People with Chronic Pain and Opioid Dependence - How Is the Pain Treated?

The misuse of opioids, aka painkillers, have made headlines around the world. The court system is bogged down with lawsuits, the insurance companies are screening prescriptions more closely and doctors are in fear of losing their license because of this problem. Adding to all of this chaos is the overbooked pain management clinics. 

But who is suffering the most from it? The people who are suffering from chronic pain and those who have an opioid dependence are suffering the most. Healthcare providers are grappling with ways to treat their patients that have chronic pain and opioid dependence. It is a confusing situation for any doctor to be in and this is why more and more of them are referring their patients to a pain management clinic for help.

It is at these facilities, which are staffed with a variety of pain specialists, that different types of pain management therapies are available. From acupuncture and chiropractic to massage and psychiatric therapies, each professional will tell you that there is a delicate balance in this type of situation.

How Is Common This Problem?

Experts will tell you that the biggest challenge of this epidemic is that there is not any good way to estimate just how common the problem of patients with chronic pain that are dependent on opioids is. What the lobbyists that are squeezing the vice tighter on opioid prescriptions need to realise is that not all people with chronic pain will go on to develop an addiction to opioids.

There are some wonderful benefits to pain medication. As such, the immediate response to prescription drug abuse does not need to be denying all pain medications. The first line of reaction needs to be more education for the healthcare providers about the opioids they prescribe. The need to have a thorough understanding of the possible drug abuse risk and how they can effectively prescribing the medications to minimise the risk of drug addiction.

The rates for people with chronic pain and opioid addiction are varied dependent upon where you may look. In a pain management clinic, the rate of addiction is relatively low. However, in the population of buprenorphine or methadone, the rate can be as high as 40 percent will complain about chronic pain.

When a patient comes to their doctor with chronic pain, before beginning treatment, the doctor should review their medical history, being aware of any possible risk factors that could lead to substance abuse. Because it has not be ruled out that addiction is or isn't hereditary, family history could be an indication, especially with psychiatric disorders or substance abuse.

Healthcare professionals, private or pain management clinic staff, need to keep in mind that simply because any of those risks are present, the patient should not automatically be denied medications like opioids. However, they should be educated and informed of the possible dependence risks. And the doctor should keep a close monitoring of the patient being aware of any potential abuse.

Medication May Not Be the Answer

Medication may not be the right answer for everyone with chronic pain whether they have an addiction problem or not. For too long, it has been widely assumed that medication was needed to ease chronic pain and that simply isn't so. As such, other types of therapy need to be considered.

Non-Opioid Pain Treatment

For a patient with a substance abuse issue, the pain management clinic will offer a variety of other means of pain relief without opioids. Approaching a patient in this situation in a multidisciplinary fashion is becoming more and more commonplace. This includes using non-opioid drugs like antidepressants, anti-epileptic, and anti-arrhythmic drugs. All of these can treat what they were intended to as well as help with managing pain.

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