There were a great many responses to my story about the fellow who had his opioid pain medicines stolen and the problems he had after that getting a physician to help him. One quick lesson in this situation is for people to be very careful about storing these medicines. Keep them out of sight and in a secure location. The fact is that opioid... Read more
Have you taken action yet? You know the old saying that goes something like, "If you are not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem." There are three Pain Bills in Congress now: The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2007 (H.R.2994), the Veterans Pain Act of 2007 (S.2160), and the just introduced (by... Read more
I just got off the phone with someone who told me his story which is, unfortunately, an all too common story. He has been using opioid medicines for eight years to manage his pain. He tried everything before he tried opioids and these medicines were the only thing that worked to relieve his pain. With these medicines, this 48 year old has... Read more
The New York Times stirred up some old controversies recently with their article on fibromyalgia called "Drug Approved. Is Disease Real?" The author quoted two sides of an argument, one saying that fibromyalgia is a real condition that has a real diagnosis and real treatments. The other side saying in essence that the disease is... Read more
Caregivers play a critically important role in the lives of people with pain. Caregivers provide a great deal of emotional and practical support. Far too often, though, that role may be overlooked or minimized. We frequently become caregivers by default. We may be the parent, adult child or family member who lives the closest or "has... Read more