Over the past several years I have seen and had family members experience some very un-enlightened medical staff at hospitals throughout the country.  The latest incident was when my wife’s mother was taken to the hospital with pneumonia and an infection.  Mother Millie had been on appropriately high doses of opioids for the past several years as her body developed tolerance to the medication.  For instance she was on 80mg of OxyContin twice a day for at least the past year with other medications for pain flare ups.
 
The hospital staff put her on only 10mg equivalent of OxyContin and she started going into withdrawal. It is very fortunate that two of my wife’s sisters are in the medical profession and insisted on getting her help.  This never should have happened. 

Mother Millie died yesterday and at least she died peaceful as she was finally receiving the appropriate dose of medication—what where they afraid of that she would get addicted???  As you may tell from the tone of my blog today I am very frustrated that this happened. 

As I stated in yesterday’s blog I do realize there is a growing problem with prescription drug abuse and even addiction but let’s be reasonable.  Many older people are afraid to ask for more medication due to the press that surrounds the DEA’s war on pain management.  Many physicians are not trained in chronic pain management and often err on the side of extreme caution and thus their patients suffer or are made to feel like a “low-life drug addict.” 

I happen to believe that addiction is a medical condition as does the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the World Health Organization.  This should be a healthcare issue not a criminal justice issue unless someone is obviously diverting or stealing drugs and selling them.

I’ve been teaching healthcare providers for the past 12 years that there is no such thing as a bad prescription drug; it’s how they’re used and who they are used with that can have positive or negative consequences.  For example, I know that a lot of people have died from OxyContin, but I have yet to see one documented case where the person who died was taking it “exactly as prescribed.”

I agree that prescription drug abuse and addiction is a very big problem but the “War on Drugs” type of approach just can’t fix this healthcare issue.  In fact, I also believe that many people in chronic pain are not getting the pain relief they need and deserve due to the fear-mongering that comes from the DEA and other political sources that demonize pain patients and pain doctors.  To read more about my thoughts please read my article “War on Drugs—War on Pain Management” by going to:

http://www.addiction-free.com/articles/articles/view/war-on-drugs-war-on-pain-management

I received a recent up date from Join Together titled “Prescription Drugs Blamed for Rising Overdose Deaths.”  In part, this update reported that overall sales of prescription drugs have increased almost 500 percent since 1990.  To link to the full page please go to:

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/prescription-drugs-blamed-for.html

Anyone who is living with fibromyalgia knows that it can be painful and frustrating.  The symptoms of fibromyalgia include chronic and severe pain and tenderness in muscles, ligaments and tendons; neck and shoulder pain; sleep problems; anxiety and depression.  Women account for more than 90 percent of people with fibromyalgia, which has no known cause or cure.  The pain of fibromyalgia usually consists of aching or burning described as “head-to-toe” and muscle spasm.  Pain can vary in severity from day to day and change location, becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used the most (i.e., neck, shoulders, and feet).  In some people, it can be so intense that it interferes with the performance of even simple tasks, while in others it may cause only moderate discomfort.

Many healthcare providers are still prescribing potentially addictive pain medication for this condition despite research evidence that other nonpharmacological interventions work much better without the risk of side effects including addiction.

A new study validates what I’ve been recommending for years for my patients with fibromyalgia.  Regular walks and stretching exercises can help ease the chronic, depressing pain of fibromyalgia.  As one study found effective help can be as simple as getting regular exercise in a heated swimming pool.  The study was conducted by the University of Extremadura in Spain and the University of Evora, Portugal.  Please see a brief summary of the findings below.

The researchers found that the long-term aquatic exercise helped reduce fibromyalgia symptoms and improved the women’s health-related quality of life. In an earlier study, the same researchers found that a short-term exercise program helped ease symptoms, but pain returned when patients completed the exercise regimen.  “The addition of an aquatic exercise program to the usual care for fibromyalgia in women is cost-effective in terms of both health care costs and societal costs,” and “appropriate aquatic exercise is a good health investment,” the researchers wrote.

If medication is needed opiates are proven to be counter-indicated.  Many pain management specialists use SSRIs like Prozac, Effexor, Lexapro, or Celexa, which improve mood as well as help relieve pain, reduce fatigue and improve sleep problems.  There have been reports about SSRIs being helpful for some types of neuropathic pain symptoms that many people with fibromyalgia experience. Some studies also suggest that using an SSRI and a tricyclic antidepressant (such as amitriptyline) together may be more successful at breaking the cycle of pain, depression, and sleep problems caused by fibromyalgia than using just either one alone.