“They” are going to say he is still on painkillers no matter what.
Personally I think getting hooked on painkillers is so easy but the pain
can be so bad at times you almost have no choice. I don’t consider
this as bad a drug user that wants to be on drugs for the thrill.
You’re right. The choices suck; either live in excruciating pain or take a narcotic painkiller that relieves the pain.
Of course, the downside is that you quickly build up a tolerance and Doctors are are really reluctant to up your dose to deal with tolerance; they’ll put, “drug seeking behavior” in your chart. The thing is, tolerance is well known, it’s not like they just discovered it, they’ve known about it for over 50 years and as soon as another Doctor sees the previous Doctor’s note in your chart, you’re screwed.
You just need to find a great Doctor who specializes in pain and isn’t scared of the DEA combing through their records.