get them.
What are the drugs in this group? They are the drugs like oxycontin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, Demerol, and so on.
Drug addicts know exactly where and how to get their fix – but those who are living with chronic pain or are in short periods of acute pain – can they get the medications? No. Why? Doctors are afraid to prescribe them, pharmacies are afraid to carry them, and patients are afraid to take them. And if they’re not afraid, then they are often made to feel that they shouldn’t be taking them, that they don’t really need them and that they should be trying harder to get by without them.
What a shameful way to treat people who have pain. We have the means to help them live normal and productive lives and what do we do? We make it so that it’s almost impossible.
So, what is the reality of these controlled medications?
You do NOT have to take opioids for the rest of your life if you take them now. Of course, there are always some people who will need to take medications for the rest of their life, but if your condition is under control, it’s entirely possible that you can stop taking these medications at some point.
Getting used to a medication is NOT the same thing as being addicted to it. It’s not unusual for people to need higher doses or more doses of a medication – any type of medication – that they’ve been on for a long time. The body becomes used to certain things and then the doses need to be adjusted. If you become used to a medication, the worst that will happen is that you will find that your pain is not being relieved.
On the other hand, addiction is significantly different. If someone is addicted, they NEED that medication. They will do anything to get it. They will lie, cheat, and steal to get it because if they don’t take it, they will develop physical and psychological reactions to not having the drug in their body. Statistics have proven again and again that if someone takes an opioid for their pain, within the treatment guidelines, he or she has a very low risk of becoming addicted.
You will NOT necessarily become dopey and groggy when taking opioids. When you start taking any new medication, your body has to make adjustments. When you first start taking an opioid, you may feel very tired or fatigued. But, if you need that pain medication and you are taking the right doses, you will very likely get over that feeling of fatigue once your body adapts to the medication. If your body doesn’t adapt, it could be that that particular medication is not for you and you may do better on a different opioid.
You should NOT take only half your dose to prevent “addiction” or tolerance. The dosages that are prescribed have been established after years of testing and use. Pain medications, in particular, need to be taken properly in the correct doses at the right times to be effective.
If you take your pain meds on an as needed basis, you need to be sure that you take them when the pain starts – not waiting until it peaks. That’s what many people do and then they say that their medication doesn’t work. The medication works best at stopping the pain before it gets too bad than getting rid of bad pain. As well, half doses will not relieve your pain most of the time, making the medication you are taking useless. If you have concerns about the dose, speak to your doctor.
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Narcotic and opioid myths – it’s time to smarten up
July 10, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
It’s time people started understanding the realities of narcotics and opioids, much-needed medications for so many people.
I don’t think the true action and benefit of narcotics and opioids (controlled prescription drugs) have ever been truly understood. And then, when the US government started its war on drugs, the people who needed the medications the most were the ones who found that they couldn’t get them.
What are the drugs in this group? They are the drugs like oxycontin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, Demerol, and so on.
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Sounds like you may be funded by Purdue Pharma, a criminally convicted pharmaceutical company who downplayed the addictive and abusive qualities of OxyContin. They were criminally charged as were their 3 CEO’s Michael Friedman, Howard Udell and Paul Goldenheim, pled guilty and were sentenced. Their actions of playing down the addictive qualities of a powerful narcotic has resulted in an epidemic of addiction and death in every state in the country. Do you think convicted felons are credible?
oh my – I’m going to let your comment stand but it took a minute to approve it because I was laughing too hard. Funded by a pharma? That’s a good one.
A professional answer may have been “no I’m not funded by a pharma”. Laughing too hard at a reference to addiction and death in epidemic proportion in every state in the country of OxyContin speaks volumes to readers — very uncalled for.
You know what Marianne, you are right, I should have answered more professionally. But I was laughing because I have never been accused of being in pharma’s pocket and if you knew me, you would know how ludicrous that suggestion is. My family and friends would have a great laugh at that too.
That being said, if you read the comment properly, you would see that I was laughing at your comment, not at the idea of addiction and death. Nowhere did I mention that – you were the one who chose to take that meaning. I have a feeling that any response, including “no, I’m not funded by a pharma” would have brought some sort of rebuke.
I’ve had chronic migraine for about 5 years, seen two highly regarded headache specialistis/neurologists and consulted a pain management specialist, and they all completely refuse to write prescriptions for opioids for headache relief. I don’t know the exact studies, but these 3 specialists said that opioids can worsen or even somehow cause chronic migraine.
Slate has an excellent article on the Oxycontin controversy entitled “The Accidental Addict
Clearing away the myths surrounding the OxyContin “epidemic.”
http://www.slate.com/id/2097786/
Hi Sarah, thanks for writing. I have heard and read in several places that headaches and migraines don’t respond to narcotics – what you say is very true.
Marijke
I have had migraines for 10 years now, Demerol and phernegan and Imitrex seems to be what works.
Unfortunately I can not afford the Imitrex right now and getting enough demerol is near impossible. My family feels one dose should FIX the problem, I can only wish it would.
Having a child with a chronic illness only ADDS to the migraine stress. I am also unable to work at this point and honestly a bit depressed.
I have a severe migraine as I write and no meds.
about to give up
Thank you for this article and this perspective. I have had severe and chronic migraines for nearly 15 years, and the only thing that helps is some sort of narcotic medicine and an anti-nausea medicine like phernergan. I constantly feel like doctors are thinking poorly of me for saying these work and for using them as much as I (unfortunately!) have to. I have met with resistance to prescribe them as well, which is so frustrating because I have tried and tried other things, esp. triptans, to no avail.
In any case, this was refreshing and encouraging to read. Thanks!
Could anyone please tell me where I can get hold of somebody who specialises in Narcotics, side effects and general enquiries about drugs. I have very personal questions about a situation that happened in my family a couple of weeks ago that cannot be discussed over the internet. PLEASE send me their contact details, preferable an email address!
There are different views on fibromyalgia although all are based on the constant pain that produces the disease and although not yet really know the accurate cure for it, I have my father suffering from this disease and I am interested in the topic to be able to help their pain to dissipate in any way and have read many books on fibromyalgia and chronic pain and to find findrxonline indicate that opioid narcotics for pain control are excerpts from the opium and are very effective and are commonly used to control and remove moderate to severe pain, these drugs are controlled NARCOTICS opioids which required a medical prescription.
The opioids narcotics are effective for diseases such as chronic pain partially solved, medicines like Vicodin, Lortab, oxycodone, Lorcet are widely used in USA and Europe for medical specialists according to findrxonline the percentage of use of these drugs is very high in this part of the continent.