What I find more appalling every day is the current trend toward demonizing pain killers, and the resulting undertreatment of people by our physicians. I have had one physician tell me himself that he no longer prescibes narcotics due to the DEA watchdogging our doctors so closely these days. My theory is that the DEA, having failed miserably to stem the flow of the street drugs - the coke, heroin and the like, from coming into the country, has now resorted to persecuting doctors in order to justify themselves and show that they are "doing something" about the drug problem. If infuriates me to see people in legitimate pain, yet can't be adequately treated for it because the docs are wussing out for fear of losing their license or being audited for the amount of meds they prescribe. I have suffered for years with anxiety issues. Sure, they all want to push these new drugs on us - the SSRI's, anti-depressants, which I for one can't tolerate. What the heck is wrong with the good old tried-and-true valium? But OMG, let's don't take a chance on getting a patient addicted! No, instead let's push these new drugs that so often tend to cause one more problems than the original issue at hand that you go in to be treated for in the first place. And pain issues? Oh, don't even get me started there. No, I'm not looking to become some strung-out druggie...I hold a very responsible position, own my home, am very grounded and respected in my community, even married to a police officer, yet the very mention to a doc of needing anything like hydro and they get that constipated look on their face, followed by "the look" as if you are some drug-seeking loser. It makes me sick. I could take hydro every day of my life without ill effects. Actually, that helps not only my anxiety but also energizes me and is enough at this point to keep my pain issues under control. When my good friend's husband was dying of cancer and in constant, terrible pain, his doctor told my friend that he was hesitant to increase his pain meds for fear of getting him addicted. For heaven's sakes, it was obvious that this poor man wasn't going to ultimately recover, and to my friend's credit she really gave the doc a piece of her mind. Told him that he WOULD keep her husband comfortable, and should he miraculously pull through she would pay whatever it took to get him in rehab and deal with any addiciton issue then. Yikes, here I am rambling and venting, but this is a particular pet peeve of mine. I myself recently went through cancer. Thank God they were able to get it all with surgeries, no chemo, but I left the hospital with 20 - yes 20 - oxycodone tabs, and this after having had two surgeries, a hysterectomy, and endometriosis. I endured weeks of pain following this, yet the rx I was given was roughly enough for one week. The surgeon would not consider a refill, not even for something milder like hydro - told me to take 8 Motrin at a time!!!!! NOT! I also have many elderly neighbors whom I take care of, and to see them in pain at times and unable to obtain anything for it makes me so angry. Luckily, for the most part they are all healthy, but from time to time stuff happens - falls, migraines, what have you. I am sure that many of you have experienced the same frustration. What is it ever going to take to enable us to be treated as we need to be? It is getting worse every day too.
