Always have faith that a better tomorrow will come. We have to or we won’t survive. The life of chronic pain becomes a family disease. In the last few months we have lost over a dozen people in the CRPS/RSD community. At least half to suicide. Most people do not premeditate their suicide. Many do experience suicidal ideations. It has been noted by professionals that “wanting to die or commit suicide” and suicidal ideations are not the same”. If they were more of us would be evaluated and helped before we get to the point of knowing our pain is never going to managed and into the sudden taking of our own lives. When it happens it is often spontaneous. There will have been signals and signs misread. There is always a cause and there will always be an affect. So many are not afforded proper medical care to reduce pain levels. Opioid medications, such as Hydrocodone,  continue to be well versed as a gate way drug to harder and heavier medications such as Oxycodone. It has been said a like a broken record over the past decades that Marijuana and narcotic use causes a person to become high risk for Heroin use. I do not believe this to be true. I do believe it’s possible in some personalities. Addictive personalities perhaps, but this does not include our entire population. I am offended for honest chronic pain patients that need pain care who have been dismissed as drug seekers. I am offended by good providers whose practices have been raided for prescribing Opioid medications.

It’s not the Opioid itself that is the epidemic in our society, it is the person who does not take it exactly as prescribed which can lead to abuse and misuse. Re evaluate the patient for possible addiction or consider another pain management plan of action. Either way they need help!

If pain patients aren’t taken care of and the pain cannot be controlled..

The number of deaths continue to rise. The epidemic will be chronic pain related suicides.

Your autopsy report will probably read..  as a result of depression, misus, abuse or other. There will be nothing about really happened. There will be nothing about the fact you couldn’t get pain relief and your last, very last resort was taking your own life.

DEA.. You don’t know pain until you’ve contemplated.

Speak up and speak out!

Let there always be a tomorrow. Fight for your tomorrow!