Abuse of Opioids takes away from all the good it can do

I could not agree more with your comment, I too take hydrocodone 7.5-325 4 times a day sometimes 5 on a extra painful day, I try to take the lesser amount when I can . Having my 5 th spinal fusion a week from today . 67 yrs old. I have a phenomenal integrative pain management doctor . I too like you have had too many orthopedic surgeries, both shoulders, more than once.

Thank you for bringing attention to the positive side of opioids. Good luck to you…..

Amen, my friend. Everyone’s is different, but taking the smallest effective dose is the goal. There’s a difference between being dependent on a drug, and being addicted to it. Addicts are “chasing the dragon” (chasing a high), while those who are dependent on a drug are chasing relief.

I don’t say this to belittle addicts—I think the war on drugs is a misguided and racist campaign that only makes a public health problem worse.
But I do say it to help remove the stigma for both pain patients and addicts.
I think your approach is meritorious, and I sincerely hope that many more blessings accrue in your life.

100•% agree it can allow people to have a much better quality of life. I have seen this happen for people without it people who really need it have such a hard time getting thru each day.
I believe one needs to weigh all the pros and cons with any med and make the best choice for them!

Ditto. I've been taking low doses of Hydrocodone Acetaminophen since my disk surgery in 2005 and the development of osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis in 2018. It allows me to perform my own physical and mental therapy via Ashtanga Yoga. I'm also in the best physical and mental shape of my life including a weight loss of over 45 pounds or 25% of my body weight since 2018, allowing me to live a full and active life at 68 due to self discipline and the understanding of my orthopedic and pain management doctors. Opioids are like any other tool that if used properly provides great benefits but if abused can cause great harm.

I don't see many opioids here that could be an issue your biggest problem is the "Acetaminophen"
that will kill you and destroy your internal organs. But just watch TV they advertise, the best and number 1 pain killer in the world. ALCOHOL and it tastes good, it comes in so many verities and you can mix it with anything you want. It can't be that bad OR CAN IT.
"In a 2010 analysis comparing 20 different recreational drugs, alcohol was found to be the most harmful to society. Alcohol is three times more harmful than cocaine or tobacco, yet it remains our culture’s most celebrated and tolerated recreational drug." A study like this will never be done again because of big money in the Beveridge industry.

You can get hydro of one without
Acetaminophen

The war on opiates has and will continue to have unintended consequences. In my own experience it was handled with a one size fits all broad brush approach. I was a chronic pain patient since 1991. I spent 10 years with virtually no treatment because doctors thought there was nothing wrong with me. They sent me to psychiatrists who put me on a variety of psychiatric drugs that made matters worse. Their take was I did not look the part and was very calm about my condition hence to them it was all in my mind. Then I protested so loudly that they couldn't ignore it and longer and finally sent me for an MRI. The results of the MRI were so bad that I was taken off work immediately and permanently. No discs in my lumbar and cervical region, central and foriminal spinal stenosis throughout, spodylothesis and more. In the end 3 surgeon concluded I am not a surgical candidate. I then did every other treatment known to man until finally I bacame a medication patient only. That was 2005. From 2005 until 2013 i was prescribed norco and Morphine er and the pain and my life became managable. Then in 2013 the government got involved with opiates and me , along with 230 other patients were sumarily dropped from all treatment. A 30 day script and see ya latter. In my group some people went to street drugs and became addicted to heroin, others like myself used alcohol to excess to kill the pain..and several killed themselves.. This action by both government and the medical community was highly irresponsible and unethical. I had quality of life for almost 8 years due to medicine that I never abused...then overnight it was cut off without any way to titrate off , no assistance and no medical solutions or treatment to follow. It is my belief that the current opiate problem is a direct result of such idiot policies and this problem will continue. Pain is the most powerful motivating force in nature. When in severe pain any living thing will do just about anything to make it go away. Seems to me that medical oversight of people in such cases is far more intellegent than to put a person in a position of going to the streets or worse. I am still in pain all the time and am left with very few and ineffective options.. I believe there are cases where continued use of opiates are not called for .I also believe that there are other cases , where medical evidence proves the need that they are a life saver as to quality of life. Most people would choose a life of dependence (not addiction) than a life of misery and pain.

@senseiande Well said!

I don't understand your question ?
Are you asking if you can get hydro without Acetaminophen ?

No I am saying that if people are worried about acetaminophen their dr can prescribe hydrocodone without acetaminophen

On Sep 20, 2022, at 1:39 PM, Mayo Clinic Connect wrote: