Use of painkillers surges as Americans exercise right to cope with pain at He's Fit

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Use of painkillers surges as Americans exercise right to cope with pain

Posted August 22, 2007 at 01:03 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: In The News, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

pain meds Americans are using painkillers more than ever before, according to data from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and a recent article from the Associated Press (AP). The volume of five major painkillers sold and distributed in the United States by hospitals, retail pharmacies, doctors and teaching centres has risen by 90 percent between 1997 and 2007. However, this type of surge might not be a bad thing. Could this surge simply mean that more people are surviving, coping and exercising their fundamental right to appropriately cope with pain?

In the report, the DEA figures show that in the most recent year of complete data, Americans bought in excess of 200,000 pounds of codeine, hydrocodone, meperidine, morphine, and oxycodone. They speculate that is equivalent to 300 milligrams of painkillers for each member of the population.

Most of the increased sales is in pills that contain oxycodone, the active ingredient in the painkiller OxyContin. Sales of this compound have risen by nearly 600 per cent in the 8 years between 1997 and 2005 says the AP report. Oxycodone was once known as “hillbilly heroin” because of its reputation for being bought and sold, mostly illegally in Appalachia. Nowadays, however, it has gained a strong foothold in major cities in states such as Ohio and Florida.

The other painkiller on the rise, and mostly in rural parts of the country, is hydrocodone, the active ingredient of Vicodin. However, cities are also seeing sharp rises in use of all painkillers, so the problem covers the whole nation. The AP analysts suggest the following reasons for the rise in painkiller use among Americans:

The proportion of older people in the population is rising.
Massive increase in drug marketing, which has gone up from 11 billion dollars spent in 1997 to 30 billion in 2005.
Changes in the way pain is managed, where painkillers are now seen as an essential part of the healing process.
One doctor who specializes in pain management said perhaps the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

male cancer patient However, there many important reasons as to why Americans are consuming so much pain medication. One important example is the fact more and more people are surviving cancer and other life threatening diseases, and have increased pain management needs - and in some cases - pain management rights.

For example, the Iowa Cancer Pain Relief Initiative developed a Bill of Rights for People with Cancer Pain, including:

You have the right to have pain relieved by health professionals, family, friends and others around you.
Your comfort is an important part of health. Pain relief should be treated as a priority.
You have the right to have pain controlled, no matter what its cause or how severe it might be,
You have the right to be treated with respect at all times.
Appropriate use of pain medications is not drug abuse. It is legal and important to your treatment.
You have the right to have pain caused by procedures and treatments prevented or at least minimized.
You have a responsibility to help manage your pain.

More accredited agencies and commissions have established guidelines and standards to enforce these type of pain medicaiton rights for those who need it. For example, the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is our government’s lead agency in charge of supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is the body that accredits hospitals and other health care facilities, such as nursing homes and hospices. Both of these key organizations have developed clear guidelines for the treatment of pain that provide an excellent roadmap for cancer and other pain management.

Their standards call for health care providers to:

treat reports of pain very seriously
listen to and involve the patient and family
assess and continuously monitor the patient’s pain
make needed adjustments in medication and other treatment
provide expert care using the best approaches of medical and non-medical care
educate patients on managing their pain from diagnosis forward

More patients who need pain management are standing up and speaking out for their right to appropriately medicate themselves. For example, Susan Lowell Butler, 12-year survivor of both breast and ovarian cancers, an expert and author of several peer-reviewed websites on pain management, such as National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship Palliative Care and Symptom Management, says, “[The AP report] simply sensationalizes an urget need for people with needs to have appropriate pain management. It can be very misleading to lump together people with end-stage disease and people taking over-the-counter pain medication.”

The real answer as to why the surge in pain medication is not readily available, and the AP report merely suggests what the reasons might be. The AP report also draws attention to the fact that some high profile arrests and prosecutions have caused many pain management doctors to become reluctant to prescribe pain medication.

One area where painkiller sales had soared was Myrtle Beach, a 60 mile strip of Alantic beach resorts totalling 350,000 residents that is visited by 14 million tourists every year. A joint federal and state investigation resulted in a number of arrests and prosecutions, including one doctor who was sentenced to 15 years and another who was threatened with 100 years if she did not cooperate. Since these and other prosecutions, many pain management doctors have been nervous about prescribing painkillers. This has caused people with legitimate needs to be forced to travel miles, sometimes to another state, to get their prescriptions filled.

Another source of painkillers is the black market, fuelled by stolen drugs. The AP report only analysed DEA figures, but it mentions a government report issued in 2004 estimated in the region of 2 to 3 million doses of the painkillers codeine, hydrocodone and oxycodone were stolen every year from American pharmacies, drug manufacturers and distributors.

For resources and more information: [Associated Press]; [Medical News Today]; [National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship]; [picture1]; [picture2]