I just chose to leave a DM group filled with physicians because they had gone off on a tangent talking about patients presenting with pain whom they believed were med-seeking drug addicts.

It was disheartening to read the reflexive suspicion and contempt.

1/x
#NEISvoid

I have been living with and attempting to manage both chronic pain and episodic acute pain for 15 years.

The experience has reduced my previously expansive life to the size of a bed and cell phone.

I also will be observing 31 years of sobriety later this month.

2/x
#NEISvoid

If any of those physicians or other physicians are reading this thread, I want you to know a few things:

1. Untreated pain destroys lives.

2. Patients should be treated as legitimately in pain even if they are “agitated.” Pain is agitating.

3/x
#NEISvoid

Cont.

3. Patients can be dependent upon and in “intense” need of medication without being addicts or abusing their prescribed treatment. Like many other medications, pain medications can cause physical dependence.

4. Dependence ≠ addiction. Learn the difference.

4/x
#NEISvoid

Cont.

5. If a patient is a drug addict and abusing prescribed medications, they are still your patient—and they might even also be in pain.

6. If a patient is a drug addict, it is still your responsibility to attempt to connect them with appropriate treatment.

5/x
#NEISvoid

Cont.

7. Addiction among physicians EXCEEDS the general population ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704134/#idm139830723999216title).

8. Patients in pain and patients who are addicted are likely judging themselves more harshly than you ever could.

9. Compassion is a critical part of being a healer.

6/6
#NEISvoid