a comment about a comment
I read a comment just now from Pam, she left it for another post (not one of mine). I don't know why it upset me a little, but it did. she said "quote"
The problem you have is that you do the pain killers every day.. & if I'm right about that, then you need to realize how addicted you really are. When I finally had to admit to myself that I needed pain killers, I was scared, really scared. I read up on pain killing pills & addiction, a lot! It took a 3 years to find a Dr that would help me & when I finally found a 'Pill Dr', I toed the line, I was Sooo Greatfull to find a Dr that Cared!! When I met my Dr, I was determined to make a good impression & what I told him was: "I know I'm asking for drugs that I can get addicted to.. I'm in a lot of pain but I Promise that there will be at liest 1 day out of each week that I WON"T DO ANY pain killers, & I will try my best NOT to take pain killers for 2 days in a row
I think the reason this upset me was because, I don't care one bit if I become addicted to "PAIN KILLERS", I hurt so bad that I could careless, honestly the furtherest thing from my mind, all I care about is some relief from suffering. If I can go 2 days without taking something for my pain, and live through it, then why not next week go 3 days, the next 4 days so on and so on....Maybe if I had mild to moderate pain, then maybe yes I would go without for 2 days...but for severe chronic pain, that takes everything from u, takes everything, can't walk to the bathroom without crying out, can't even get out of the shower without help, can't go eat wit my husband, I will tell him honey, I can't make the walk to get there, if u could blink me there at a table, then blink me home...
There is no 2 days...Being addicted to drugs for the purpose of getting high, is not the same as getting addicted to drugs cause ur in so much pain u have to have them. Anyone with "TRUE" chronic pain knows, u don't get high from these meds, the pain absorbs the narcatics...2 days...gezzz
I agree with carolinajewel03. I have to take pain meds every single day because of chronic pain that is severe. I an NOT addicted. Yes, my body is used to having meds all the time, but it is very different from being addicted to drugs to get high. I do not get high. I get some pain relief. Even taking meds everyday doesn't make the pain go completely away. Carolinajewel03 said she was a little upset. Well, I'm highly insulted. Pam, I'm glad that your pain level is low enough to be able to skip some days, but don't call the rest of us who can't do that drug addicts. We are simply trying to get some relief from our suffering
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (6)
- Report Abuse
I was quite offended by this post also. Addicted my ass! It is called dependence and if I am dependent than so be it. It sure is better than being in severe pain all day every day. If I could go two days without pain meds I would be overjoyed. The person that wrote that post should be ashamed of themselves.
I have a spinal cord tumor that will soon take my legs and causes pain so bad that there have been days when I thought maybe dying would be better than this, but with the help of the good people here and PAIN MEDS everyday life is a little better. I can't say that I am pain free I will never be but it is pain I can live with. Thank god for pain meds EVERYDAY.
It is people like this person that scares others in chronic pain into giving up and not taking control for the fear of being called an addict.
To all of us on pain meds EVERYDAY shame on you.
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (7)
- Report Abuse
WOW!!!! Obviously Pam does not even belong on a chronic pain site! There is no way I could go a day let alone 2 or 3 without my pain meds, unless I wanted a trip to ER. I can not even walk to the bathroom without pain meds, I can't even take a step. This is not a personal problem unless I do not take the medical care I receive, if i were to not take the meds i need then it is a problem that I should seek help over. If I were not to take the pain meds I need to have anything near a life then YES I should seek counceling because I have given up hope and lost my personal value on life!!! I struggled alot with the fact that I have to take medicine everyday, when I first had to come to terms with it it was one of the darkest times in my life. I don't want to have to take medicine everyday- it is hard on our livers and our bodies, but it sure beats the hell out of screaming from sheer pain!!! And anyone who thinks we are off getting a buzz from our pain meds is not informed! There is no buzz or high when your body needs the pain relief, your brain does what it needs to with the narcotics to relieve your pain, there is nothing left behind to leave you feeling high. Regardless of all that and every ignorant person out there who feels like they have the right to judge us for taking medicine (it may not have a life saving appreance- but anyone who has chronic pain knows that it is life saving! I know I would have no life quality without it) I will continue to take my prescribed pain meds every single day of my life- until a day comes where there is one final pill or one final procedure that cures my life altering pain and removes it forever! I know we all pray for that day.
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (6)
- Report Abuse
Hi, It was me she wrote that to. I was shocked when I received it. Thank you all to who wrote back their feelings about that comment. I see that you were all shocked and insulted by what was said. I did write her back. I am not on any pain meds at the moment, I do have a Drs appt, on tuesday. I hope it works out. I can't and won't go much longer like this with the pain. I will keep searching for the right dr to listen and help me. Thank you for sticking up for me. Thank you all for sticking up for me. It made me cry that I am not alone. Finally people to talk to with the same problems I have. As you can imagine I was shocked and very hurt, then and and insulted. When I was on my meds , I was always told to stay on the meds as prescribed. In that amount of pain why would I or how would I be able to take 1 or 2 days off. Makes no sense to me. Thank you. I hope tommorrow works out. Just one of my meds out of all the them would make me happy just to have a little relief. Drug addict my -------!!!!!!!
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (3)
- Report Abuse
From Michelle to Carolinajewel103 AMEN!!!!!!!
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (1)
- Report Abuse
hi im new to this site i agree i am on a lot of medication diazipam being 1 which is highly addictive at the start they were careful giving them to me but now im in so much pain all the time even with all the meds they have even upped the dose.noone wants to take medication all the because side effects off them can make you very sisk too.im a 33 year old female with 2 kids a 9 yr old and a 6mnt old even with all the meds im on im am in such severe pain today i cannot lift my baby.noone asks for a life like this and im seeing a pain specialist to try find the route of the problem so i can get it fixed come off the meds and get my life bac.im thinking of ye all because i know what its like to be crying in pain every step you take shelsers
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (1)
- Report Abuse
reruho
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 12:45 PM
First, let me say I was very upset with her comments. She is obviously not in chronic pain by her own admissions and does not belong on a chronic pain forum.
What this woman does not understand is the difference between physical addiction and physical dependence. They are day and night in differences.
Addiction involves the use of drugs to get high, while physical dependence means you use the pain medication to function in your daily life. They are very different and often thought to be the same by the uneducated.
Type 1 diabetics must have insulin daily, they are physically dependent on it. We do not tell them they are addicted to insulin. They must have it to function , they are not getting high from it. But using her mentality, they fit the addiction description.
Unfortunately, many in the medical field perpetuant this stereotype of the chronic pain sufferer being a drug addict seeking drugs. And a large part of this fear of pain killers is the result of government intrusion into our doctor-patient relationships. The government seeing someone taking pain killers for a long period of time or at high doses and it thinks this a problem and they must be doing something illegal, they DO NOT consider the possiblity of a chronic problem. Unfortunately, the government acts first, then asks questions and often hurts the innocent in the process.
If this young woman can function one day without her pain medication, then she does not need that medication. I would hope her doctor would have told her so.
Undermedicating your pain is a serious problem that many of us have had to deal with over the course of or pain years. This young woman is part of that problem.
Reta
You are upset because Pam is wrong. Addiction has nothing to do with how often you take pain meds and everything to do with WHY you take them. Addiction is actually promoted my making rules like "one day a week I will not take pain meds and I will try my best to never take them 2 days in a row." You need to promise that you will never, ever, under any circumstances ever ( get me? E V E R!!!!!) take my pain medication for ANY reason other than that I am in pain. Then, you need to get set up on a program that controls your pain most of the time. Either a PT, or exercize program or a 24/7 narcotic program if you need it, plus a very strong and very short-acting narcotic for breakthrough (pain that gets past your pain relief program) and take that the minute any pain increase is felt. Pain is much, much, much easier to prevent than to get rid of, so breakthrough pain should be addressed quickly. That makes it less likely you'll need a second dose of the breakthrough med. But again, if the second dose is needed, you should always take it. This is how you avoid addiction, which is a NEED for the medicine unrelated to whether you have pain right now or not. This plan will produce side-effects and probably tolerance as well, and if what ails you ever goes away you will need to taper slowly off the meds as you will get withdrawl if you stop suddenly, but these are NOT signs of addiction, they are natural effects of narcotics. Pam would be better advised to do these things as well, but it's really not your concern, is it. Be cool. Stress is likely to cause your pain to get worse, and when that happens, only you, not Pam, suffers.
- Thank you for your input
- Ranked Helpful (1)
- Report Abuse
I have days where I think dying would, not maybe, be better than the pain. Once, only once, I thought it would be better to stop treating my cancer and just wait until it killed me. I have finally worked out with my doctor a pain management strategy that has my pain well controled and I really can enjoy a lot of things again--thanks to 24/7 narcotic pain meds. Every day pain medication is the best way to deal with this kind of pain and the best way not to get addicted. Pam has been misinformed.