Is the undertreatment of Chronic Pain solely the fault of the medical Proffesion? Absolutely Not!!

Yesterday I had to take my little dog Aaron to his Vet. for a problem. It is amazing to watch other people, just like me, there with their beloved pets. In my case, I love mine so much, I will spare no expense when it comes to his treatment. His Dr. the Veterinarian is great and I love the amount of time she spends with him, and of course, all the while making sure that I understood everything.

While I was waiting for his appointment, I got into a conversation with a lady in the waiting room, who was also waiting with her "little dog". We talked about pets for awhile, then the conversation turned to "Chronic pain". I was in a lot of pain and even though I never mentioned it, I guess she must have noticed it. We talked about it briefly and then she replied, "my sister has lived in chronic pain for 25 years but now the "Doctors have gotten her addicted to Methadone".

I immediately ran that statement through my mind for a few seconds before I said anything. I then turned to her and said Doctors don't "get anyone addicted". Addiction is a choice, its a behavorial problem and as a matter of fact, it can even be inherited. I also told her that her sister needed to be treated by an "Addiction Medicine Specialist. As the conversation progressed, she finally admitted that her sister had been a drug addict for years, that the family couldn't do anything with her and she was now living on the streets. Then the clincher, she said actually I don't think she was ever in chronic pain, she just wanted the pills. Then she looked at me, almost as if she was reading my mind and said, I guess people like her really hurt people like you who truely need pain medication. I replied, yes they sure do.

So, my point is, this is another part of the problem: Many families will have a member, who they know is a drug addict and most often they have never been in pain a day in their lives. Yet , if they go out in the street, obtain something like oxycontin or whatever, instead of blaming themselves for not getting help for the family member, they choose to ignore it until it is to late. Then they want to go sue someone, whether it be the drug manufacter or a Doctor. Scenarios like this do one thing.

They make it virtually impossible for people who are truely suffering to get help from anyone. I would be remise if I didn't say, this presents a problem for the Doctor who truely wants to help and an even bigger one for the true Chronic pain sufferer.