Technology is wonderful – to some extent. The medical and pharmaceutical industries have made great strides to help those suffering from all kinds of diseases. Most of these gains are real lifesaver.
Americans are enjoying longer and better quality of life – so much so that we have to expect many things as normal (cure diseases, symptoms, less pain gone and those who suffer the debilitating effects of certain health problems).
Too popular
A class of drugs – opioid analgesics has become too popular. These drugs not only relieve physical pain but also give the user a pleasant euphoric effect at the same time. For a large and growing number if people in this euphoric state of mind is becoming more and harder to drop (similar to Valium's popularity in the 70's – which incidentally, has recently been increasing as well).
So how and why does this happen? How do painkillers cause more pain? Let me begin by saying that these drugs are very necessary for the genuine pain – such as pain experienced after surgery, broken bones, dental work and more. When used as prescribed, for short periods of time, the drugs make manageable life. In some rare cases it may be appropriate for long periods of time – especially when a person has a terminal illness. A very small percentage people fall into this category. Thank God for these drugs.
Most people taking these drugs do not fall into this group. This is where the problem starts. It is rare for someone to start relying on opioid analgesics. Occurs slowly without being noticed. This is a slow process. Generally, there comes a time a person physical pain is gone. With regular use of analgesics, central nervous system has come to expect from the drugs and the sedative affect results – as usual.
Retirement
When a person stops using the drug, the body revolts. This is called abstinence. It's normal. Much less extreme, yet similar a big coffee drinker who suddenly completely closed coffee drinking experience headaches for a few days. This is because your central nervous system has been used to regular jolts of caffeine during the day. Withdrawal of caffeine is usually of short duration and not too difficult. Stop opioid analgesics is similar, but much, much more intense. Withdrawal symptoms are often very painful – to the point that the person begins to think that their pain is not really gone and that should obtaining and taking pain medications.
A vicious circle
Not only is the agency expected that this drug, but a person taking medication Pain is also building a tolerance to it. Your body is demanding more, sometimes much more – to feel better. This is a vicious cycle that feeds itself and only worsens with time. The person taking the drug thesis also become much more sensitive to any pain – the ability to handle normal mild pain with over-the-counter medications is reduced.
Recently I have seen this problem arise close to home, like a family member requires surgery. He had been regularly taking large amounts of painkillers for back pain. While in the hospital for knee replacement surgery, found needed with a much higher dose of pain medication than the average person needs. After he was given the maximum security – excruciating pain persisted. You feel helpless in these situations.
To ensure this does not happen, actually analgesics should be used only when really necessary. Otherwise, when the time comes that a person who really needs – these medications for pain relief may not work at all.
How big is this problem really? In 2007, a total of 3.7 billion prescriptions written in the United States. Analgesics 182 million *! I double-checked these numbers, because I thought it could not be correct. Analgesics are second to recipes to lower cholesterol (192 million prescriptions). Anti-depressant prescriptions came in third place with 158 million.
If we subtract those under 21 years of these figures – which leaves 230 million adults. According to these calculations, more than 15 million people take opiate pain medications every day. This is 5% of the adult population.
Are all these people need medication for opiate pain every day? The only way to know for sure is to stop smoking, go through the withdrawal and see how you feel after a few months – free of drugs. More and more people are willing to go through this process. Today, addiction to narcotic analgesics is one of the main reasons people are checking in rehabilitation centers.
So how can you avoid becoming dependent on pain medications? And once a person has become in dependent, learning how to quit smoking safely?
Read more about this topic – Chapter 27, why not just give up?
* IMS Health Services (2007 Statistical Research)
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