I feel your pain...or do I?

Today's pain management isn't just for the patient! Many doctors struggle with their own comfort level when it comes to prescribing narcotics. I will often hear doctors quip, "Oh, I don't treat chronic pain!" In an earlier post, I related the story of a smug orthopedic surgeon that begrudgingly prescribed my daughter some Vicodin, thinking she was a 15 year old drug seeker! His actions mocked the Hippocratic Oath and created needless suffering for a young woman.



Lest you think I am being overly harsh on the medical community, I get "it" when it comes to balancing the sufferer and the prescriber. On one hand, there is the patient's pain, sometimes chronic and difficult to pinpoint. On the other hand, most doctors have been badly burned by people with ulterior motives. There is no dearth in creativity amongst the Oxycontin junkies! So what is the answer to this dilemma, you ask?


I am no doctor, but here is some prescriptive advice. First and I hate to be master of the obvious: pain is SUBJECTIVE! The only person that knows how much pain exists, is the patient. So, the next time your doc says "Oh...it doesn't hurt that much," kick "em hard in their left shin and then ask them to rate their pain on the 1-10 Faces of Pain Scale. Second, pain control is a little like that annoying squeak in your recently purchased "cash for clunker" vehicle. The problem is hard to find and you are primed for many dealer visits. 'Tis frustrating and it hurts. Third, sometimes the reason for pain cannot be identified. The doctor could be lacking in both diagnostic skills and available technologies. Let's just hope MD empathy outweighs frustration during the process. Finally, be skeptical if your physician bails and chalks up your pain as "depression." It is a sucker's bet! Pain is pain and it doesn't matter whether it is organic or somatic, people just want freedom from the agony. Just ask my friend Doug how that last visit to the gym worked out for him.

...take as directed,
Blake