Caught in the middle
The topic of increasing opioid use and the dangers of it has been in the news often lately. Opioids, or certain pain medications that can be addictive and contribute to other drug use in the end. But I am not going to lecture you today on the safety of your medications. Many of my patients are so familiar with the warnings that opioids come with that they have become the experts themselves. What I would like to address today is the other side of the coin. The patients who do not abuse their medication, who take it as prescribed, who feel judged every time they read an article in the newspaper discussing “these horrible drugs”. Those who do not disclose their medications to their friends or their loved ones anymore, for the fear of being lectured. Those who dread the visits to the doctor because they know their medication list will be scrutinized. Those who do not necessarily want to take pain medication, but rather have to because they are left with no other options. The Pain M