Siobhan Reynolds
On the Pain Crisis
On the off chance that others remain unconvinced that there is indeed a
terrible pain crisis, I will offer some thoughts which might help shed light
on
this situation.
The World Health Organization has said that undertreated pain is the number
one health problem in America. Further, I quote from an APS study:
FEBRUARY 17, 1999, Glenview, IL - More than four out of every 10 people with
moderate to severe chronic pain have yet to find adequate relief, saying
their
pain is out of control, according to a new survey released today by the
American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine and Janssen
Pharmaceutica.
The survey of 805 individuals also revealed a population of
sufferers who
often don't receive the type of care experts consider necessary -- despite
the fact that nearly half have switched physicians at least once and more
than
50 percent have been in pain for more than five years.
"Many Americans with chronic pain are suffering too much for too long and
need more aggressive treatment," says Russell Portenoy, MD, president of the
American Pain Society and chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and
Palliative Care at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "This
survey
suggests that there are millions of people living with severe uncontrolled
pain. This is a great tragedy. Although not everyone can be helped, it is very
likely
that most of these patients could benefit if provided with state-of-the-art
therapies and improved access to pain specialists when needed."
A majority of all survey respondents reported some difficulty doing such
basic activities as sleeping, doing chores at home and walking. These
problems are
accentuated among those whose pain is very severe (8, 9 or 10 on the pain
scale) -- of whom nearly one in five had been forced to visit an emergency
room
at least once in the past year due to their pain.
Among those with very severe pain, almost a third (29 percent) had switched
physicians three or more times. The most common reasons for the decision to
search for a new doctor were "too much pain" (42%), the perception that
their
last physician did not know a lot about pain treatment (31%), the belief
that
their doctor didn't take their pain seriously enough (29%) and the
physician's
unwillingness to treat their pain aggressively (27%).
Pain Treatments: Too Little Too Late
Despite the fact that "opioid" drugs, such as morphine and the fentanyl skin
patch, were rated the most effective treatments by those respondents who had
used them, these medications were seldom used.
This was from a 1999 study, back before the Government Crackdown on Pain
Care. Unfortunately, patients die of conditions related to the sedentary
lifestyle
imposed on them by the undertreated pain and so would not be said to have
died of the pain, yet had they been treated for the pain, they would not
have
succumbed to...you name it. High blood pressure, cardiac arrest, cancer,
adult-onset diabetes, etc. You would have to use your imagination to figure
out how
else a body might deteriorate if it didn't function, and was continually
stressed, unable to rest or move or even eat properly, but as you have a
medical
degree perhaps you will do that on your own time.
Suicides are concealed by the patients who do it because they want to enable
their families to get whatever small benefit they might have coming to them
for death of the non-suicidal variety like car accidents. If the patient
doesn't
commit suicide or becomes a drunk, patient's families watch as their loved
ones deteriorate unnecessarily.
Worst of all, since there was a flowering of pain care that has since been
crushed by the Government Crackdown, patients had a taste of how they might
have
lived had they been able to continue with their medical care. They had found
their lives restored, their dignity returned, their bodily functions under
their control; able to work, to love, to have conversations, friends,
interests.
Stuff I bet you take for granted.
I wish you would rethink your position.
Siobhan Reynolds
Painreliefnetwork.org