Posted 12/4/2009 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
There is addiction and tolerance, and they are completely different issues. This is one of my hot button topics. A true drug addict gets a high when they take their drug of choice, be it a narcotic, alcohol, sex or whatever. An addict will suffer if they do with out their drug of choice. Someone who has a drug tolerance simply needs more of the drug to achieve the same level of relief due to repeated exposure to the drug.
I have pain most days from my Crohn's. I don't usually wake up with pain, but over the course of the day my pain level increases. I eat, I get pain. This is an on going problem if I would like to continue to live as a somewhat normal human being and not resort to liquid nutrition or other extreme measures. So most days I need some form of pain medication and have for several years. Because I have built up a tolerance to pain medication I need a higher dose than I needed when I was first diagnosed. However, I do not get a high when I take my pain medication, I simply get a slight relief of my pain symptom. I can go days or weeks with out taking any pain medication with out suffering any adverse effects. If I don't have pain, I don't take any pain medication. I don't believe that a tolerance is an addiction. This is why I am a huge believer in going to a pain management clinic. They are experts in finding the right medication for your type of pain, making sure that the medications are not abused and that everything is above board. GIs are just not familiar enough with pain to treat it. They want to cure the problem not the symptom, but that can take a lifetime, and I am not willing to live my life in pain.