Fighting Addictions For Back And Neck Pain Meds
If you suffer from neck or back pain and have to take pain medication, then you need to take the time to read this. I want to tell you about just one of the many experiences with back pain and the pain medications that I have heard from patients,over the years. I hope that this story is able to give someone else an idea of what to expect when going through this. Neck and back pain can be very excruciating, so a lot of people turn to medication to help ease their pain. Many patients, before coming to my office have, unfortunately, become addicted, and addiction to pain medications is a possibility for anyone.
My patient had been through numerous doctors and specialists over the last ten years. Every one of them had always given my patient pain medication. He just wanted the pain to stop and to get some sleep. The medicine did that for him. For the first five years or so, he would just take the pain medication as needed. It would only be a few times a week. The last five years, he started taking more medication because his pain had intensified because he was treating his symptoms and not the cause of his condition. After doing this for some time, his body adjusted and grew used to the pain medicine. So it took more and more medication to help control the pain.
Mike can not really say exactly when he became addicted. Mike actually told me about two different ways he had been addicted to pain medications. First was the type of addiction where he would take just one extra pill more than he was supposed to have taken, because his pain was worse than before. Then he would notice that the extra pill made him feel even that much better, and it would give him energy and put him in a good mood. So the next time, he would take an extra pill again. After a while, that extra pill did not work anymore, because his body had also gotten used to that level of medication. So, he would then take two extra pills. He soon realized that he had a problem when he realized that he was driving away his family. The thing with this is, he never really suffered from withdrawals with these medicines when he did not have them, so he assumed he was not in trouble.
His second addiction was nothing like the first. His doctor the put him on a pain patch, about fifteen months ago. It was wonderful; the pain seemed to just disappear. He would put a new patch on every three days, so that the medicine was always in his system. He never had to wait for a pill to start working again. He didn’t have to worry about taking to much medicine when the pain was bad, because it was just always there. He didn’t worry about the possibility of abuse the medicine any more. This was a plus to Mike. He was on the patch for a few months when it ran out on a Saturday; the doctor was not open, so he was not able to get the patch. He didn’t think anything of it, because he was not abusing this medicine. He thought he would be fine, and he never considered being addicted, because he was using the amount of pain patches prescribed for him.
Now, if you have never suffered through addiction or withdrawal, I can tell you that it does not sound pleasant, in the least. According to Mike,he was cold and hot at the same time. He was sweating and shivering. His whole body hurt. He was nauseated, and he had a terrible headache. It was probably the worst thing he had ever experienced, and nothing helped. Mike ended up going to the emergency room, and his wife had to take off of work to take him to the hospital. He was in such bad shape he could not drive himself. The doctors gave Mike some medicine, and he was okay, but it was a scary and painful ordeal. He did not want to take pain medication anymore, but he still had the back pain.
I am not trying to scare anyone. Yet, I just want to make sure that you understand the extent of an addiction. When Mike got to the hospital, they gave him a pain patch to put on, and after a few hours when it got into his system, he was fine. The point is he had never suffered anything like it before,and he always thought that you could not be addicted without knowing it. He had no idea that his body had become dependent on pain medication. It would have been nice to know this from the beginning. Mike had actually thought about the possibility of becoming addicted,but the back pain he felt without pain medication was severe, and the medicine helped him function. He would rather have something that he could do for back pain other than the need for medications, and to avoid the likelihood of becoming dependent.
Choose to stay away from long-term use of pain pills, as you always have to be careful when taking them. Be sure to talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have about your medication and addiction. Some people have a hard time dealing with their neck or back pain, but there are successful options that do not include taking medication. Just always remember that most of these pain medications are addictive. You always have to be careful when dealing with them. I hope I have helped with many concerns you may have had about pain medication addiction.