Having sustained actual catastrophic injuries, with a forktruck load of titanium plating, screws, permanent nerve damage, and inoperable skeletal injuries (collapsed left shoulder joint with impingement being chiefly uncomfortable) plus inoperable disk/nerve root entrapment, blow outs in a variety of numbers with T or L preceeding, (the entirety of the C level is where the aftermarket parts went), I have lots of opinions on the subject of pain, and the drugs doctors will throw at a person in serious pain. And the people wasting doctors time feeding their addiction, who make life a little more difficult for people like me.
The first plate saved my life, in the frank sense. The second plate is keeping me alive until it can't anymore. So far so good, I am not complaining, I am happier to be alive than most people. Give credence to what I say about pain, I am intimately familiar with this subject.
First thing you need to know about pain is, your emotional reaction to it will define the quality of your life, if you have chronic pain. Tell yourself it is a big deal, and it will be a big deal. Tell yourself, I can get through this, it is not so bad, and you will have an easier time coping.
when I was in pallative care, they had me on a patch, like the nicotine patch, only full of some horribly strong drug, I had never heard of. Had a heck of a time coping with the med, and taking myself off of it was extremely difficult, I went through six weeks of raw hell, to get off of it. I feel sure that I would not still be alive if I had remained on that medication. I finally began to research my specific injuries, and began to see a neurologist for my pain management. I found the right doctor, he prescribed the right combination of meds, all in the smallest dose available, and I take them EXACTLY as prescribed, and they work.
A lot of people think a painkiller is not working, if they can still feel their pain. I still feel my pain, but it is not a jangling alarm in the middle of every conscious thought, it is in the background, where I can live with it. Happiness is a decision, and a choice I make, not dependent on how my body feels. The medications help a lot, though, mainly because I am on the right meds and doses, after years of feeling like the subject of an experiment.
When I was over medicated, I would make my injuries worse, not feeling when I had moved the wrong way, or done too much. If I were to abuse my meds, I would suffer for it at the end of the month, because they give you enough to get through the month, as Bilbur mentioned. Chronic pain management can work, but often people try to get high, or justify taking too much because their pain is "so bad" (as if taking meds for 2 weeks, and going without for two weeks is preferrable)
I have seen the addicts in the waiting room, too, and I hope they get the help they need. I have also had acquaintances start describing some terrible pain they were feeling, and at first it was hard not to feel sorry for them! It was hard to say "no" when they would ask for a painkiller, I know what it feels like to be in a lot of pain. I can not claim to be a super fast learner, but I do catch on eventually.
There are people I had to stop speaking to, because all they were interested in was trying to obtain painkillers. Well, one person I had to stop speaking with. She actually kind of hinted at threatening to rob me, I laughed, but it did kind of worry me. she is an older lady, too! (Hunched over a cane and the whole "old lady" package.) Not the scroungy kid I would have imagined as a druggie. Definitely not the person I would imagine cautioning me that I should be careful not to get robbed of medications, in that "I will do this thing" tone of voice.
chronic pain is a heck of a mindf#ck, it takes some ninja copjng skills, which we develop on the fly. (Or more truly, on the fly-crash-fly) or we wash out, and self destruct. The annoyance at such people is not a snooty kind, because I can easily recall the mind state that spawns such a downward spiral. I am a few bad decisions away from similar circumstances, I just have enough clarity of thought to continue to treat my meds like something that can help me live, or make me die. It is not such a hard choice, because I really am very glad to be alive.
So, yeah...I have many opinions and feelings on this subject. I wish someone had written a book (this post nearly qualifies, in length anyhow)...like, "what to expect when you are in relentless pain" or something. Probably someone has, I should have thought to look for it back when I was struggling to adjust. Anyhow, good topic, shame so many people are falling to drug abuse. I do not have a suggestion for how to solve that. Education, information, it is probably our best bet.
