Ongoing Need for Improved Pain Medication

         Painkillers can improve the quality of life significantly for people suffering with chronic pain. Various medications are available for pain, but prescription opioid medications can have terrible side effects and addictive qualities, as explained by Dr. McGhee. Looking at the addictive side of opioid pain medication, this can cause people who are in pain to be denied relief because of doctors not wanting to supply people who are addicted or at risk of becoming addicted.

            The article “The Pain Medication Conundrum” exhibits the debate that doctors have over whether or not they should prescribe medication to a patient, especially if he or she has a history of drug abuse. Dr. Ofri goes through an experience he had highlighting the issue there is with prescription pain medication because, although it greatly reduces the pain in people, doctors are reluctant to offer it due to overdose and adverse side effects.

            Dr. Ofri tells about how a patient he had been seeing for six months with multiple health issues asks for strong medication because the pain clinic the patient was receiving medication from closed down. Along with this, his patient had a history of heroin abuse, and was unsure if he could trust the patient’s story. As well as difficulty trusting patients, doctors also have the issue of undertreating or overprescribing medication and are stuck in this predicament of undertreatment of pain or possibly contributing to an overdose.

            While these issues can be addressed by having different protocol for prescribing pain medication, these issues would significantly lessen if the side effects and addictiveness of opioid pain medication is less intense. This is what Dr. McGhee has been working on, and the research is important for these situations where doctors are in a situation of wanting to relieve pain but are reluctant because of the risk of the patient overdosing.




References:

McGhee*, D.S., & Daniele, C.A., & Umana, I.C. (2013). Neuronal nicotinic receptors as analgesic      targets: it's a winding road. Elsevier. 8. 1208-1214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2013.08.001

Ofri, D. (2015). The pain medication conundrum. The New York Times Company. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/opinion/the-pain-medication-conundrum.html?_r=0