A lot of the junkies in my neighborhood are people who got hooked on oxycontin after an injury. Pain is a big motivator — people will do almost anything to make it stop:
For decades, the World Health Organization has designated pain treatment as afundamental human right. Nonetheless, about 75 percent of the global population still doesn’t have access to basic pain relief medications, according to a new report from United Nations researchers — which means that about 5.5 billion people may suffer in pain if they become chronically or terminally ill.
Human rights scholars consider the uneven access to effective pain medication to be “one of the most neglected realms of global public health.” Even as palliative care has advanced, billions of people around the world continue to needlessly suffer in the final stages of painful diseases like AIDS or cancer. And dealing with chronic pain can also lead to higher rates of psychological distress and disability.
The new report, which was prepared by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), documents where pain medication is currently concentrated. More than 90 percent of the world’s morphine is consumed by just 17 percent of the global population, mostly Westerners living in wealthy places like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. Meanwhile, even as the developing world has recently seen a rise in the incidence of cancer, there aren’t many opioids left for them.
This disparity may even be in violation of international human rights laws. More than five decades ago, governments around the world adopted the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — a treaty that requires countries to work on combating illegal narcotic abuse, as well as expand access to the narcotic drugs that are necessary for pain relief.
But, thanks to years of policy influenced by propaganda about drugs, most countries have focused only on the first part of that mandate. Groups like Human Rights Watch have carefully tracked the unintended consequences of severely restricting opioids: In many countries, that’s kept essential pain medications out of reach of cancer patients. AsAl Jazeera recently reported, struggling patients have essentially become collateral damage in the War on Drugs.
“Governments must strive to achieve a well-functioning national and international system for managing the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances that provides relief from pain and suffering by ensuring the safe delivery of affordable drugs to those patients who need them while preventing overprescription and the diversion of drugs for the purpose of abuse,” the INCB report concludes.
The recent drum beating in the press to “control” pain meds “more effectively” almost always makes me feel, however slightly, the incredible back/sciatica pain I experienced for most of the months over 3 years. The first two years, physical therapy and low does of oxycodone (sp?) helped, along with steroid shots. The third year, beginning in January and through the summer into fall, I was nearly crippled. I had PT, but could not stand up to do any exercises. I used a cane and was able to manage grocery shopping only because I could lean on the grocery cart.
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I had several different steroid shots (3 sets of two in the lower back, 2 in the hip-sacrum connection area — very long needle!), MRI’s, x-rays, etc. They did not help.
I
Finally, I was told I needed surgery. One surgeon wanted to be conservative and merely grind down some bone spurs. The second wanted to fuse the lower back. Neither of the surgeries could take place for about a month. The second surgeon wrote me a new script doubling the amount of oxycontin I have been taking previously.
Amazingly, as I was on the stronger dose, I gradually was able to stand up straighter, to walk with less pain, then I found myself leaving the cane behind as I was feeling so much better! That was the fall of 2013. Since then I have had twinges of the pain, the occasional cramping from sciatica, but OTC pain pills are managing this pain.
It seems to me that I had such severe muscle spasm than nothing reached it until the higher dose of pain meds, but no other doctor, and I’d seen several, ever suggested I INCREASE my pain meds.
That worked for me. I have my ability to move freely back. Thank goodness for the script from the doctor I wasn’t going to have do the surgery!I felt he was too radical in going directly to fusing the L5-S1, but he sure gave me something much better than surgery: freedom from pain without surgery.
And…why didn’t anyone else up the pain dose? Maybe bcz of so much bad PR for pain treatment leading to addiction?
I also believe that some people are genetically more likely to become addicted and that while I am addicted to, oh, sweets, drugs and booze are not among my genetic prediliections.