Is It Ever Appropriate To Take Narcotics For Years To Treat Chronic Pain?

Is It Ever Appropriate To Take Narcotics For Years To Treat Chronic Pain?

Take THAT paranoid, judgmental people in my life who have tried to label me a junkie just because they saw me taking one a couple of times! lol. (I usually do take pain medicine when I'm around people for any significant amount of time, or drive very long at all, because it's a pretty rare occasion, usually I'll get tired and start to hurt and not be able to sit or lie down every 15-30 minutes like I do at home. And tired, burny muscles will make me cranky and out of it so...)

No, seriously, it was nice to see this in writing, doctors have become so freaked about prescribing narcotics since the FDA cracked down, that they sent me to a pain management specialist! I wasn't sure what the point would be, because I do not have the type of chronic, non-stop pain that most people dx'd w/FM describe; I did at one time, but was able to get it in check with Myofascial Release Therapy and Chiropractic visits, and very slow but steady self-rehabilitation at the local Y Gym.
(I still get hurt easily, get disproportionately sore doing simple things, and wake up with or develop the body aches from time to time though.
I'd injured myself last year and been in moderate pain for a couple of months (evil vacuum, yup, that's how fragile I am. Granted, I also have Degenerative Disc Disease, so...) but that was months back, so I went just to appease the doctors...

Pain Specialist's verdict? There was no reason for me to have been referred there. He didn't prescribe narcotics at all, and if I needed and could manage my pain with just a few Vicodin a month, the doctor behaved unprofessionally in not giving me the script!(And trying to pawn me off on him!) He told me to be careful and do nothing that could mess up my back any worse, because it looked livable in the MRIs, but if it got any worse I'd likely need surgery AND/OR welcome the epidural pain shots in my spine that he'd graciously offered before he realized I didn't have any significant pain at the moment. Then he sent me on my way. (Not to say I was pain-free, I do live with some level of discomfort, but it's a level I can usually ignore to the point I'm not even conscious of unless it starts interfering with my thinking or making me cranky, then I usually realize it and take something to calm it down...And I'd spent 45 minutes filling out paperwork before seeing him, so it was to be expected that my neck would be bugging me. I just don't think that quite compares to the level of pain I have experienced in the past or that most FM patients deal with contantly, to call it chronic pain...if that makes any sense.

So yup. If you've had similar problems, here it is again, share it with the paranoid peeps in your life! (Not at all to say that you don't have to be careful with narcotic painkillers. If you ever do have to take them constantly for more than a couple of weeks, or feel any dependence on them, DO talk to your doctor and explore alternate pain techniques. For example, if I'm at home and in pain, I try every pain mangement method I know before going to the pills, & save those for when I have to be around other people & showing up smelling like arthritis cream or ice/hot packs hanging off me would be inappropriate and/or embarassing, hehe.)

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