The "Opioid Epidemic" -- A Personal Take

[maveric]

22. I was on Opiates for about 20 years due to an amputation injury to my hand

And severe, chronic, lower back pain.

I was a journeyman shipbuilder/repairer for over 30 years. Shlepping heavy metal objects around USN vessels was a common activity. My lower vertebrae are scoliated with bulging discs. I had a surgery in 1999 for Sciatica (very painful). The surgery took care of the Sciatic issue, to a point. After the surgery my back as been very pained. Very.
All was well with the Vicodin for years, then my Doctor's group stopped prescribing opiates. He sent me to PT, that just made the pain worse, and two "Pain Clinics". One of which was a painful shot factory with no improvement. The second was the implant doctor. I did the trials on two types of impulse therapy. He ran two wires up my spine to mask the pain and hooked up to a box that had to be worn all the time. This also didn't work and the side effects were bad. Then he wanted to implant a pump into my body that releases OPIATES into my system on a time basic. I said no to the invasive surgery and he yelled at me, saying that all my pain is in my head. Oh. Did I tell you about the product reps that I would speak to instead of an MD? This doctor was selling implant machines and when I refused he yelled at me. That was four months ago. My pain is horrible and I'm not about to go "Doctor shopping". Life is bad now. So much pain that I've considered suicide.

This "crisis" seems overblown and an hysteria. People like me need these meds to be relatively pain-free and somewhat productive. Oh and I'm in my 60s.