Painkillers: Breaking
the Stigma
Let’s talk about painkillers. I’m sure you’ve seen similar sentences
before, followed by a lecture about the dangers of narcotics. That’s not what I’m here to talk about. Anytime anyone talks about narcotics or
opioids today, it’s all about the evils of the drugs. I understand why this happens. They are abused a lot, they are dangerous,
they can ruin your life or even end it.
That isn’t ALL they do. This December,
I will be finishing my bachelor’s degree.
Last year, I went to my sister’s wedding and I danced, and I didn’t
spend the following day in bed, or next to a toilet puking because the pain was
so unbearable. I maintain a fairly clean
house and a job. All if this is because
of narcotics. When taken properly and
carefully, prescribed by a good doctor with a fair deal of monitoring, these
drugs are changing some of our lives for the better. There are a lot of people out there taking
opioid medication for pain, and they do come with negative side effects, but if
they help enough to increase our quality of life even WITH the side effects,
and all other options have been exhausted, then most pain management
specialists will determine them worth taking.
With this decision comes a lot of harsh judgement,
though. People hear so much of the
negative and basically zero of the positive, so when they find out you take
serious painkillers, they immediately start making assumptions. I’ve heard people say they would be
uncomfortable with someone taking those medications being around their
children. I’ve also nannied in the past,
and have always been straight forward about my situation, and there have never
been any issues. I function on painkillers
like you function without them. If
anything, people who know me and have seen me with and without them would
probably feel more comfortable with me TAKING them and watching their
kids. It’s really hard to keep a clear
head when your consumed with pain. You
can’t move very quickly, which I’ve learned is actually a pretty important
skill in watching multiple little ones, and it’s hard to pick them up. Another assumption people make is that
everyone who takes them regularly is an addict.
That’s not how it works. This is
where being careful and having a good doctor comes in. Those of us who do take them regularly, and
properly, usually worry about this a lot, actually. I recently tried a new doctor in an attempt
to save money, and he looked at my medical history, saw that I have been taking
narcotics for pain, and immediately decided I was an addict and needed
counseling. I’ve been to many doctors
due to moving, and I have heard of people experiencing this, but until that
day, I had not experienced it myself. I’ve
been in pain for a decade and a half that has gradually gotten worse throughout
the years. I was hardly able to do anything a few years ago and it was
terrifying, I had tried everything except for serious pain medication. I had been avoiding it because it is scary,
it does come with a stigma attached and I didn’t want to be a drug addict. I had a doctor explain to me that it might be
my best option, we would be careful and pay close attention to everything, no
secrets, just give it a try. It changed
everything. Every doctor I’ve been to since
then has examined me themselves, looked at my history and everything I’ve
tried, and determined that yes, that is in fact my best option until something
better is discovered. This new doctor
was a terrible doctor in very many ways, but the way he treated me because I
take narcotics was the most horrible thing.
I cried all the way home. I’m
still crying, and that was a month ago.
I went back to my previous doctor after that, who was also shocked and
horrified that I had been treated that way.
That is a very ignorant way of thinking, especially for a doctor. I’ve told everyone about all of the other
reasons he was a terrible doctor (like telling me that all of my pain, which is
worst in my knees and ankles, is actually being caused by neck degeneration
which requires expensive injections?) but I kept this part quiet, because I’m
scared that people will find out and start thinking that I am just another drug
addict, lying about pain to get drugs. I
wasn’t lying when I was twelve years old and had to end my dance career. I wasn’t lying all the times I had to sit out
fun events because of the pain growing up, without decent medication because I
was too young. I’m not lying now. I’d rather be living a normal, physically
active life than taking painkillers to live a normal-ish life, mostly sitting
down.
What I’m trying to say is that opioids, when taken carefully
and properly, as prescribed by a good doctor, can be a good thing. When abused, they can kill you. If you aren’t careful and mindful, you can
become addicted and end up in serious trouble.
They are also bettering peoples’ lives.
They aren’t only bad. They aren’t
only addictive. They aren’t only
dangerous. When you find out someone
takes them, don’t start judging them, or throwing out facts about how bad and
dangerous they are to them. They most
likely know. If you know they are
abusing them, or getting them illegally, or you knew them before they took the
medication and there is definitely something wrong now, you should say
something, absolutely, but just being on pain medication does not mean someone
needs a lecture or your judgement. Break
the stigma.
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