We tried this in the US a while ago. It went terribly, because opioid prescriptions, which can be vital for chronic pain patients’ basic quality of life, are neither causative of addiction nor...
The findings of this systematic review suggest that proper management of a type of strong painkiller (opioids) in well-selected patients with no history of substance addiction or abuse can lead to long-term pain relief for some patients with a very small (though not zero) risk of developing addiction, abuse, or other serious side effects.
[…]
Signs of opioid addiction were reported in 0.27% of participants in the studies that reported that outcome.
Opioids do not work for long term pain for most people Your second link does not support your argument, it directly contradicts it. It clearly shows that opioids are massively over-prescribed in...
Opioids do not work for long term pain for most people
Your second link does not support your argument, it directly contradicts it. It clearly shows that opioids are massively over-prescribed in the US, and that this surplus is then diverted to non-medical use.
Your Cochrane review says the evidence is weak, and it says "proper management" -- that doesn't happen in the US, does it? Opioids were being handed out in huge quantities with no proper checks.
I'm not sure why you think an opinion piece is persuasive, especially when it says this:
But the simple reality is this: According to the large, annually repeated and representative National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 75 percent of all opioid misuse starts with people using medication that wasn’t prescribed for them—obtained from a friend, family member or dealer.
Where are the friends and family members getting these opioids from? They're getting them from over-prescribed meds.
Your comment about reducing opioid prescribing hasn't reduced opioid deaths: of course it hasn't. Now the nation has been hooked on opioids you'll have to provide addiction treatment to all of the people with a substance misuse disorder.
I'd suggest you read this from the Royal College of Anaesthetists Faculty of Pain Management: https://fpm.ac.uk/opioids-aware
Key Messages
Opioids are very good analgesics for acute pain and for pain at the end of life but there is little evidence that they are helpful for long term pain.
A small proportion of people may obtain good pain relief with opioids in the long-term if the dose can be kept low and especially if their use is intermittent (however it is difficult to identify these people at the point of opioid initiation).
The risk of harm increases substantially at doses above an oral morphine equivalent of 120mg/day, but there is no increased benefit: tapering or stopping high dose opioids needs careful planning and collaboration.
If a patient has pain that remains severe despite opioid treatment it means they are not working and should be stopped, even if no other treatment is available.
Chronic pain is very complex and if patients have refractory and disabling symptoms, particularly if they are on high opioid doses, a very detailed assessment of the many emotional influences on their pain experience is essential.
Respectfully, I included a variety of citations, and the links you've provided so far include the story/interview of a single individual, your own uncited interpretations of my evidence, and a...
Respectfully, I included a variety of citations, and the links you've provided so far include the story/interview of a single individual, your own uncited interpretations of my evidence, and a list of unsupported bullet points. I linked to “opinion pieces” alongside evidence-cited testimony from numerous doctors and a Cochrane meta-review (which you immediately dismissed without substantive cause).
This article links to an interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17SjDth4pU&feature=youtu.be And also to this evidence based advice to patients with long term pain:...
We tried this in the US a while ago. It went terribly, because opioid prescriptions, which can be vital for chronic pain patients’ basic quality of life, are neither causative of addiction nor responsible for the spread of opioids. Legitimate opioid prescriptions have been massively reduced with no correlating drop in overdose deaths.
From: https://www.cochrane.org/CD006605/SYMPT_opioids-long-term-treatment-noncancer-pain
I would also suggest reading Neat, Plausible, And Generally Wrong, this Scientific American article, and this National Interest article.
Opioids do not work for long term pain for most people
Your second link does not support your argument, it directly contradicts it. It clearly shows that opioids are massively over-prescribed in the US, and that this surplus is then diverted to non-medical use.
Your Cochrane review says the evidence is weak, and it says "proper management" -- that doesn't happen in the US, does it? Opioids were being handed out in huge quantities with no proper checks.
I'm not sure why you think an opinion piece is persuasive, especially when it says this:
Where are the friends and family members getting these opioids from? They're getting them from over-prescribed meds.
Your comment about reducing opioid prescribing hasn't reduced opioid deaths: of course it hasn't. Now the nation has been hooked on opioids you'll have to provide addiction treatment to all of the people with a substance misuse disorder.
I'd suggest you read this from the Royal College of Anaesthetists Faculty of Pain Management: https://fpm.ac.uk/opioids-aware
Respectfully, I included a variety of citations, and the links you've provided so far include the story/interview of a single individual, your own uncited interpretations of my evidence, and a list of unsupported bullet points. I linked to “opinion pieces” alongside evidence-cited testimony from numerous doctors and a Cochrane meta-review (which you immediately dismissed without substantive cause).
This article links to an interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17SjDth4pU&feature=youtu.be
And also to this evidence based advice to patients with long term pain: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/ways-to-manage-chronic-pain/