When you go to the doctor for severe pain or you’ve recently experienced an injury or had surgery; you may be prescribed a strong narcotic painkiller to help you cope. That narcotic pain killer is called an opiate. While this medication is designed to help you through the worst of painful times as you heal, it can become harmful when used for longer periods of time. Developing a painkiller addiction is a potentially serious risk you take, when you begin taking them, even if it is for legitimate reasons. In fact, about half of the people who find themselves addicted to opiates, first started taking opiates by a prescription given to them by their provider.
See a Professional
Any doctor can prescribe you opiate pain killers legally. Unfortunately, most doctors do not have the necessary skills and expertise to monitor you and ensure you don’t end up abusing the drugs. As such, doctors are good at getting patients on opiates, but not so good at getting patients off opiates. If you suffer from an injury or other ailment that requires the use of opiate painkillers, seek out an appropriate specialist if you find you’re having difficulties discontinuing the opiate prescribed for you. By doing this, you can avoid developing an Opiate Use Disorder or addiction problem. A Board Certified Addictionologist will be well-versed in managing the risks associated with prescribing this class of medications and will closely monitor you to ensure you don’t become reliant on them and will treat you as needed if you have a problem stopping the opiates.
Don’t Use Them More Than Necessary
It can sometimes be quite easy to hide behind the excuse that you were prescribed the medication for a reason, so it must be ok to take the drug. However, it’s often best to avoid taking opiates whenever possible. By all means, if you truly need them, take them, but if you feel relatively ok when you are due for your next dose, consider pushing it off until you feel you can’t endure the pain any longer or try an over-the-counter pain reliever instead. You do not have to finish out a prescription of painkillers. Unused medications should be disposed of properly instead of just being put back in the medicine cabinet at home. Your pharmacist can help with the disposal.
For some people who have chronic pain, it’s best to work with a trained pain management specialist to reduce your risks of painkiller addiction. They are trained to look for signs of addiction and provide guidance to patients regarding other ways to manage their pain.
Dr. Kevin Passer is the Medical Director at The Drug and Alcohol Detox Clinic of South Mississippi, and he is certified both in the treatment of addictive diseases as well as in pain management. For more information, visit web
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