Discussion
Opioid use for pain medication is a complex and versatile topic since it requires a delicate balance between considering opioid adverse effects and its advantages for pain management. Though modern medicine has proven the detrimental consequences of opioid misuse, it recognizes its benefits for pain medication (Bolshakova et al., 2019). Healthcare professionals play an essential role in drawing the line between opioid abuse and benefits by carefully considering patients’ medical history, individual symptoms, and potential advantages of alternative treatment. That is why government and legislation cannot become the ultimate authority to allow or prohibit opioid use in medicine. While they can provide general guidelines and regulations, it is doctors’ duty to determine whether a patient requires opioid use for pain management or another alternative treatment to prevent potential harm. Nevertheless, legislation can promote an evidence-based approach to the issue, provide opportunities for leveraging alternative strategies and educational campaigns, and fund research efforts (Chisholm-Burns et al., 2019). Although opioid use for pain medication is a questionable matter due to numerous drawbacks, healthcare specialists must professionally navigate their practice in the contemporary environment.
References
Bolshakova, M., Bluthenthal, R. N., & Sussman, S. (2019). Opioid use and misuse: health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions. Psychology & Health, 34(9), 1105–1139. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2019.1622013
Chisholm-Burns, M. A., Spivey, C. A., Sherwin, E., Wheeler, J., & Hohmeier, K. C. (2019). The opioid crisis: Origins, trends, policies, and the roles of pharmacists. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(7), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxy089
Response to Ciarra
Hi, Ciarra! Thank you for providing your perspective on opioid use, which remains a topic of heated debate. I genuinely like how you provide a historical perspective on the matter, revealing the unethical side of opioid misuse. Nevertheless, if the doctors initially knew the harmful effects of OxyContin, I believe they intentionally neglected the line between proper opioid application and abuse. According to Bicket et al. (2019), creating a protocol for opioid prescription is a great idea that can create a comprehensive framework to facilitate the process of patient condition assessment and the necessity of using this type of drug. However, while guidelines can ease this process, careful examination of each individual situation is required to provide the most individual patient approach. Thank you for the post! Great job!
References
Bicket, M. C., Brat, G., Hutfless, S., Wu, C. L., Nesbit, S., & Alexander, G. C. (2019). Optimizing opioid prescribing and pain treatment for surgery: Review and conceptual framework. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 76(18), 1403–1412. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz146
Response to Karyn
Hi, Karyn! Thank you for the exciting opportunity to discover the topic of opioid misuse from your perspective. Indeed, science has relatively recently discovered adverse effects of opioids on human health, while historically, they were considered an ultimate pain-relief medication (Friedman & Nabong, 2020). Equipped with all the information in the world and recent scientific advances, healthcare professionals can masterfully manage opioid use to provide more good than bad. It is a significant advantage that you have mentioned not only physical symptoms, such as slower breathing and digestive issues, but also more individual aspects, such as the patient substance abuse history. Taking into account all available factors will help to make the right decision about the necessity to prescribe opioids and take the risk. Thank you for the post! Keep it up!
References
Friedman, A. S., & Nabong, L. (2020). Opioids. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 31(2), 289–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2020.01.007
respond to classmates:
Anne:
I unfortunately do not have a lot of experience working with clients who are suffering from an opioid addiction. But I can certainly look back into a past life and see where an opioid addiction and its ramifications of one’s body, family, job and heath. My nieces father and extended family members suffer from an opioid addiction as this common where she lives in the mid-west.
My husband grew up in a small town in Missouri. Opioids and other drugs were readily available and accessible to all who knew where to find it. My husband luckily did not fall into the opioid epidemic, but our niece has suffered the consequences of addition in her birth father’s family. As a result, my niece now lives full time with my father-in-law (her grandfather). This was to keep the baby safe, secure and watched over by safe adults. Some people in her extended family did reach out for help and as a result, started living drug free. This was through MAT that they were able to take control over their addictions.
According to Chapter 4, in 2017 47,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the United States alone. This is a huge social issue as well as a health crisis. April 2020-April 2021, drug fatalities rose by three-fourths due to an easy to obtain drug, fentanyl.
In my opinion and lack of experience I believe MAT has been helpful in stabilizing people who are addicted as this allows the person to be more comfortable while going through detox. Detox is a dangerous business as this should be conducted with medical professionals present and helping the client recover in a safe manner; this reduces the craving as lesions the withdrawal symptoms and allows for counseling to start as the patient is stabilized to some degree. This as a result, is a safe way to treat a client going through withdrawals.
Megan:
With the knowledge I have gained thus far, I believe that I would prefer to work for a treatment agency that allows clients to be on long-term MAT. I do not have much experience in dealing with people who are addicted to drugs or withdrawing from drugs, but I think that they should be as comfortable as possible during the detox process to ensure that they do not relapse. Many people relapse during the detox process because of the negative effects detoxing has on their body. They often sweat, have a fever, chills, vomit, etc. It can be a very scary and daunting experience! Allowing these individuals to participate in MAT will show them that detoxing is possible, and it does not always have to be a gruesome experience. However, I do think that the MAT medications should be tapered down eventually. Maybe they can start to decrease the dose overtime and continue to decrease the dose only when other symptoms/ side effects disappear. I have talked about the Matthew Perry book before, but I really think that it helped open my eyes to drug addiction and the detox process. He actually was in the middle of a detox at a facility, called a drug dealer, and did drugs in the parking lot because of how bad he felt. Using MAT can hopefully allow more individuals to “stay clean.”
