52 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Opioid crisis illuminates the need
to see pain medicine specialists
Th e opioid crisis has made physicians
increasingly wary about prescribing
the potentially addictive drugs to their
patients in pain. But there is a silver lining
- experts in pain medicine, such as physician
anesthesiologists, can create individualized
pain management plans that
include alternatives to opioids that are
not only safer, but oft en work better.
“Opioids, or narcotics, can be helpful for
short-term relief, but they are not a longterm
solution for managing pain because
of their many downsides, from signifi cant
side eff ects to a high risk of dependence or
addiction,” said Greg L. Th ompson, M.D.,
physician anesthesiologist, pain medicine
specialist and member of the American
Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). “Pain
medicine specialists can help people in
pain get relief and reduce or eliminate
opioids oft en by using a combination of
techniques from physical therapy and
nerve blocks to non-addictive pain medications.”
Opioids alleviated the excruciating pain
37-year-old mother of two Beth Hunt suffered
while recovering from multiple surgeries
aft er her leg was crushed in an accident.
But aft er three months in the hospital
on opioids, she came to rely on them
just to be comfortable. Hunt turned to Dr.
Th ompson, who used ultrasound and tiny
catheters, or tubes, to direct medication to
the major nerves in her leg that were the
source of the pain. Th is therapy reduced
her opioid use by 90 percent while her
leg healed and she learned to walk again.
Now she is opioid-free, has regained her
quality of life and is spending time being
active with her children.
Hunt never dreamed she’d become
dependent on opioids, but her experience
shows it can happen to anyone. ASA
urges people to learn how the opioid crisis
is changing the way physicians treat
pain responsibly, and the reasons why
your physician may limit or avoid prescribing
opioids:
Th ey are not the only option:
While opioids can provide general pain
relief for a short while, they are not the
solution for all pain because:
• Th ere are more eff ective methods for
treating pain in a specifi c site, including
nerve blocks or stimulation therapy.
• People who take them can begin tolerating
the dose, and may need higher doses
to get the same relief.
Th ere are many side eff ects and risks:
• Addiction and dependence are major
worries. If there are signs of risk for
addiction your physician may be more
hesitant to prescribe opioids.
• Other side eff ects include: sleepiness;
constipation; depression; life-threatening
shallow breathing; and slowed heart
rate, which could be a sign of an overdose.
• In older people, opioids can increase
the risk of falling as well as interact with
other medications, making them less
eff ective or causing side eff ects.
It’s the law:
Legislators have enacted many rules
and regulations in an attempt to stem
the opioid crisis. For example, because
studies show the longer people take opioids,
the more likely they are to become
addicted, some states have enacted prescribing
limits on opioids. ASA supports
patient-centered prescribing policies that
consider individual patient needs, drawing
on guidelines developed by medical
specialty organizations.
It’s important to know there are many
other options for managing pain, from
targeted therapies (e.g., nerve blocks) to
non-addictive medications (e.g., antidepressants,
antiseizure medications, acetaminophen
and nonsteroidal anti-infl ammatory
drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen)
to high-tech methods (e.g., spinal
stimulation and radiowave therapy) to
alternative treatments (e.g., physical therapy,
acupuncture and meditation). Learn
more about non-opioid options for managing
pain.
The American Society of
Anesthesiologists
Founded in 1905, the American Society
of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational,
research and scientifi c society
with more than 52,000 members organized
to raise and maintain the standards
of the medical practice of anesthesiology.
ASA is committed to ensuring that physician
anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise
the medical care of patients before,
during and aft er surgery to provide the
highest quality and safest care that every
patient deserves.
For more information on the fi eld
of anesthesiology, visit the American
Society of Anesthesiologists online
at asahq.org. To learn more about the
role physician anesthesiologists play
in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.
org/WhenSecondsCount. Like ASA on
Facebook; follow ASALifeline on Twitter.
Courtesy BPT