Sue - addiction

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue -

I haven't been an addict in the past, so I can't comment from

personal experience, but from my extensive reading on the subject

there is absolutely no reason someone with a history of addiction

can't be treated appropriately with opiate pain medications. You

shouldn't be currently abusing substances and taking pain meds, but

if you've stayed clean for several years you shouldn't have a problem.

Please talk to your doctor, both about your addiction history and the

possibility of getting appropriate treatment. There's no reason for

you to live in intractable pain when help is out there.

If the first doctor you try is unwilling to help you, keep looking

for one who will. Even those of us with a clean history have

difficulty finding docs willing to write scrips for opiates for

chronic pain, so don't just assume you can't find help.

The key is for you to stay in strict and honest communication with

your doctor, so that he/she can monitor your activities to help you

keep using meds for the right reasons and not the wrong ones. That

may include accountability measures like pill counts and urine tests,

but many pain docs require those kinds of checks-and-balances from

all their patients anyway, not just those with a history of substance

abuse.

It also sounds like you're not getting the help of any medications at

all, not just opiates. If that's the case, and you just don't want

to even try opiates, realize that there are LOTS of different kinds

of meds out there other than opiates that can help different kinds of

pain. Talk to a doctor about your options, please!

For example, anti-seizure drugs are helpful with neuropathic pain

(and I think you mentioned you have sciatica). Some kinds of

antidepressants help with pain. You might also benefit from

prescription lidoderm patches to help your back - that's a local

anaesthetic that goes right on the area of pain and just numbs it a

bit - I get a good bit of help from them on my lower back and when

the muscles are spasming. So those might be options that could help

you that don't trigger your concerns about addiction.

Just please get some help. Don't let your fears make you live in

pain. Just because a doc suggests a drug doesn't mean you have to

agree to take it if you're not comfortable with it, but don't rule

out the possibility of getting relief with opiates if they are

appropriate just because of your history. You shouldn't have to be

punished for life just because of your past.

Cheryl in AZ