• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Save Lives Kenosha

Recovery is Possible

  • 3 Medication Habits
    • Discuss
    • Secure
    • Dispose
  • Learn More
    • Prevention
    • Warning Signs of Drug Abuse
    • Recognizing an opioid overdose
    • Narcan Information
    • Navigating treatment
    • Stigma & Recovery Dialects
    • Pregnancy and Prescriptions
    • The Impact of Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences
    • Resources for Parents
    • General Resources
  • Get Involved
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Two Problems with Opioids

No appointment with a doctor seems complete unless we’ve received a prescription, and far too many of us think that only a prescription for opioids will relieve pain. Sure, opioids are effective painkillers; how could they not be as they are simply synthetic versions of opiates like morphine and heroin. They certainly do help, but in many cases their dangers outweigh their benefits. In 2014, 20,000 people DIED due to overdose of their prescribed pain medication. Today, 4 out of 5 people addicted to heroin started with prescription opioids. That’s right: 80% of those currently addicted to heroin started first by using prescription opioids. Maybe they weren’t using their OWN prescriptions, but the idea that there are so many prescription opioids available should frighten us all; enough opioids are prescribed each year to equal one bottle for every adult in this nation. Additionally, though the United States makes up only about 5% of the population, we use 95% of the WORLD’s hydrocodone (typically Vicodin) and 80% of the WORLD’s oxycodone (typically Percoset and OxyContin).

In 1987, before the widespread use of opioids for anything but surgery, pain related to cancer, and end-of-life pain, my father, who was a practicing alcoholic, was lying in the hospital, dying of cancer that had metastasized to his brain, and the family was warned that he shouldn’t get morphine for his pain because it was “addictive.” That’s right… in 1987 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the medical professionals didn’t want to give my dying father who suffered from alcoholism and brain cancer a painkiller because it was ADDICTIVE. My, how times have changed. Now, it seems, we get those same addictive opioid painkillers for everything from an ingrown toenail to chronic, excruciating pain.

What we didn’t know then was that in the 1980s, pharmaceutical companies and the medical profession used research in which only 38 patients were studied (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2873550) to say that opioids could be safely used long term and for many more conditions than acute and end-of-life pain. More studies had been called for along with these findings, but those studies were never performed. NEVER.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

Actually, we have two: first, opioids are overprescribed. So, what can we do about that? We can learn what works and ask our doctors and dentists for alternatives.

  • First, there are medical alternatives:
    • Ibuprofen is as effective for pain relief of broken bones as opioids, and it’s safer, especially for children.
    • Acetaminophen is recommended as a first line of treatment by the American College of Rheumatology.
    • Steroids can inhibit injured nerves, providing pain relief.
    • Anti-depressants can sometimes treat nerve, muscular, and skeletal pain.
    • Anticonvulsants can relieve neuropathic pain.
  • Aromatherapy studies have looked at patients with chronic pain, pain due to labor, and pain with other symptoms and have found that aromatherapy encouraged relaxation through the effects of touch and smell. Admittedly, more research needs to be done on aromatherapy as a painkiller, but as a treatment option, it’s relatively harmless and so worth a try! (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/overcoming-pain/201201/chronic-pain-and-aromatherapy)
  • Hypnotherapy, generally hypnotic induction followed by suggestions of relaxation and comfort, has been shown in a meta-analysis to reduce pain in a variety of conditions. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2752362/)
  • Low-impact exercise can help improve mobility and functionality, and studies have shown that yoga and tai chi are effective in reducing pain. (https://nccih.nih.gov/research/results)
  • Acupuncture, which uses needles to stimulate specific points on or under the skin, has been used in Eastern medicine for centuries, and according to the Harvard Medical School, a meta-analysis of more than 29 studies indicated that acupuncture was effective in relieving pain by approximately 50%.  (http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1357513)
  • Massage is another alternative to medical pain management and has been supported by several studies, especially for non-specific lower back pain.  (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876616/)
  • Physical therapy uses exercise, manipulation, and massage to address inflammation, stiffness, and soreness as it also helps the body heal itself.

Our second problem is this: opioids work on our brains to make us think we’re in more pain than we are. We’re told by prescribing medical professionals, “Take one or two pills every three to four hours. Stay ahead of your pain.” But because of how opioids trick our brains, soon one pill every four hours or so becomes two pills every three hours…until we are taking them even more quickly and NOT as prescribed. Taking opioids for more than two to four weeks generally causes an increase in tolerance…meaning that we’ll need to take more of the pills for the same effect. And THIS is what is so frightening.

Once tolerance builds, withdrawal symptoms are generally felt, if the opioids are reduced.

We are a country of individualistic people who think this will never happen to them, but approximately 2.5 million people in the US can tell us otherwise.

Consider asking your medical prescriber for an alternative to opioids because uncomfortable conversations save lives.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, April 30, 2022

Mark your calendar! National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is April 30, 2022, from 10 AM – 2 PM. Prescriptions ...
Westwords Admin
April 22, 2022
Uncategorized

The Enemy is Us

By Guida Brown, Co-Chair, Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition Stigma is defined as “a mark of disgrace that sets a ...
Westwords Admin
April 2, 2021
Uncategorized

When You Love a Person with Addiction

By Guida Brown, Co-Chair, Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition I catch myself saying, “He’s addicted to X,” and then I ...
Westwords Admin
February 26, 2021
Uncategorized

What Doesn’t Kill You…May Eventually Still Kill You

By Guida Brown, Co-Chair, Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition The Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition has spent a considerable amount ...
Westwords Admin
January 29, 2021
Uncategorized

Narcan: Empowering Our community in the Fight Against Opioid Overdoses

By Gillian Greene, Public Health Nurse, Kenosha County Division of Health “And I would have stayed up with you all ...
Westwords Admin
November 15, 2018
Uncategorized

Recognize the Signs…Save a Life

By Gillian Greene, Public Health Nurse, Kenosha County Division of Health From 2016 to 2017, more than 66,000 deaths across ...
Westwords Admin
November 15, 2018
Uncategorized

Words Matter…Make Yours Count

By Guida Brown, Executive Director at Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse A recent survey indicates all of ...
Westwords Admin
November 15, 2018
Uncategorized

Levels of Care – Which Level of Treatment Is Right

by David Galbis- Reig, MD, DFASAM, Medical Director of Addiction Services at Ascension Wisconsin All Saints, Racine, and President-Elect of Wisconsin ...
Westwords Admin
November 15, 2018
Uncategorized

Our Loved Ones Are Dying…It’s Time to Step Up

By Guida Brown, Co-Chair of the Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition Addiction is considered a family disease because of its ...
Westwords Admin
November 15, 2018
Uncategorized

3 Medication Habits to Start: Discuss, Secure, Dispose

The Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition (KCSAC) invites you to start three medication habits: DISCUSS, SECURE, DISPOSE. Of course, if you’re already ...
Westwords Admin
June 1, 2018
Uncategorized

One Moment Can Change Your Life & Four Ways to Be Sure It Doesn’t

Robert Louis Stevenson eloquently said that, “Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” Sadly, sometimes people ...
Westwords Admin
November 10, 2021
Uncategorized

Four Ways to Break the Law with Your Own Prescriptions (and How to Dispose of Them Correctly)

Oh, the good ol days…when we thought flushing unused meds down the toilet was a good idea. We’ve now learned ...
Westwords Admin
June 1, 2018
Uncategorized

The Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition’s mission is to support networking, encourage education, explore gaps, and realize solutions to improve treatment and reduce alcohol and other drug abuse in our community with a primary focus on families.

© 2022 · Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition. All rights reserved.
Built by Westwords. Powered by Pantheon

  • Facebook
  • YouTube