Opioid-Use Success Stories

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

We cannot just do without opioid
drugs. They have legitimate, life-
saving uses. These two men, who
chose to use pseudonyms, are opioid
success stories.
Ever since his teens, Ted has suf-
fered from a collection of painful
symptoms: pain in his knees and
hands, intestinal troubles and then
severe headaches, inflamed muscles
and back spasms. Decades later, a
doctor diagnosed the cause: congeni-
tal degenerative arthritis, destined to
get worse as the years go by.
Different doctors generally pre-
scribed opioid drugs to control the
pain. The drugs, derived from the
poppy plant, or synthetic copies,
worked pretty well. They enabled the
young man to live a productive and
enjoyable life.
Now a retired professional, Ted
maintains multiple interests in the arts
and sciences, enjoys traveling from
his home in suburban Detroit and has
deep friendships. Without the drugs,
none of this would be possible.
Some doctors recommend “stay-
ing ahead of the pain.” They reason
if a patient waits to take drugs until
pains have become noticeable, then
the pain may be overwhelming by the
time the drugs take effect. Better not
let the pain build up. Ted takes these
drugs warily.
The opioid drug relieves pain,
lowers stress and helps his tense
muscles relax. Even in small doses,
the pain killers have side effects. They
can alter consciousness. They cause
constipation. Ted never forgets a

dealing with addiction and related
problems, advises clients that thera-
py to deal with addiction takes time.
She criticizes the use of criminal
law to deal with drug addicts.
“I do not want to talk about the
politics,” she says. “The law can pun-
ish people who break the law. But
what are we doing? If we punish
someone for becoming addicted by
putting him in jail, eventually he will
come out still addicted and looking
for his next fix.”
Ziv also criticizes the insurance
model, which pays for short-term
medical treatment for addicts, as if
addiction can be cured inexpensively.
“Addiction is a chronic condition,”
she says. “The addict needs long-

patient can become addicted.
Ted has retired on a modest pen-
sion, but the cost of these drugs will
eventually force him back into the job
market. Ted is a success story of the
opioid drugs.
Charles, another retired profes-
sional, a former Detroiter now living
in Israel, has serious musculoskeletal
problems. For years, when his body
hurt, Charles, never a fan of exercise,
would keep still. His world got pro-
gressively more constricted, until he
went from bed to wheelchair to couch
to dinner table to bathroom and about
nowhere else. The time had come to
change.
In the past two years, with the help
of powerful opioid drugs and medi-
cally prescribed marijuana, he has
felt well enough to work with a tough
physical therapist and regained the
ability to sit up, to walk and even to
travel about the country.
“This may not be helpful to you [for
your story], but the drug is a life saver.
It, or an equivalent, must remain avail-
able.” •

term maintenance to get to a posi-
tive outcome; often the spouse or
the rest of the family needs coaching
as well.”
By way of analogy, Ziv stresses,
“We do not pretend that other
chronic conditions, such as diabetes,
can be cured with a simple, quick,
inexpensive treatment. We recognize
that people must learn to live with
their chronic conditions.”
Ziv stresses that people involved
with drugs “can become productive,
caring people when they find mean-
ing in life. They can help others.” •

Next month look for a story about treatment.
Gretchen Winer, librarian at the Lawrence
Technological University Library, assisted with
this story.

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October 26 • 2017

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