Finding the right balance in pain relief: A physician ’s story
After surgery for my broken tibia, I realized that there were only four points on the pain scale that really mattered to me:
I’m OK. This acetaminophen/ibuprofen/whatever is enough.
I wouldn’t mind a little something more, preferably something that binds mu
Um, could you please hurry that up?
NOW! NOW! I need it NOW!
On the 0 to 10 pain scale, who really cares if you are at a 2 or a 3, a 3 or a 4? What does that really mean? Either we want or need additional drugs, or we don’t. Either I am OK with oral opioids, or please give me something faster, stronger, and better. As a patient, I answered with whatever number I needed to say to achieve my goal — either please leave me alone, or please give me pain medication.
Good pain management is both elusive and sublime. I assumed that what I was prescribed after surgery would be all I needed. I don’t think I am a wimp — no one actually realized I had a significant injury until the x-rays revealed the crack in my tibial plateau. But I was surprised at how little oxycodone I was sent home with (about seven days’ worth), considering the nature of my injury. No opioid crisis here!
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Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/rita-agarwal" rel="tag" > Rita Agarwal, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs
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