Well, i do understand the concern about drug addicts getting legally prescribed medication, and then overdosing on them- and understand the concern for that issue- but to go after chronic pain sufferers when the evidence shows that there is a very small chance of addiction or death, is unconscionable in my opinion and the opinions of a great many people- pain patients and non pain folks as well-
There are a great many chronic pain health issues for which surgery is simply not an option- and right now- opioids- are the best we have to help these folks be able to function with at least a little bit of dignity in life- otherwise they’d be lying in beds unable to move- in constant chronic pain- wishing they could just die so the pain would stop- That’s not cool-
They deserve every chance they can get to be able to function as best they can by whatever means necessary- and when operations are out of the question, then drugs are the only answer left- and they should not be denied that because of the fact that only a few people ever get addicted when used as directed-
I am passionate about this issue-
If we combined our passions perhaps we could accomplish something.
Read the book. It’s $400 on Amazon. You will realize there are very few chronic pain conditions a Neurosurgeon with 40 years experience at Mass General didn’t encounter. There are also PDF copies available online that might even be free.