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Posted 9/25/2012 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
As stated on the other thread, I did not feel that was the place to discuss the statement you made. However, I do believe that some conversations are healthy and beneficial to us all. So I am going to copy/paste your comments here.... and give you my thoughts... As long as this doesn't turn into an "argument" - I think we are fine. As I said, I personally think discussions like this can be helpful.

Your comment was as follows:

This is why I don't like coming to this page, every single answer for anything is a drug. its like there is no such thing as Treatment or Excerxise or Alt ways of doing things. I'm in Recovery and coming to this page makes me feel like I spent 10yrs learning how Not to use drugs so i could spend the rest of life on drugs. That's not the way it has to be and there are other ways of dealing with pain than dope. If you really want to help people maybe you should educate yourself about them instead of acting like a bunch users.

I will post my comments below. Thanks, Tina
Posted 9/25/2012 6:41 AM (GMT 0)
Hey,

First, I want to commend you for being in recovery. I think I've said that to you before on other threads. A few thoughts on what you wrote, though:

I feel the bulk of our members are very well-educated on the many ways to treat chronic pain - and I'm speaking about w/ medications and all non-medication treatments as well. In fact, there's a few of us that try to give reminders - particularly to new members - that long-term treatment of chronic pain isn't all about medication. These treatments can include exercise, healthy eating, weight loss, quitting smoking, injections, procedures, surgeries.... on down the line.

I never see medications getting pushed on anyone here. However, when someone comes to our forum and is seeking information about medications - we do share our different experiences.... usually with the disclaimer of "ask your doctor".

Many of us include medication as a part of our treatment of our CP. I'll speak personally for myself - I would not have anywhere near the Quality of Life (QOL) that I do now w/out medications. I know this because I've tried pushing through and going w/out medications several times on my pain journey. So I 100% know that this is an important part of me being able to live w/ CP....

Regardless of all of that though - being on narcotics - and using them responsibly - does not make one a "user". Most of us here would give anything to NOT be on these medications. I'm sorry if you feel differently. But one of our forum rules is to not "argue" someone else's choice of treatment. For many of us - that treatment includes meds - plain and simple.

If this forum triggers issues for yourself... or, for whatever reason, it's not the right place for you... you don't like our approach... whatever - that's fine. But please refrain from coming on here.... and making a few of the statements that you did - for instance, calling medication "dope"..... or saying that we are acting like "a bunch of users". Those are insulting comments to people that - A) take their medications responsibly and so forth and B) that give of their time and efforts to help others.

--Tina
Posted 9/25/2012 7:56 AM (GMT 0)
Wow. You must be reading different threads then I am. I have seen many people talking about alternatives to opiods.

Yes a lot of us are on pain meds, but I'm sure, like myself, that we have gone through many therapies that didn't involve drugs and still use many of them. Don't assume you know everyone's story because you have read a few posts.

This may be hard for an addict to understand, but I know for myself I don't take pain meds to feel good. I take the bare minimum that I need to function at all. I'm still in constant pain and I'm certainly not getting high.

Not everyone has the same diagnosis. I have no idea what your medical problems are. Not everything can be controlled with just exercise.

We aren't here to judge people, we are here to support each other. Calling us users (without even knowing what we've been through) is pretty darn judgmental. And really, who are you to take anyone's inventory? Worry about yourself.
Posted 9/25/2012 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
 

      morning!...I was asleep I guess when this took place, but I agree with Tina here, and she wrote it out pretty well. Most of us here are long term chronic pain patients, and what I do know, is that nobody here enjoys being on pain meds. I for one hate them, and if I could find other means of pain relief, I would certianlly do so.

   Many of our wonderful members offer suggestions other than pain management to those who seek support and advice. It simply is not a choice, but a matter of quality of life for many here that need pain management.

   We will be happy to continue to support you here, but it may be that Tina makes a good point, in that this forum may not be for you. I believe we support in good faith, and as Tina points out our members have a lot of expereince in all matters of chronic pain. The best choice however, is to seek professional help with your pain issues.

     Take care,

  SE

Posted 9/25/2012 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Very well said indeed. I am sure our stories and circumstances do conflict with how you are able to handle your pain. I think its wonderful that you are able to control your pain without any medications. But, with that said not everyone fits that situation either. If it were that simple then we would not need PM drs.

I have done more than my fair share of the regular things most people do for CP, and still do a lot of the traditional things. Pain medication does not take the pain away completely, it just allows many of us to have a life.

Yes, I do blame the drug abusers for a lot of the mess that is going on today with CP and medications. The people I am talking about are the ones not in pain that take these drugs to get high or to sell them for income/profit. Yes, I have a real problem with that.

I asked my PM dr one time how people get that euphoric feeling from their pain medication. She told me if a person gets that feeling then they are not in pain because pain medications works off the pain receptors. I can assure you I have never had this feeling as may years as I have taken pain meds.
Posted 9/25/2012 6:32 PM (GMT 0)

I cannot speak for everyone, but I think maybe the reason "other" modalities may not seem to be discussed as much is because they are pretty straight forward and do not fully help the pain. I read numerous posts where it is said that medication is just one arsenal of many in the fight against pain. I personally have tried everything from massage, accupuncture, diet, exercise, meditation,biofeedback, epidual injections, and surgery, to all the basics like ice, rest, baths etc. Pain meds are one of the ways I fight my pain and like many others have said my quality of life is so much better with them than without them. I take meds to be active, not to escape. My meds do not make me high and I'd rather not take them. I too have tried many times to see how it is without the meds. I have chosen to go back on them as my quality of life is better. I watch those shows and just don't get it. I am not a user taking dope to escape life, I am a chronic pain patient trying to live my life.


Post Edited (Boxerlover) : 9/26/2012 12:36:08 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/25/2012 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
 

       ...boxerlover makes a very good point...in that most chronic pain patients do not experience a high with pain meds. I'm the same way...and my meds go directly for pain..and I'm never sedated...not even a tiny bit.

  Yes!... a first dose of a pain med can be a bit sedating, but should quickly go away once the patients gets used to that med. Increases of the same med seldom have another sedating effect on me as well. I do remember the first time I was put on the Fentanyl patch...I was a bit wobbly, but again by the time I had my second dose three days later that went away.

    I agree with Boxerlover, and see the same suggestions brought up many many times here. Snowbunny has said the same thing on many of her post as well. and she is a very active member with multiple daily post. She is just one of many of our members that suggest this. All in all....pain meds are just one of the many items used to reduce pain. None of us enjoys having to take pain meds...and I visit with many members, and am not aware of a single one that likes taking them. We would much rather have our health back and enjoy an active life free from physical restrictions related to pain...and chronic pain at that.

     Good replys and thoughts.

   SE

Posted 9/25/2012 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
It makes me feel good that we can have healthy discussions about these matters here on the board.

We may not all agree about different things (not this issue... but just any CP issue - surgery, procedures, meds, whatever). But it's nice to see so many people putting their thoughts together in an informative, respectful manner.

I learn from you all through these discussions, for sure.

Take care --Tina
Posted 9/25/2012 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Descussions like this always makes me wonder, why people are not upset with those that take blood pressure medicines, or heart medicines, or even insulin to treat diabetes, or a host of other medications, all these people are dependent of these medications to be able to function normally. There are allot of people that take medications on a daily basis for mental illiness, and they are also dependent on these medications, so they can lead normal productive lives. Why then are people that suffer from Chronic Pain, suppose to be different? Why are we considered "druggies" "doppers" or what ever you want to call us? Are not all these other people that I have mentioned with all the various different conditions  "doppers" and "druggies" too? 

 

Personally I hate having to take any medication on a routine basis! That includes my medicine for my high BP, and also my medications to control my Ulcertive Colitis, and even my Baclofen that I have to take three times a day to control my muscle spasms, and this  I might add is not a medication that you can just abruptly stop taking for good with out the possibility of suffering very very very serious consequences! I hate having to take all these medications,  every day and some multiple times a day! But I do take them so I can live a some what normal life! Just like the others on this forum do! I do not take meds to get high, to relieve the stress of daily life or to escape from anything. Personally I do not like the feeling of not being in control, or being tipsy or what ever you might call it. That is one reason I do not drink alcoholic beaverages on a regular basis, or abuse them, I maybe a glass of wine every month or two with a meal but nothing on a regular basis.  I do have one question though, why can a person drink a beer  or go to a bar and have drinks, and not immediately be considered an alcolohic?  I mean if you think about it, why do people drink alcoholic beverages? But that is another topic??

 

Unlike allot of other medical conditions, Chronic Pain is not only dehabilitating but also it is not something that can be easily treated, for me the only thing that completely removed a certain type of pain I was having was surgery, but unfortunately having that done, can also create another type of pain that might be different and possibly even worse. I like most on this forum have went through a host of different treatments, from guided imagery, to biofeedback, to TENS unit, nerve blocks, and epidural injections, and surgeries. In the end the treatment that works the best for me includes the use of  daily pain medications. As it appears that it does for most of the people that are members of this forum. Pain med might not be the answer for everybody suffering from chronic pain, but it is for some of us, and I feel it is an injustice to group us all together and label us us as "druggies" or "abusers" as we are not, we all are just sufferiing from Chronic Pain, that is the thread that we all have in common, and bind us in understanding one another. It is not the medications we use, or don't use!  We do not come here to degrade or judge one another but instead we come to listen to, and give support to each other and share in each other experiences, and to try to give comfort and understanding to each other, EMPATHY!  All of which ( Sadly) is so often lacking in the lives of us who suffer from Chronic Pain.

 

White Beard

Posted 9/25/2012 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
…wisest words I have seen yet today! Good reply WB! Thanks!

SE wink
Posted 9/25/2012 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
I'd like to chime in here, and though I don't want this to be seen as bashing a board member, in a thread from last week Recoveryme2day asserted:
"Opioids damage your nerve fibers and the receptors in your brain(you can look this up any brand name's website under side effects)."

I asked him/her to substantiate this claim, providing supporting links, but received no reply. I, personally, am VERY troubled by the above possibility and is one reason why I am so anxious about the meds I take.

If the statement can be supported, it would be a real service to all of us to see the evidence. However, if Recoveryme2day is misrepresenting his/her view as scientifically established fact, it is merely causing board members more stress.

So, hoping that this thread has gained Recoveryme2day's attention, I would like to repeat my request. My goal, and I presume most of us here, is to make the best medical choices in the midst of some very difficult circumstances.
Posted 9/26/2012 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
I, like everyone else here, do not like being labeled as medication abuser or any other demeaning names.

I hope Recovery will answer and give substantial evidence for the statement that she/he made about medications messing your brain up.

Thank you all for replying here.

hugs
Loretta
Posted 9/26/2012 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
Cogito makes a good point. Most pain meds when taken as directed are safer than most any other medication out there including tylenol. I am on some very toxic meds and my pain meds are my safest meds taken as directed.

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