Doctors sometimes joke about how our medical specialties affect how we view the world. When I was an anesthesiologist, I became more and more aware of ‘the airway,’ a collection of anatomical findings that predict whether a person is easy to intubate—the term for inserting a breathing tube into the trachea.
In anesthesia, securing the airway is the ultimate concern, and most anesthesia injuries occur from ‘losing the airway,’ leading to brain damage or death from hypoxia. Airway assessment is an important part of an anesthesiologist’s pre-op assessment, and eventually becomes unconscious and automatic.
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I’m glad you’re still here. Thank you for your columns. I can relate; my addiction followed the same path. I’m not a doctor but my father is and I exploited his desire to want to help me and alleviate my “pain.” I love this line that is printed in the warning section of what were my preferred choice of pain killers: “May cause a false sense of well being.” I used to think, “Well, yes; that’s exactly why I’m taking them.”
Wow– ‘may cause a false sense of well being’… talk about truth in labelling! Thanks for reading!
Dee
6:35 pm on
November 10th, 2010I am beginning to feel desperate. I was put on vicodin in Sept 2006 for my fibromyalgia and myofascial pain disorder. I had gone to this pain manager because he was known to be helpful in regulating the thyroid. He was a more “natural” doctor is what I had been told. After a 3 hour initial consult he said he would be taking care of my thyroid and he had dx’d me with the two pain disoders mentioned above. He also said that he was prescribing a pain pill. I told him that I wasn’t interested in those and he said “wouldn’t you love to have your family life back? If your H wants to make love and you are in pain all you have to do is take a pill and you will be able to enjoy your H and your family again.” I bought it! 4 years later and I am on 6 of those “little pills” a day. I realize that others take much larger doses (mine total 60 mg/day of the vicodin) I still feel terrified. I know that my body is dependant. My pain levels are much higher then they were back in ’06 and I feel that much of this pain is probably rebound pain. I am a nursing school student who will prayerfully be graduating this coming June. I feel that after graduation and passing boards (hopefully the first time) that I will need to do some type of a detox to see exactly where my pain levels truly are and to lower the dose of these drugs if not eliminate them. I just don’t know how I would go about doing this. I am afraid to ask my doctor (I no longer see the pain mgr) for fear of being “cut off” prior to hitting the milestones I am anticipating. I would not be able to complete school if I were in withdrawals (from what I understand). Do you have any words of wisdom, advice, hope? I don’t consider myself an addict, just dependant but I fear that is just a play on words as I could not quit taking these things without physical, mental, and perhaps emotional repercussions. Any response would be greatly appreciated!
Matt
12:09 pm on
November 12th, 2010Dee – You’re situation sounds exactly like mine. I’ll preface this by saying everyone is different and you should work with a doctor on your detox and recovery.
When I got desperate enough to want to stop I found I couldn’t on my own. After getting involved in a few addiction communities I discovered that is not at all unusual. I’ve met many who say that it is rare for even “compliant” pain patients to be able to simply taper off their pain meds if they feel they’re ready to or need to.
I definitely fit that bill. I was also prescribed Vicodin – 60 MGs. I tried tapering rapidly and tapering slowly. Neither worked. The withdrawal was actually mild and tolerable – it was the after effects that weren’t. People refer to this as PAWS. For me this was a feeling of complete lack of concentration, pain, poor sleep, and anxiety/depression that made going about my life’s routine impossible. After a month (both times) I had no choice but to go back on the Vicodin. It was very frustrating.
Soon my tolerance started escalating to the point where I required more meds and felt the desperation described in this article. This time I decided to work with an addiction psychiatrist. That wasn’t an easy step for me to take because I thought “wait I’m not an addict, I take my meds as prescribed.” But I came to learn that opioid dependence is opioid dependence whether you exhibit addictive tendencies or not. My addiction psychiatrist was great. He spent a lot of time understanding my situation, history, and how I was feeling. I ultimately did a 38 day taper using Subutex. It is now day 7 since I stopped. I am merely beginning my recovery process and the book is not yet written on how it will turn out for me, but I am feeling very hopeful. Standing here at 7 days off all opiates (including the Subutex), I feel orders of magnitude better than I did after 30 days after my taper from Vicodin. It has me optimistic and hopeful that I can do this.
So I would consider seeing an addiction psychiatrist, who helps people like us all day every day, and go in with an open mind and the flexibility to follow a plan that may need to change course given your unique situation and response to treatment.
Matt
12:13 pm on
November 12th, 2010One more thought – for me there is still an elephant in the room – my chronic pain. Even though mentally I am feeling better, my physical pain condition is still an issue and has definitely “ratcheted up” as the meds left my system. Being prepared for this was a critical part of my plan. You have to have a plan for how to handle the chronic pain that put you on the meds in the first place. I did and, while not perfect, I’m managing.
Addiction can be such a tough obstical to go through in life! I have known many people, even friends who have let drugs ruin thier lives!
I mean no disrespect… but I can only wish to be an addict and not a Chronic Intractable Pain Patient. Addicts have the choice to either live thier lives or dig thier own grave but pain patients have NO choice!
Opioids for pain patients are the only rational, adaquate,form of pain management…even though millions of ligitimate pain patients cant find a doctor willing to relieve thier horrible pain! This, all because of a toxic combination of uneducated,indifferent or scared doctors, refusing to treat because of the failed “War On Drugs” that has forced it’s way into the doctors offices, persecuting then prosecuting innocent, carring physicians across the country!
This new battle is a “War on Pain Doctors” and thier pain patients are tossed out like trash and forcing pain patients to the streets seeking pain relief through illegal drugs, drink themselves to death or commit suicide! It has become a Pain Patient Genocide in America!
I live as just another victim of our Drug War! I am not a drug dealer nor do I take illegal drugs yet I am caught up in this endless struggle just to be normal, me and over 70 million pain patients being forced down and forced out by my own government!
This crusade that is flat-out Torturing and Killing thousands of pain patients and throwing innocent doctors in jail just for adaquately treating thier patients is a Fear-based,discrimination Campaign destroying millions of peoples lives! Torturing those in society whom are least able to fight back…Disabled Chronic Pain Patients (not to mention all the family and friends who take care of them)!
I AM DEPENDENT ON LARGE DOSES OF PAIN MEDICATION TO SURVIVE! I AM NOT AN ADDICT OR IN DENIAL! There is NO DIFFERENCE between being a Chronic Intractable Pain Patient DEPENDENT on opioid pain medications or a Diabetic DEPENDENT on insulin! I should know I suffer from both ailments!
So you see, I truley wish that I was just an addict….because then I could change my life. As a Intractable Pain Patient I have come to accept that I will always suffer severe pain for the rest of my life as a second-class citizen because I live in pain and that I will either be treated or be tortured based on the political climate.
I dont have choices…they are made for me!
Victimofpain
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