I read this article this morning and HAD to print it. I think everyone in the NF community will understand. The woman highlighted here has NF. The line "She didn't have the option of taking painkillers because she said her doctors didn't believe she was really hurting." If that don't burn your toast!!!!! Mirroring national trend Painkiller use soaring for OhioansTuesday, August 21, 2007 3:35 AM By Rick ArmonAssociated Press Laura Krietemeyer would gobble down ibuprofen and Tylenol at the same time. She'd use heating pads and would go biking to get that euphoric rush from exercise. Anything to ease the chronic pain brought on by neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves. She didn't have the option of taking painkillers because she said her doctors didn't believe she was really hurting.That was 10 years ago. Today, Krietemeyer, 42, a former neurologist in central Ohio who's on disability because of the condition, said Ohio doctors are more likely to ask their patients about pain and prescribe drugs for pain.The use of three major painkillers more than quadrupled in Ohio between 1997 and 2005, according to an Associated Press analysis of statistics from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Oxycodone use in Ohio rose 689 percent, while morphine and hydrocodone use both increased 149 percent. Oxycodone includes Oxycontin and Percodan. Hydrocodone includes Vicodin and Lortab.The oxycodone and morphine figures were boosted by growth rates in Columbus, where oxycodone use skyrocketed 1,227 percent and morphine use jumped 302 percent. It was the highest increase in Ohio, while Cleveland and Cincinnati had some of the lowest increases in the state.The national average increases for oxycodone and morphine were 591 percent and 154 percent, respectively.Meanwhile, Ohioans' use of codeine and meperidine -- better known by the brand name Demerol -- declined at a greater rate than national averages. Codeine use fell 33 percent, while meperidine dropped 37 percent.The Ohio results mirror a nationwide trend: People are using more oxycodone, morphine and hydrocodone and less codeine and meperidine. But there's no obvious explanation for the surge in the Columbus area, said Dr. Robert M. Taylor, medical director of the pain and palliative medicine program at Ohio State University Medical Center."Columbus has a strong pain-management community, but so does Cleveland."Some of the use can be attributed to abuse and to improper prescribing, Taylor said.Doctors, pharmacists, patients and medical groups cite a major educational push about treating pain."Historically the treatment of pain has not been well taught in medical school, pharmacy school, nowhere," said William Winsley, executive director of the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. "It's been primarily learned through practice."But pain now has become the "fifth vital sign" -- joining heartbeat, breathing rate, temperature and blood pressure. Doctors are encouraged to have patients rate their discomfort.While doctors are taught to ask about a patient's pain and told to listen, "half the time they don't," said Krietemeyer, who had to have a leg amputated because of her nerve condition.She's not pain-free but she sleeps and concentrates better, she said."I know there is no way 10 years ago I would have gotten some of the pain meds that I got after my amputation," Krietemeyer said.One reason: There is less fear now in the medical community about federal and state authorities cracking down on doctors who are legitimately prescribing higher quantities of the drugs, many doctors and pharmacists said. Medical professionals also have a better understanding of the difference between addiction and tolerance, they said.Whether the increased use of painkillers is good news is up for debate."I think that this might be quite encouraging, actually," said Deb Heidrich, president of the Ohio Pain Initiative, which works with physicians and nurses. "We're trying to continue to get the message out there that pain is a significant public health problem and it has been traditionally under-treated in health-care settings."Dispatch reporter Misti Crane contributed to this story.
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I know that OSU pm clinic doesn\'t give meds out and docs have to be pushed to give proper meds after surgery....well in one case that I know of. Can\'t speak for all docs there. But that is TERRIBLE. I think major surgery should mandate medication! Gee whiz! Come on! How paranoid can you get! I won\'t have surgery there. I refuse to beg for meds after major surgery. That\'s awful. That angers me. We\'re talking temporary here. Increase in meds in Ohio? Maybe some is not necessary but if you have mri\'s/xrays and proof why not?? Along with other types of treatments of course. But the fact that the pm clinic there won\'t give meds is just plain bad medicine. I\'ll go to riverside or grant or someplace else if I ever need surgery. Cut someone wide open and not believe it hurts enough for proper meds? Shameful.
On a positive note I hope all are finding procedurees/meds/whatever to help with pain. There are good docs out there who want to do all things to help. A little of this and some of that...together can be such a good thing. We can\'t help it if we are in pain. I\'m all for testing and whatever to stop abuse. But don\'t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are ways to stop those who don\'t need meds. For instance how many are willing to get shot with injections who aren\'t in pain? I don\'t know if anyone would accept that who was just drug shopping. We need more common sense in pm. Also drug testing will prove what is in your system. Is it what was prescribed? If not, drop the patient! Will they try other treatments or at least some other treatments? If not, drop them. And treat the rest. Don\'t pay organizations who don\'t agree. I want a hand up. Not a fight. I am cooperative and sincere and willing to try reasonable things to get relief. And if I need surgery for any reason I will pay for responsible care. My money won\'t go to an organization that doesn\'t treat pain as well as the disease. Money talks. I want no more than is necessary and don\'t care for any more meds than is minimal. I am still in pain but just ask that it be lowered enough so I\'m not crying. I feel sorry for parents who have lost their children to overdoses. How awful! but again, docs could help this by drug testing and even checking up on the person. I\'d have no problem with my doctor talking to neighbors, family or even my boss at work if I was able to work. Maybe that\'s too expensive to do but drug testing is certainly reasonable. I don\'t think it\'s too hard to week out the bad apples and help the patients. The only way I\'ll ever go to OSU for surgery is if I have a heart attack and get taken there by squad. Then will ask to be transported asap. Too bad they seem to be going overboard. Of course maybe there are better docs there than I\'ve heard of. But the policy is what they said it was so I assume all are in agreement. If you have a good doc there I\'m glad for you and apologize but I\'m only speaking from what I\'ve heard of. Could be I saw a bad seed. But since you\'re from Ohio I thought you might want to hear also. My best to all out there trying to cope. I know how hard it is.