Hi,
I think it's so important not to be judgemental and over
react to the potential "addiction" of oxycontin or any other
opiate. It is a long acting narcotic so I think it is a
better choice when trying to treat chronic pain since the body
gets a more even release of the drug throughout the day,versus
the sudden onset and faster metabolism of shorter acting
narcotics like hydrocodone that people take every 4-6
hours , which causes peaks and valleys. Oxycontin has
gotten a bad rap due to the folks that abuse it. Like any drug,
if you take it as directed, and don't chew or crush it (which is
something that would NEVER occur to those of us who are not
abusers) it is a good option. I was once on a significant
dose of it and slowly decreased it then converted to codeine and
then slowly decreased that until I was no longer needing any
medication. "detox" is a term I think that should be used for
drug abusers, not people who are PHYSIOLOGICALY dependent on the
drug, just like people that take blood pressure or heart
medication...they can't suddenly stop taking their meds
either. Due to increased symptoms this last year, I have
recently begun taking it again.
We all suffer so much already, we need to be
supportive of treatment that may help someone else, even if it
did not help you or me. I think being critical of
oxycontin just because you did not do well with it invalidates
those who the drug helps. People that use oxycontin or any
other opiate for chronic pain are not "addicts"...addicts do not
take the medication as prescribed and their need for the drug
over rides making responsible choices in their life. In fact
,studies show their are very few chronic pain patients that fall
into category of "addiction" and statisticaly ,they
may have been folks with a predisposition to addictive behavior
prior to being diagnosed with a chronic pain issue. As
someone else stated in this discussion, there is some question
as to how effective opiates truly are in the long term treatment
of RSD....but in the meantime, until there is some other
alternative, I have made the choice to use the medication
because I desperately need something between the pain and my
PERCEPTION of the pain, realizing the medication does not
eliminate the pain, but just lessens my perception of the
intensity of it. Without that bit of "dullness" for lack of a
better word, I'm not sure how I could get up in the
morning.
Best wishes and I hope it is working for you!
Terry |
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