As a chronic pain sufferer, I resent attitudes like this. WHY should we have to accept it and learn to live with it? Because, as someone who suffers, it’s NOT living, it’s merely existing.
After being hit by an 18 wheeler, rolling down an embankment, and spending 10 weeks in the hospital, I started trying everything to deal with chronic pain. I gave up on doctors because every time I go to a doctor it’s the same thing over and over and that gets expensive and exhausting. Why should chronic pain patients have to learn to accept the pain that prevents us from living? I’m prevented from working, doing things with our kids and family, shopping, cleaning, cooking, going on dates with my husband, going to our kids events, graduations, weddings, not being able to pick up a baby.
Before the govt’s attack on chronic pain patients, I was prescribed long acting opioids because I’d taken high doses of acetaminophen for years. It caused damage to me liver. With opioids I got my life back. I never needed a dose increase and didn’t become addicted. Now, not one doctor I’ve seen gives a crap about my liver. I’ve been through the incredibly expensive procedures that are also invasive and from those, now I also have bone damage.
I believe if you’re speaking from experience, you don’t have severe pain and you haven’t had to live with it very long. There’s a real epidemic in the US among chronic pain patients, it’s called suicide. It’s not like the govt’s fear mongering campaign regarding the phoney “opioid epidemic”. The CDC has admitted to inflating the numbers of people who have overdoses or died. We’re currently in the midst of a MASSIVE PRESCRIPTION OPIOID SHORTAGE. What’s the govt’s answer? More legislation that only hurts cancer patients (my husband), MS pts (my sister who ended her life because of the overwhelming pain), ALS.pts, and US war veterans.
However, if you happen to be an opiod addict, the US government encourages, recommends, facilitates, and often funds OPIOID ADDICTS get OPIOID ASSISTED TREATMENT! Most doctors are afraid to prescribe opioids. HOWEVER, if you’re an ADDICTION MEDICINE DOCTOR, the US government gives you a FREE PASS (govt issued waiver) TO PRESCRIBE OPIODS FOR OPIOID ADDICTS! How’s that for logic? And palliative medicine doctors won’t treat us either, even though most of us fall under the category that should be approved for palliative care.
So, next time you think someone should just accept it, give some thought to what you’re saying and if you don’t have chronic pain, I hope you get to experience it so that you can learn from it.