Several years ago I was involved in a severe single-car auto accident when a left front tire blew out on a country road. I was intentionally placed in a coma for a few months as my body worked to recover from multiple spinal fractures and other broken bones. My doctors treated me with opioids. Upon release from the hospital, I continued to control serious pain with Oxycodone daily for a few years. I never developed a high from the drug and no addiction. When I no longer needed it, I simply stopped taking it.
Fast forward to today. Because a small minority of people cannot handle the drug without highs and addiction, our politicians are making a problem for our doctors to prescribe the drug to those who actually benefit from it without abuse. Last weekend, I had the misfortune to re-injure my lower back. As any doctor will tell you, proper pain relief actually enhances recovery from an injury. When my doctor could not provide me significant pain relief with non-opioid therapy (he was prescribing Tylenol), I had to plead for the same treatment that had worked so effectively for me several years ago. The difference is politicians have politicized opioid abuse to the point that doctors are in a quandary about providing proper pain relief to their patients. Read more at https://catalyst.nejm.org/quandary-opioids-chronic-pain-addiction/
I was forced to endure pain for several days taking non-effective drug treatment until I could finally get some significant relief. I should never have had to fight that battle. We should not ever be allowing a minority of abusers to dictate proper medical treatment. We should not ever be tying the hands of the providers to give us the best possible care. Somehow, we need to find a way to make it more difficult for the abuser to get the drug than for the patients who benefit from it. The pendulum has swung too far.
Kudos to Partnership Health Center and our Seeley Lake Clinic for stepping up to the plate to put patient care ahead of political absurdity.
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