Pain of some sort is one of the most common complaints any doctors hears from patients. Pain caused by old injuries, new injuries, arthritis, surgery, chronic pain, headaches, you name it. There tends to be two types of patients experiencing pain: those who like pain medications, and those who fear them.
In this article I will mostly be discussing opioids. These are by far the most addictive painkillers.
Patients who like pain meds will often reveal their hand quickly during the interview. They know the type of drug they want, the dose, when they last time they had it, and which ones don’t work. In the hospital they time it so they get it exactly every 4 hours and maybe they take an extra one at home but only because they had extra pain. These patients require extra care when prescribing because their likelihood of addiction and abuse is much higher.
The other type of patient is the one who dislikes or fears pain killers. These types of patients typically don’t like medications of any sort, especially opioids. They know people who have become addicted and they think they will too. They are more sensitive to the side effects of medications and don’t like the way they feel when using meds. Risk of abuse is very low in these patients.
Before we get into prevention, determining what I mean by abuse or addiction is important. The textbook definition involves dependence on a drug and some action taken to acquire that drug, despite a negative consequence in your life. I will use a less clinical definition. The way I will use addiction is to simply say a person needs a pain med to function in their daily life, and might go into withdrawal without it.
So, who gets addicted or dependent on painkillers? Unfortunately with the strength of these medications, almost anyone can become addicted. If you use an opioid for longer than 5 days your risk of addiction increases significantly. Here, I will lay out some simple precautions you can take to prevent addiction.
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