There has been a continuing debate in the medical and addiction communities as to whether physicians are prescribing sufficient pain medication to adequately treat their patient’s pain. In the addiction field, especially in those treatment centers specializing in problems associated with opiate pain pill dependence, many patients report that their addiction was the direct result of a pain condition that was never adequately treated allowing them to live relatively pain free, productive lives.

This pattern of  'under-medicating', which led to a pattern of  ‘self-medicating”, resulted in patients  seeing more than one physician, buying medication on the internet, or getting it through other sources. These patients, living busy, productive lives, with no history of substance abuse or alcohol dependence, often find that their lives have been completely taken over by the need to secure these medications.

What had been an issue of untreated pain soon becomes an ever growing problem with opiate dependence. With it comes the related, often daily fear that if they run out of pills, they are going to go into unimaginable withdrawal symptoms. For some, this has already happened once or more than once and they have now decided to do whatever it takes to prevent it from happening again. 

Frequently, the pattern begins to be supplemented with alcohol, partially because it is readily available, and partially because, in conjunction with the pills, it seems to have a pain reducing effect. At the very least it has a sedating effect, which often reduces the patient’s anxiety about their pain, and now their associated dependence problems.

The family begins to see these individuals appearing unsteady on their feet, sleepy-looking or “nodding off” at odd hours, or agitated and unpredictable, causing even greater concern. Recent research appears to support the idea that a significant portion of the non-medical use of prescription analgesics (NMUPA) is directly related to the treatment of pain.

Also worth noting is that in those cases where abnormally high levels of alcohol use is present in pain patients, (that is where pain patients are drinking heavily), there is a greater potential for increased opiate pill use.

At Reliance Center™, we are very much attuned to this issue and understand how the issues of pain and dependence are intertwined in our patient’s lives. Our staff is always mindful that many of our patients may not have had any notable previous history of addiction or dependence, and our programs have been constructed with this consideration in mind. We’re also aware that even for individuals with a very limited addiction history, the consequences as well as the effects on the family, may have become unbearable.

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More and more, opioid dependence is being accepted as a chronic disease, much like high blood pressure or diabetes. Yet, unlike these other diseases, opioid dependence carries a very powerful stigima.  To illustrate:  Imagine that you are interviewing for a new job. Would you think twice before asking whether the company's health plan covers costs related to your insulin dependence?  Would you also not hesitate to ask about coverage of costs related to your opioid dependence?

This stigma is rooted in the centuries-old belief that opioid dependence is a moral failure. It was only within the last 20 years that researchers began to realize opioid dependence was a medical condition caused by changes in the brain—changes that didn't go away, sometimes for months, after patients stopped using opioids.

Today, opioid dependence in the United States is growing at unprecedented rates. Sadly, fear of the stigma associated with treatment keeps many people from seeking help. Removing the stigma of opioid dependence is critical to helping patients receive proper care. A key part of achieving this goal is wider recognition that opioid dependence is a medical—not a moral—issue.*

*www.suboxone.com