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Joint Pain Options
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The Injections
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Comprehensive Prolotherapy
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Immune system
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Prolotherapy research links
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Synvisc
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Pain Management
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Prescription narcotics
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Use of pain killers
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Aspirin and Coumadin
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Painkillers
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Doctors Who Won't
"Treat" Pain
Robert Filice, M.D. Former staff physician
A recent issue of
AARP's magazine has an article about the reluctance of many doctors to
"treat" pain with adequate doses of strong enough pain relieving drugs.
This is based on their concern about reprisals from the DEA or the state
licensing boards. The author, Barry Yeoman, refers to Americans
suffering without adequate medication as being "Prisoners of Pain", and
speaks of the millions of people being denied the
prescription drug
relief they need. He is especially referring to the use of the opiate
class of analgesic drugs. Considering that 75 million Americans are
suffering from
chronic pain,
undertreatment or inappropriate treatment should indeed be of major
concern to us.
According to
orthodox medical experts like Scott Fisher, the president of The
American Academy of Pain Medicine, who ARE comfortable prescribing these
drugs, much of this suffering is preventable. According to him, opiate
class drugs are relatively safe and effective, and should be used much
more widely by physicians.
Apparently a few cases of doctors being arrested by DEA agents for
overuse of these drugs has left many physicians avoiding the subject
completely. They try to ignore patient complaints of chronic severe pain
because they are unwilling to risk prescribing the only effective class
of
painkillers for severe pain, the opiate
narcotics. Interestingly,
one specialist complained that there was a pervasive "just say no to
drugs" philosophy in this country, and even his own family advised him
they didn't want to be "doped up on those drugs".
I must say, as
usual, my perspective is far different. There are some very
advanced terminal cancer patients for whom I can accept the use of these
drugs. However, in general, the addition of narcotics to a cancer
patient's drug regimen is almost always associated with a more rapid
downhill course and more misery from faster spread of the cancer
itself. The
immune system suppression effects of these drugs have been well
established. What about the issue of addiction and tolerance? Physical
addiction is likely with these drugs. According to the proponents that
is not a problem. Yet the law of diminishing returns applies in these
cases. Higher and higher doses have less and less effect against the
pain.
In some cases there is also the phenomenon of rebound pain, whereby the
wearing off of the drug brings on an exaggerated level of pain which
calls for more drug and a negative vicious circle of narcotic use.
This whole scenario was called to mind as a result of the case history
of a new friend of mine. He told me how his excruciating
back pain
from two completely blown out
lumbar disks lead to surgery, and then to a life of increasing
dependency on Vicodin, a narcotic analgesic not even as strong as the
opiates endorsed by the experts in the AARP article.
He was eventually taking huge doses daily, and would wake up with awful
pain. Soon the medication seemed to be only marginally effective against
the pain, and he became depressed. He basically did not want to live any
more. An
antidepressant medication did help him with the
depression
(unusual for that type of depression), but he told me that if I had
advised him to get off the
pain medication at that time he definitely
would have found another doctor. Eventually his pain got so bad even on
all those meds that he himself decided he would stop the drugs. That
began a month of sheer tortuous physical and mental anguish, but the end
result was that he got his life back. His pain diminished greatly and
his depression cleared, and he got off the antidepressant. I share this
because my friend told me to use his story to help other people that
might be suffering from opiate pain killer dependency and the rebound
pain phenomenon. He offered to talk to anyone who may be where he was
when he wouldn't consider that his
pain medication
was ruining his
life. Just let us know you want to talk to him, and I'll have him give
you a call.
The physicians here at
Caring
Medical, who to a great degree specialize
in the treatment of
chronic pain, will not prescribe narcotic or opiate
drugs for pain relief.
The reason has nothing to do with the DEA or the state licensing board,
and everything to do with our care and concern for the whole
patient. Narcotics are bad news for patients. A narcotic pain killer
never made the underlying condition any better. But we don't ignore
patient complaints of pain like some doctors are doing. A large number
of those 75 million Americans in pain are suffering from conditions that
can be
reversed
with Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy stimulates the body to permanently heal
damaged and hurting tissue, so that our musculoskeletal pain patients
usually get off of all their
Anti-inflammatory medication
and pain medication by
the end of their treatment. It is a much different world here. A better
world for the patient suffering from chronic
pain.
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Ross
Hauser M.D.

Caring
Medical and Rehabilitation Services |
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Ask Dr. Hauser
About Prolotherapy
Dr. Hauser is one of the leading
experts in the treatment of chronic pain and sports injuries with
Prolotherapy.
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