Pissy Post: Who does a law-abiding person have to sleep with to get pain relief around here?

I interrupt today’s regularly scheduled post for this important (to me, anyway) tirade.

I am tired of being treated like some criminal element skulking around up to no good. I’m tired of being treated like a closet drug addict/dope fiend out to make a score. WTH.

I’m a non-addicted, law-abiding citizen with a painful condition, trying to refill my pain medication the correct way, the right way, and all I’m getting for my trouble is trouble.

There are addicts and people who regularly abuse prescription meds out there right now with seemingly endless supplies of pills because they go under the table, in addition to other unsavory practices. These people have and take 100s of narcotics in pill form every single week. Yet, I have a current expired prescription and I’m not allowed a refill or even one pill unless I’m shrieking and curled into a ball with my pain level past a 10 for several hours. What the hell is wrong with this picture?

So called good intentions, that’s what’s wrong, the brunt of which is borne by us law-abiding folks while everyone else can have whatever it is that they please.

There have been several other instances in my life where pain medications were a necessity. I, like many others, am not addicted because 1) I respect the power of those meds, and 2) there is no way in hell I can afford to support a dope habit. I know I’ll be the one sitting on the curb with only the clothes on my back, and I don’t see that as fun, so I manage to deny my demons and avoid that scenario like the plague. Please don’t get me wrong. I am so thankful that I’ve been able to do that. There isn’t one high-and-mighty bone in my body. I know I’m not above slipping and falling.

I appreciate the government’s control of substances (hell, it’s needed, human beings are allergic to common sense) and doctors being cautious so as to not push a person down the road into Crazy Town. However. You’re causing more stress and harm than good in this corner, while the Addict Machine is still churning out new ones and enabling the old ones every day in that corner.

You’re doing it wrong.

Know what I was told today? That narcotics aren’t a “treatment.” Duh, I must look stupid. I don’t consider pain meds a “treatment” for my condition. What they are is maintenance, management for those few hours that it takes for my medication for flare-ups to kick in, and only that. A flare-up stops me cold when it hits. I can barely move, barely think, can only scream and shake. It makes me forget all about the 3-day labor of birthing my son. It is no joke, and I do not appreciate pain like that being dismissed in the name of let’s protect Stephe from herself and show the world a better way, let’s grin and bear it until her condition changes overall, kumbaya.

Not only do I have a valid renewable prescription, looking at the fill-dates on it shows that I have held onto this bottle for a good while and only take my pain meds sparingly, only when I really need them, on purpose. I look forward to the day when I no longer need them. I’m working towards exactly that.

It is insulting to know that not doing the right thing could spare me this nonsense. Seriously? I will bet money that a lot of people on this side of the fence were driven to the other side by this very thing — not being able to get proper help with their pain management. Talk about defeating the purpose.

The government making doctors have to send their patients to pharmacies with handwritten prescriptions for pain medication, rather than being able to call it in, was a doggone good idea. Not allowing urgent care facilities to write those prescriptions is not. Doctors being reluctant to give a new patient with proof and history of need is not.

There is a thing called quality of life, and as short as our lives are, it should be more of a priority and given a lot less lip service.

This isn’t just about me. Letting anyone suffer excruciating pain that can be relieved is inhumane. And it is bullsh!t.

/endrant