Medication has the same effect on family as street drugs.

I commend you for saying what most, if not all, of us know & somehow suspect if not fully understand to be true --at least to some degree- about the chronic use of narcotic & non-narcotic prescription pain medications for chronic pain.  Yes, pain does change your mood:  it is well understood & documented that pain and inflammation pathways cause fatigue, short- or ill-tempers, bad moods; while one may not be clinically depressed, pain can make you tired, grumpy, weak, cranky, moody, whiney, sleepy, and essentially unable to function up to par (if at all), unable to think or plan ahead, and unable to get any ind of quality restorative (truly regenerative) sleep.  So, we opt for or are offered & prescribed pain medications; if we follow-up regularly with our doctors as we are supposed to, we get these medications fine-tuned, switched, or an additional type of Rx med offered/prescribed in order to help us with our chronic pain condition.  For some people, it is Tyl #3 or Percocet or Vicodin; if severe, after awhile, it may be Methadone or Suboxone.  Studies show that certian segments or percentages of the population respond better to one rather than another type of medication.  With pain controlled, one can function better, think better, sleep better, actually have more strength & energy; and then we can get things done during the day and feel that we have more of a normal life.  All this being said, on some level after awhile, chronic pain sufferers still have ups & downs in their pain, they can be affected by weather changes (e.g., drops in barometric pressure), can strain something the wrong way and have a pain relapse or breakthrough their medication...  and yes, we once again become a bit short/ill-tempered, dis-inhibited (and can get rather mean & ugly - that's the saying things we normally would not) and we then lack energy, strength, and are not as nice, sweet, & loveable as we would otherwise be!  It's a tough gig all around - for our families as well us us the individual sufferer - who is very oftentimes NOT well understood (nor forgiven) -sometimes by those closest to us- for our disease and the resulting downright unpleasant behavior.  Yes, it is true we are all responsible for our behaviors... BUT, connecting the dots this way-- seeing how one thing can lead to another as our life is torn apart as we are constantly tested and tortured by chronic pain...  this should helps us (and hopefully others around us) to understand and explain how it can make us feel, act, think, speak, & behave.  Because even the best of us can get ornery, angry, pitch a fit, and need to kick something, punch a boxing bag (a very good investment if your pain makes you angry & fitful; it is quite therapeutic (and good for your heart as well as mind!)).  In this case, finding as channel for the behavior pain can cause us to act out is a very good thing; discussing it with your doctor if only to help convey to them how severe and destructive to your life that your pain really is - may prompt them to order more interventions.  For me, a home traction unit (horizontal-pneumatic, not gravity); chiropractic (every 3-4 or 6 weeks); daily stretching & floor exercises for my back (it's tough to do every day & requires a special discipline I'm still striving to achieve!); taking herbal 5HTP (increases Seratonin - a feel good/happy/relaxed brain chemical), GABA (at bedtime--helps nervous system & brain to relax, helps anxiety, panic attacks--which often accompany pain attacks), & low dose Lithium (in places where it occurs naturally in the water supply, such as El Paso, have the lowest rates of mental illness & suicide per capita of population); use the Aqua Chi (foot bath detox system) in order to remove toxins, wastes, swelling, & overwhelmed lymphatics--as occurs with chronic conditions/stress/surgery/radiation/etc.); and finally taking a daily nutrition drink -to fill in 'the gaps'- (e.g., Reliv, Spirutien, etc.) and give my body every possible benefit to heal itself, have energy, and take away any possible nutrient deficiency as the reason for worsening pain symptoms, sleep distrurbance, fatigue, weakness, lack of energy, among many other well-documented symptoms that tie behavior and/or illness to nutrient deficiency.  This has proven to a powerful combo plan, leading back to a quality of life that continues to be 'a work in progress.'  I'm still not the dynamo I was for 25 years; am nowhere near the athlete I once was (but I will soon be in better shape than most people who have their health intact and do not suffer from multi-level or global "spinal degenerative disease"); and will probably never return to being able to work & study a total of 60 to 80 hours a week (but that's OK).  I am learning to enjoy life a little more each day thanx to this multi-faceted approach to my chronic pain - and address the Hypo-Adrenia (adrenal fatigue) - thanx to James Wilson's book- 'Adrenal Fatigue - the 21st Century Stress Syndrome' <-- I highly recommend it for those chronic pain sufferers who also seem to have chronic fatigue.  As it turns out, Adrenal Exhaustion/Fatigue/Insufficiency is actually a very common and un-diagnosed problem or underlying cause for many of the ills of many people (as it is un-recognized by much of western allopathic medicine).

What you're saying may be true for some people. I certainly cannot speak for everyone.

BUT I can also say that you don't speak for everyone either. My prescription medications do not have the same effect on m family as street drugs would. In actuality, untreated pain had many of the same effects on my family that street drugs would have.

You say the drugs make you less controlled. PAIN made me less controlled. You say the drugs mess with your head. PAIN messed with my head. 

Now that I have proper pain management prescribed by my physician:

* I am in control again.

* I can think clearly again.

* I can work and support my family again.

* My family laughs and has fun again.

* My family knows that I'll be there for them.

* My family feels safe, secure, and loved.

* My family and I know that tomorrow can be a good, productive day.

* We can sit and relax and enjoy simple things like watching a bit of snow fall.

So please don't make sweeping statements such as "I know I am babbling about something that most of the world would think is obvious." It's NOT obvious, AT ALL. 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but don't project it on the rest of us. For many of us, those prescription drugs are what restore our lives to a semblance or normalcy. I would suggest that you are probably more the exception than the rule.

Jon