Posted by Ilene on March 13, 2003, at 22:26:07
Okay, this is a theoretical issue for me. I never met a narcotic I liked (outside of IV dilaudid--ahhhh).
Three related issues:
Not everybody becomes addicted/habituated/whatever to narcotics. I'd heard some anecdotes, and I met a woman who had been severely injured in a car wreck (almost lost a leg) and spent weeks in the hospital on morpine. She said she just stopped taking it when she needed to.
Does this mean that tolerance is not universal?
Some pdocs prescribe narcotics. Reluctantly, maybe. The gov't used to jump on docs who "overprescribed" narcotics and threaten to take away their licenses. Many people in serious pain didn't get treatment for it. Now pain relief is recognized as legitimate and necessary. At least that's the story.
How do specialists in pain management handle the problems of addiction and tolerance? I'm sure there are people who need long-term pain relief in order to function.
Just wondering. Need to keep my mind off other things.
--I.
poster:Ilene
thread:208884
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208884.html