Maybe I mistook who he was calling an asshole.
Regarding the issue, there are some people who need pain meds. I think they’ve cracked down so hard on it, the people who truly need it can’t get it. I don’t know how or if this issue ever gets reasonably resolved but, as often happens, the government has overreacted.
My personal experience with pain meds was getting tramadol for a while, which started 3 yr ago. It helped me enormously. My doctor who prescribed it retired, and his successor refuses to prescribe it. She referred me to a pain specialist who wanted to give me regular shots of a corticosteroid. There are reasons I can’t take a corticosteroid, so I’m stuck sitting on my butt all day with a heating pad.
Last November I had major dental surgery. The surgeon prescribed an opiate and it worked very well. It scared me though, because it made me so wonderfully euphoric. I ran out and was still having problems. I asked the surgeon to prescribe tramadol instead of the opiate. He gave me 3 days worth and it was exactly what I needed to get through.
This has happened to me. I have had had back issues for a number of years, and had surgery for it in 2012. Even though I have arthritis issues, I can usually stay pain free tolerable by taking celebrex. However, there are times when the pain gets away from me. Could be I slept wrong or did too much yard work. At those times, I take Tramadol.
Although I have taken Tramadol for years, I do not take it regularly, and when I do, I only take half a pill. My primary doctor has been filling my prescription (which lasts for months if not a year); but the last time I ran out, she said she can no longer prescribe it due to the opioid regulations. So, I returned to my orthopedic doc who had done my back surgery and was was able to get a new prescription from him.
I have not even taken it since getting it refilled, but I could have used it during those weeks when I could not get any.