A special thanks to Help My Hurt for including this post as part of the Help My Hurt Blog Carnival.
I found a great post written by Dr. Christina Lasich on Chronic Pain Connection on the Top Ten Reasons Pain Medication Use Is Increasing. Here were her thoughts. What do you think? Is her list accurate?
- The health insurance companies have cut benefits for alternative therapies.
- Baby boomers are older and with old age, comes more pain (joints, etc.).
- It is getting harder for people to find the time or money for treatments such as acupuncture, physical therapy and massage.
- There are a growing number of therapies that are not the greatest and they can increase pain.
- The obesity epidemic leads to more people who have painful conditions and problems.
- People are not as willing these days to slow down to recover from injuries, surgeries, etc.
- Medications work in a pinch.
- Lifestyle commitments such as quitting smoking, exercising and eating healthier are hard to stay dedicated to.
- As the population grows, medication use is going to grow.
- The medical community is more aggressively treating pain.
Another one worth adding, at least for Migraines: pain medications are usually cheaper than abortive medications used to stop the Migraine process. Insurance companies often place limits on abortive meds because of their astronomical cost (though most won’t say that’s the reason), but less stringent limits are placed on pain meds.
Be well,
MJ
I had laproscopy surgery on 11/18/10, released from the hospital on 11/20/10 for repair of hiatal hernia and gallbladder removel.
I was given a prescription for oxcodone 5mg,
medication is in liquid form. Total amount 500mg.
I take, according to prescription , 5 to 20 mg every 3 hours.
20 mg is what works best, but I have 150mg left.
Question? I thought laproscopy surgery was quick
recovery? Also i expected to be “fine” by now?
I haven’t yet called my Dr., I don’t think I should need any more pain medication, but today I waited just over 4 hrs. for next dose and was really miserable. Is this anywhere “normal”
for my situation? I’m a little embarrased to call my Dr.
I will call in the am if I don’t feel a whole lot better, but I don’t understand why I’m still in pain.
No fever or any other symptoms.
Please let me know what you think.
Mary R
Hi Mary, You will need to speak with your physician. I’m not a doctor so I can’t give you that kind of advice – sorry!