But she knows i went to er for wds that night and continued to prescribe the comfort meds , well the pa did but im positive my dr would HAVE to know what went on, im not afraid to tell her because i dont want any pain meds from her
Thanks for everything Ash
Your friend George
At this point, I think honesty is probably the best route since there are things already on file. You could tell your doctor that you became physically dependent on the medication and noticed you started taking more than prescribed amounts so you decided to stop use completely. Or you could just say that you decided to stop taking the medicine as you noticed you were physically dependent and no longer needed it for pain, this way you might advert unnecessary concern.
Either way, opioids really aren't that great for pain long term in my opinion. It's similar to taking benzos for anxiety- initially they will help, but over time they will reduce your natural ability to manage pain and carry with them a lot of side effects. Your body naturally produces opioid like substances with one of the primary functions being pain response and regulation. They serve other roles as well though, besides just pain response/regulation. The most commonly known "natural opioid" is endorphins which is responsible for the "runners high" and play a role in pleasure. Lesser known, dynorphin and enkephalin(similar to endorphins) are said to play a role in addiction, stress response, appetite, circadian rhythms, temperature control, weight regulation, and more.
By taking an opioid drug, you introduce foreign opioids into the body. The body notices unnaturally high levels of opioids and in attempt to remain at an equilibrium, the body then adjust it's natural levels of opioid-like substances. In addition, it also down-regulates opioid receptors and up-regulates other receptors. This is what causes tolerance, physical dependency, and eventually withdrawal when the medication is stopped.
So in essence, once you start to build tolerance/dependence on the drug, you are reducing your body's natural ability to deal with problems and even normal life. This tolerance/dependence can begin happening in a matter of weeks, sometimes even less.
Contrary to modern medicine that often just throws a pill at the problem, and contrary to modern society that wants a quick, simple and all-inclusive solution to complex problems, the best solution for pain is often working through the pain. I don't mean completely ignoring the pain and attempting to carry on as if it wasn't there, injuries shouldn't be ignored, but things like stretching and strengthening the areas around the injury and even the injured area itself. Injuries don't always heal on their own, and opioids aren't going to facilitate the healing process beyond bringing some mental comfort. People who have recovered from severe injuries like broken necks may have used opioids to cope with the pain, but without physical therapy and actively working through the injury, the body won't be able to heal and repair itself correctly.
Honestly, I find it to be a bit ironic and sad that a lot of people start taking opioids so that they can keep their job and continue working through the pain, then later become addicted and potentially lose their job and even family because of it. I used to think that opioids would be the perfect drug if there wasn't the problem with addiction, however after learning more about their function and "natural opioids", I no longer think that at all.