Opioid-involved deaths are continuing to increase in the United States, where more than three out of five drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, opioids – prescription and illicit – were involved in 42,249 deaths in 2016, and opioid overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016 than in 1999. In 2016, 11.5 million Americans misused prescription opioids according to a national survey on drug use and health, and 116 people died every single day from opioid-related drug overdoses.
The question becomes, ‘Why?’ My team at The Len Cerullo Method has come to see that the path to opioid addiction is paved with good intentions. This is an addiction that happens to even the most intelligent people, and it stems from their pain – both physical and psychological – and a lack of thorough understanding of the medicines they’re taking. The only way to win is for every person to begin to take responsibility for managing his or her own care.
Blame Game Doesn’t Help
At The Len Cerullo Method clinic, we counsel patients to make sure they are fully aware of the various methods available to treat their pain. In our experience, the cause of an opioid addition is usually not a question of bad motive, but of misunderstanding the purpose of the medicine. If you look at the number of substances available today versus 50 years ago, the number is exponentially higher, and it is very difficult to know what’s what. In general, people are not well-educated about which drugs are simple anti-inflammatories and which are opioids, and many patients are not even aware that the drug they’re taking for pain – whether it’s called Vicodin or Opana, or Morphine, or something else – is in fact an opioid.
The drug companies give these medications a variety of names for marketing purposes – after all, they’re in business to make money. Doctors may not be doing a great job of informing their patients about the risks of a given medication beyond the specific uses prescribed, the government could be falling short in terms of regulating these things, and patients are unrealistic to think there will be relief from all pain. Everyone and no one is to blame, so the solution lies in education and personal accountability.
Understanding Pain
We believe patients must learn how to constructively manage their own pain using a combination of treatments including prescription drugs, less strong medicines like anti-inflammatories, organic substances, etc. Especially in light of the opioid epidemic, patients also should consider the variety of options and non-drug therapies endorsed by the American College of Physicians including exercise, meditation, acupuncture, tai chi, and yoga.
In today’s world, it is simply irresponsible to request a medication for pain and then to take whatever medicine is prescribed without knowing exactly what it is, and how it should be used and not used. It is equally irresponsible to save medications prescribed at one point in time ‘just in case’ it’s needed for pain at some point in the future, particularly when there can be devastating consequences if the medication falls into the wrong hands.
Taking Charge
Here’s an example of how addiction can start: an older woman falls and breaks her hip. She doesn’t like morphine, so her doctor prescribes an oral medication, Opana, instead, indicating that she start with a low dose and gradually increase until pain begins to subside, and then decrease and stop the medication. What she doesn’t realize is Opana is an oral morphine, an opioid, and can be dangerous in older people if taken other than prescribed. She takes the medicine and keeps taking it. She becomes addicted because she hasn’t explored other alternatives, such as using an anti-inflammatory in anticipation of pain, or the underlying psychological issues contributing to her experience of pain.
Everyone is equally vulnerable, and every person needs to be responsible. The secret is to function through or despite the pain. Hoping for some sort of nirvana or total relief is unrealistic; it doesn’t happen very often, and it can lead to addiction. At The Len Cerullo Method, we help patients seek information and learn to think things through – to self-manage their pain – understanding that pain probably can’t be totally eliminated from the equation. We believe the solution comes down to every person being more educated and becoming a part of the solution.
For more information on The Len Cerullo Method, visit www.thelencerullomethod.com.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
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