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

Rockon, It was the third sentence from the bottom! It was the rest of your comments referring to the dangers of those who have to depend on Opioids for quality of Life!
You're are right, "you don't have the right to condemn anyone" for their use of medication!
Those of us who depend on the medication for our Quality Life get tired of the rhetoric about the use of Opioids that is put out by the medical industry! Also by the normal population who have never experienced constate pain!
For those of us whom have depended on Opioids for long periods get tired of being "pigeon holed" as weak and individuals who can't make it through life on our own!
As with anything it's imperative to be strong with how you approach the use of any medication! How many people are killed each year by drunk drivers! Yet nightly how many adds promoting the use of alcohol! Should we go back to proabortion?
Sundance aka RB

So sorry for everyone’s pain…I understand from ongoing experience.
I believe that the pee cup is a state rule…I live in SC and I think that rule was changed here years ago…no pee at my PM office.
Relief wished for all!

Yes they do urine test to make sure you are taking your meds. I'm like you. I need every one of mine.

Sundancerdb78, I deliberately allowed some time to pass before responding to your ignorant (lacking knowledge and awareness of what was said) and overly simplistic response. First of all I have suffered with torturous chronic pain which I did control with many various medically supervised opioids for years. They were the only meds that gave a respite, and thus some quality of life from the pain, till tiring of the constant side effects, I found a much more successful pain delivery system based on the implanting of a non bolus intrathecal opioid pump. That provided 24/7 relief with no noticeable physical or mental side effects. During the 18 years of using the pump I became much healthier and sensed I had physically healed to a certain extent. At that point I took a big gamble that my chronic pain no longer justified the morphine usage so I had the pump removed. I was right and and although I still have a modicum of chronic pain and numbness I basically live an opioid free life which is a blessing. Although I did not notice any mental altering like euphoria, there were subtle changes to my mental chemistry that took well over two years to normalize and that period was not particularly pleasant at times. For years I had a nagging sense about always having such a significant amount of morphine in my system and the negatives it had to have, and that was my basic message!, not the over simplification that if a substance is addictive it should be banned! This forum is about people sharing their experiences and thinking and the intuition and perspective they have gained by dealing with their medical problems in a respectful and helpful manner. That 's why when you said "I was totally off base" I had to respond in the above referenced manner.

Totally agree, I’m 62 and have had multiple spine surgeries and getting ready to have another one 8/6 . My spine is falling apart little by little my pain management doctor will only give me Lyrica my PCP doctor gives me muscle relaxers and tramadol, but that’s it. My next surgery that I had eight weeks ago I had hydrocodone and only ticket as needed. Well I say as needed when I was in extreme pain.

❤️100%!!! I've been suffering for 30yrs myself and have tried everything under the sun...finding out that I have SEVERE allergies to many newer alternative medications that Dr's push rather than the gold standard of old fashioned opiates! It's infuriating that they try to stick you on 4 bottles of truly dangerous medications that cause hearing loss & tinnitus(this just happened to me and my right ear!) to dementia, permanent involuntary muscle movement or death! When what works for even some of our worst pain, is an opiate, 3-4xs per day. I think our world slid into the "Bizarre-o World" because this makes no sense to me! ~ it's nice to find others feeling the same way😏

I have often stood up here for Opioid/narcotic use. Why SUFFER when the pain can't be eliminated?! Plus, there is no downside (I could ever find) for low-dose, non-abusive, use to manage chronic pain. Me too - 30 years. Sometimes I don't have the pain... (rare occasion), and I don't take the opioid. I don't seem to be "addicted." I seem to be IN PAIN when I take it. I take 1/2 Percocet or Oxy 10/325 or 10. I have degenerative disc disease, chronic inflammation, arthritis, but mostly it's my tailbone that is the problem all the time. I am 68. I lead a great life because I can get through it with pain management. I must advocate for myself.

I am saddened to hear that. I have tried everything. I don't have a good quality of life with the nerve meds and the muscle relaxers. I do use Tzanidine and Baclofen once in awhile to help. The Percocet or the Oxy mask the pain so I can focus on my life and work. My tailbone is the biggest pain offender. No one can resolve that so I have unbearable pain every day. The opioid controls it so I can work. (low dose 5mg). Stable and predictable for 25 years.

I’m sorry you have such pain! Some people become resistant to their opioids in pill form. There is an opioid patch (not to be confused with fentanyl patches) that works for 10 days before it needs changing to a new patch. Have you tried that? Pain should be treated like any other debilitating chronic disease!

@lynns51 I am so sorry. I meant to write I DO have a good quality of life! Because the low-dose opioid relieves my pain completely. However, I have never heard of the opioid patch. I would be a little worried because I don’t have pain all the times of the day only during certain times. And I’m not sure what dosage it comes in. Might you know? I am very lucky that the low dose has kept me stable for 25 years and productive. Thanks for the tip about the patch!