The Politics of Pain Another Side of the Opioid Story
Kingman Daily Miner 02-23-2017
Dolan Springs resident
Jay Fleming has safely taken opioids to tamp down chronic pain he has suffered
for 20 years. Public policy is in chaos today due to thousands upon thousands
of overdose deaths in recent years, which has resulted in the health care of
people like Fleming to be compromised.
· Originally Published:
February 23, 2017 6 a.m.
Most people who take
prescription pain medication do so responsibly – and live a better quality of
life in the process. But a national epidemic of fatal opioid overdoses has made
getting these drugs increasingly difficult for the very people they are
supposed to help.
It’s
unfortunate that thousands of people die each year from opioid overdoses, and
it’s unfortunate that hundreds of thousands of people who don’t need
painkillers take them anyway in order to get high.
They’re
making it tough on people like Jay Fleming, a legitimate prescription opioid
user who can’t make it through the day without his drugs.
He
feels shots of pain fire down his right leg like electrical shocks, and his
calf muscle is gone, the aftereffects of the back surgery he had 20 years ago
that screwed up his nerves.
Fleming,
of Dolan Springs, has been taking morphine for his pain, and now his doctor is
switching over to a different drug, hydromorphone, sold under the brand name
Dilaudid, among others, because of federal cutbacks in opioid medications.
“I have
been a good patient for many years,” Fleming said. “I have never abused my
medications. It’s sad when patients abuse their medications. It’s tragic when a
patient takes their life because of lack of pain relief.”
Indeed,
there are many dangers of opioid use, as the Centers for Disease Control has
been pounding in recent campaigns, but a majority of long-term users find
opioids essential for reducing their pain.
Now
they’re having trouble getting their medications, in large part due to abusers
who are driving the spike in opioid overdoses that have been pegged as a national
health issue.
Mohave
County saw a dramatic increase in suicides after Dr. Albert Yeh surrendered his
medical license in 2011 for prescribing controlled substances for other than
legitimate medical needs. Yeh operated a pain management clinic in Golden
Valley from 2006 to 2009.
“There
was a big spike in suicides after Dr. Yeh,” Fleming said. “Because of what
they’re doing now, you watch, suicide rates will go up next year.”
Serious Problem
Abuse
and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine and prescription pain
relievers are a serious problem that affects the social and economic welfare of
all societies.
Drug
overdose is the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, with
tens of thousands lethal drug overdoses in 2015, according to the American
Society of Addiction Medicine.
Opioid
addiction is driving this epidemic with 20,101 overdose deaths related to
prescription pain relievers and 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroin in
2015. The numbers have quadrupled since 1999.
Consequences
have been devastating and are on the rise.
It’s
estimated that 2.1 million people in the United States suffer from substance
abuse disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and there’s
growing evidence of a relationship between increased use of non-medical opioid
analgesics and heroin abuse.
Dr.
Benjamin Venger of Tristate Pain Institute in Fort Mohave sees it every day.
Too Many People Are Dying
“The
problem is there are a very high number of overdoses and death,” he said. “In
response to that, there is a movement by regulatory agencies to rein this in.
People like Jay, they’ve been on medications for a long time and, right or
wrong, their body has adjusted. So it’s difficult to lower the level of
medication.”
Venger
said many patients are responsible users. Obviously, if you’re suffering from
terminal illness, you need the medication, he said.
One
step to mitigating opioid abuse is to develop better communication and more
cooperation between hospitals and providers, he said. Rarely is he told when
one of his patients is treated at an emergency room for overdose symptoms.
“There
has to be notification so we can effectively treat people who are having
problems. Not just opioids. The common drug here is methamphetamine and the
increase in heroin. That’s another problem. It’s very difficult.”
Venger
said he monitors patients carefully and nurtures a dialogue with them based on
trust and respect. A lot of them will admit they screwed up, abused the system
and hit the streets to buy heroin.
“There’s
no easy answer,” Venger said. “I feel bad for people who started their
medication at a different time and now the rules are changing.”
Lower Dosage
Fleming
said one of his doctors told him at his last appointment that the Drug
Enforcement Agency had mandated a reduction of dosage to 100 milligrams of
morphine or the equivalent.
“The
DEA sets quotes, but they don’t tell doctors what to do and how much to
prescribe,” Fleming said.
It was
actually the Centers for Disease Control that provided a guideline for primary
care physicians who prescribe opioids for chronic pain outside of cancer
treatment and palliative care.
The
guidelines are not directed at pain specialists, and recommends consultation
with pain specialists when doses are over 90 milligrams.
“I have
been on the dose for many years and cutting my dose by more than half was cruel
and unjust and caused problems,” Fleming said. “A couple years ago, when
prescriptions were hard to fill, I went through withdrawals. I had sweats and
chills, violent vomiting, and my heart would have palpitations and skipped
beats.”
Fleming
said men taking opioids should have their testosterone levels checked. It can
cause problems with their relationships.
“If you stop making love
to your wife, she’ll think you’re either cheating on her or you don’t love
her,” Fleming said. “Neither is good for a relationship.”
No comments:
Post a Comment