Pain, or...

The Harrumpher recently rearranged his musculoskeletal system in a bicycle accident. In the course of tossing chaff about this to and fro, he mentioned that he was prescribed Oxycodone, found that it didn't do much good for him, and decided to do without it: he chose wisely.

On this subject I present this information for reflection. This falls well within my professional purview. About all I can say legally is that my experience confirms this study absolutely. Too many physicians are too quick on the trigger when it comes to prescribing opiates. In justice to them, too many Americans are too eager to make the pain go away right now, regardless of the consequences. The consequences, all too often, are drug addiction. The TV character of House, with his painkiller addiction, is art imitating life. Opiates, especially the "safe" ones, such as Oxycontin and Oxycodone, are the most prescribed drugs in America.

I have both empathy and impatience for those who fall into this trap. Empathy because I have an experience of pain that will trump most people's when it comes to games of "can you top this." Impatience for the same reason. I do consider that I haven't been tempted by opiates, simply because they might as well be sugar pills for treating my nasty friend. I have my life courtesy of powerful doses of two anti-convulsants, plus a hypnotic to put out the fire when they cannot. Both the warnings of my physicians, and my own experience, lead me to treat the hypnotic about as casually as a high explosive, because it's as addictive as crack. However, does every patient have both clinical knowledge and professional warnings available when it comes to painkillers? That answer is obvious.

We used to let our paranoia run wild and imagine dark foreign conspiracies to turn us into a nation of junkies. That would be a waste of energy, because we're doing a good job without outside assistance.