Myths about the Opioid Epidemic

[riv44]

There are several myths about the opioid epidemic in particular about pain medication. Popular media claims that a majority of opioid addicts started with their rx pain meds. Actually, people who are rx'd pain medications are not likely to become addicted. Yes, Big Pharma saturated the market, and there are areas with pill mills, but a course of treatment --post-op for example--of oxycodone is not likely to turn a person into an abuser. I am hearing of doctors cutting off elderly pain patients who have been on vicodin for years with no problems. There is a spike in suicides in this population, as they contemplate a life with chronic pain. I can provide sources for this if you like.

 

[Kozas]

Then what started opioid epidemic? I'm actually from central Europe, we don't have problem with opioids as doctors don't want to presribe it. Most doctors will usually say something like "toughen up, and keep exercising", unless of course damage/illness/injury is really bad. I've seen some videos about opioid epidemic in USA and Canada and I'm pretty shocked, it seems like whole communities are affected.

 

[riv44]

Some of it was big pharma going aggressively medicine , some of it is bio-psycho-social- world conditions and economic suffering .Im my state we are working actively with th elegislationto set up Harm Reduction injecting sites has been done around the world. Addiction is not monolithic, and I wonder if A
Sarno or any of his menses have written about believe in the standard addiction narrative must be unlearned--and even all treatment stopped- for people to get better.

 

[riv44]

What I really wanted to say was that my back pain was healed, in at least the intensity. I shifted to GERDand lower GI problems as well. I am aware of the symptom imperative. My oldest daughter has been diagnosed with celiac which she assures me a
is a REAL THING, and I would love to know if there is any writing tom the sarno tradition on mitigating celiac symptoms.

 

[MWsunin12]

Oxycodone was never intended for use outside of a hospital setting and was created to manage post surgical pain and not on-going pain.
It's also been proven that a tolerance for this pain medication happens within 2 to 4 weeks, so dosage increase almost always happens for those who are on it long term. These people should not be operating vehicles or dangerous equipment at all.
If you take it for more than 10 day, for any reason, you have developed an addiction. That's not a myth.

It was to the benefit of big Pharma to make these drugs in take-home prescription form. I know 20 year olds that have moved to heroin because they can't get enough oxycodone to feed their addiction. It's very bad.

 

[MindBodyPT]

What I really wanted to say was that my back pain was healed, in at least the intensity. I shifted to GERDand lower GI problems as well. I am aware of the symptom imperative. My oldest daughter has been diagnosed with celiac which she assures me a
is a REAL THING, and I would love to know if there is any writing tom the sarno tradition on mitigating celiac symptoms.

Unfortunately I don’t think Celiac is a TMS variant since it’s a true gluten allergy. Food “sensitivities” (not true allergies) are thought to often be TMS, like a nocebo reaction to a group of foods, but an allergy needs to be treated as such. I believe it’s quite dangerous for the intestines of folks with Celiac to have any gluten. GERD and IBS are a different story and most TMS docs agree those are TMS.

 

[Dorado]

Unfortunately I don’t think Celiac is a TMS variant since it’s a true gluten allergy. Food “sensitivities” (not true allergies) are thought to often be TMS, like a nocebo reaction to a group of foods, but an allergy needs to be treated as such. I believe it’s quite dangerous for the intestines of folks with Celiac to have any gluten. GERD and IBS are a different story and most TMS docs agree those are TMS.

When it comes to true celiac disease, it's one of those diseases that's often triggered by the perfect storm and a combination of factors. Per Mayo Clinic:

Celiac disease occurs from an interaction between genes, eating foods with gluten and other environmental factors, but the precise cause isn't known. Infant feeding practices, gastrointestinal infections and gut bacteria might contribute to developing celiac disease.

Sometimes celiac disease is triggered — or becomes active for the first time — after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection or severe emotional stress.

If severe emotional stress played a role in triggering the disease for someone, perhaps managing emotions may help ease symptoms and bodily responses to a degree that varies by individual. Here's another article:

https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-stress-trigger-celiac-disease-3973237 (Can Stress Actually Trigger Celiac Disease?)

That said, @riv44: the severity of the disease ranges on a broad spectrum, and some patients are incredibly susceptible to issues like nerve damage, cognitive decline, intestinal damage, etc. - you don't want to mess with this. I'd be uncomfortable stating that TMS work alone will help one manage celiac disease, especially given the other factors mentioned above that may be at play, but perhaps it could be implemented as part of a strategy that includes treatments such as a gluten-free diet, supplements if there are any deficiencies, etc. Because even if you're successfully treating something like celiac, if emotional traumatic stress helped trigger it, those emotions still need to be addressed as well. Sometimes the mind-body connection isn't 100% black and white - even structural issues can have a psychogenic component because the mind and the body are so affected by one another.

Balto said it best:

So should we treat our symptoms the conventional way or the tms way? For me, I used to do both. If it is something serious or life threatening like cancer, heart disease, or diabetic I will do what my conventional doctor advices me to do. But I will also adopt some mind body treatment methods along with it. I will do meditation and practice mindfulness. I will do positive affirmation. I will do everything I can to NOT FEAR my symptoms, NOT FEAR my illness. We can do both at the same time. Nothing is wrong with that. The mind body method has no side effect and it will not interfere with the conventional treatment you are using at the time.