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X> THERAPY DIRECTED AGAINST PAIN .....Scroll down to: "Narcotics"
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X> Narcotics
Narcotics provide the greatest degree of pain relief but can have significant unwanted side effects including physical and psychological addiction. Narcotics are a group of opium based pain relievers. Narcotics act centrally, meaning that it acts directly on the brain and spinal cord. In addition to pain relief, narcotics can produce a wide variety of effects including dysphoria (an unpleasant feeling), euphoria, somnolence (tiredness, lethargy), respiratory depression (slow or stop breathing), diminished gastrointestinal motility (results in constipation), and dependence. Motor vehicles should not be operated when taking narcotics. There are some physicians that question long term administration of narcotics for chronic pelvic pain. Some argue pain relief is not improved with narcotics. I think most people with severe chronic pain would have difficulty with this reasoning. A Pain Management specialist (a subspecialty of anesthesiology) is usually the most proficient at managing cases that require narcotics over a long period of time. Most OB/GYN’s do not understand how to provide long term pain relief with narcotics.
Under-treatment of chronic pain is a real problem in the United States. This applies to patients with endometriosis as well as other forms of chronic pain including those suffering from terminal diseases such as cancer. Pain management is poorly understood by many physicians. Some physicians will withhold appropriate use of narcotics from chronic pain patients for the fear of prescribing narcotics to a patient who is seeking narcotics for the euphoric high. Physicians can also loose their medical license if the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) feels that the physician is "over prescribing" narcotics. All these factors combine to result in a situation that many physicians would rather not deal with. If you are a patient who is experiencing severe pain and are not in a position to get your endometriosis treated, or if you are sure that you have had your endometriosis adequately treated and still have pain, then a good pain management physician is probably your best option. A good pain management physician should be able to find a combination of treatments that will make living with the pain manageable.
Narcotics include:
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