OxyContin: Pain Relief vs. Abuse
Are worries over abuse having an impact on the drug's legitimate use as a painkiller?
Pinsky, who is medical director for the department of chemical dependency services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., tells WebMD he admits at least two patients a day for overusing painkillers. "They've been addicts all along. They didn't suddenly develop an addiction. They come to me with overwhelming pain -- back pain, neck pain, headaches. They can't sleep."
He says chronic physical pain in addicts is often an expression of past trauma. Drugs relieve the pain but feed the addiction. His approach is to take them off the pain medicine. "I say it will be the worst pain of your entire life for two weeks, but that will be the end of it. Meanwhile, we do 12-step and group therapy programs with them and intensive treatment of their withdrawal."
In certain parts of the country, the crackdown on illegal use of OxyContin has made it hard for pain patients to get legitimate prescriptions.
"OxyContin was the first prescription medication listed as a drug of concern by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, which made it a target," says Ronald T. Libby, PhD.
The drug, Libby says, is "monitored by pharmacies and [Perdue] Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Some physicians, knowing the DEA or sheriff is looking at these scripts, refuse to write prescriptions for fear of prosecution. Doctors can be scammed, and if a patient takes some pills and sells some, the doctor can be guilty of diversion." Libby is the author of a Cato Institute policy report titled "Treating Doctors As Drug Dealers: The DEA's War on Prescription Painkillers" andprofessor of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
"The war on drugs has become a war on legal drugs, on patients who take them, and on doctors who prescribe them," Serkes tells WebMD.
The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons has issued a warning to doctors: "If you're thinking about getting into pain management using opioids as appropriate, don't. Forget what you learned in medical school -- drug agents now set medical standards. Or if you do, first discuss the risks with your family."
OxyContin: Pain Relief vs. Abuse
Are worries over abuse having an impact on the drug's legitimate use as a painkiller?
Treatment of Pain in Addicts continued...
Pinsky, who is medical director for the department of chemical dependency services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., tells WebMD he admits at least two patients a day for overusing painkillers. "They've been addicts all along. They didn't suddenly develop an addiction. They come to me with overwhelming pain -- back pain, neck pain, headaches. They can't sleep."
He says chronic physical pain in addicts is often an expression of past trauma. Drugs relieve the pain but feed the addiction. His approach is to take them off the pain medicine. "I say it will be the worst pain of your entire life for two weeks, but that will be the end of it. Meanwhile, we do 12-step and group therapy programs with them and intensive treatment of their withdrawal."
The Backlash of OxyContin Abuse
In certain parts of the country, the crackdown on illegal use of OxyContin has made it hard for pain patients to get legitimate prescriptions.
"OxyContin was the first prescription medication listed as a drug of concern by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, which made it a target," says Ronald T. Libby, PhD.
The drug, Libby says, is "monitored by pharmacies and [Perdue] Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Some physicians, knowing the DEA or sheriff is looking at these scripts, refuse to write prescriptions for fear of prosecution. Doctors can be scammed, and if a patient takes some pills and sells some, the doctor can be guilty of diversion." Libby is the author of a Cato Institute policy report titled "Treating Doctors As Drug Dealers: The DEA's War on Prescription Painkillers" andprofessor of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
"The war on drugs has become a war on legal drugs, on patients who take them, and on doctors who prescribe them," Serkes tells WebMD.
The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons has issued a warning to doctors: "If you're thinking about getting into pain management using opioids as appropriate, don't. Forget what you learned in medical school -- drug agents now set medical standards. Or if you do, first discuss the risks with your family."