If you suffer from complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, you know the value of effective pain management–because without it, life kind of grinds to a halt.
Unfortunately, many of the most effective pain management regimens include drugs with an opioid base, which are highly addictive. I know a woman who felt guilty every time she refilled her pain medicine because she thought the pharmacist was looking at her like she was a petty criminal out to “score.” When she told me this, she started laughing and said, “I wish I was just a petty criminal, because then my every living moment might not be controlled by pain.”
There is good reason for pharmacists to be aware of who is filling what prescription for pain medication. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard about the epidemic of opioid addiction sweeping the United States–and many of those addictions began with legally prescribed medication.
Scientists are beginning to make certain distinctions, however, in who is “dependent” on a drug, and who is “addicted.” For the woman I know, she became completely dependent on her medication, to the point where if she didn’t take it exactly on time, she would begin to feel the effects of withdrawal.
Luckily, working with her doctor, she got medical intervention and has been in recovery for six years now. And she isn’t alone. Current research shows that people who legitimately need pain meds are far more likely to succeed in recovering from their dependence/addiction. And those who succeeded the most were individuals who received post-treatment support.
