Pain Management and Medication:
Responsibility – and Regular Drug
Screens – are Key to Success
By Jon-Paul Harmer, M.D.
CEO and Medical Director, Lone Star Pain Medicine, PLLC
One of the hazards of specializing in the treatment of
chronic pain is putting up with the stereotypical belief
that all pain-management approaches start and stop with
narcotic medications. Without a doubt, many state-ofthe-industry approaches to managing longstanding pain
– from diet and exercise to physical therapy to interventional surgical procedures – comprise far more than medication alone. That said, responsible use of medication
does, indeed, serve as a critical part of addressing many
patients’ pain. And with the potential power of medication
comes great responsibility.
Frequent screenings are key to safe, effective treatment with pain-management medication. Testing urine
or blood allows physicians to have greater assurance that
medication is being both prescribed and taken responsibly. Simply put, drug screenings offer both patients and
pain-management physicians excellent protection and
serve as the backbone of a more comprehensive treatment
program.
The responsible approach
For many patients, effective pain management can
be addressed by a board-certified physician who truly
appreciates that you and your pain are unique – and
who administers regular drug screens. A physician who
knows that effective pain treatments are custom-tailored
to your individual needs, and may comprise a variety of
approaches – from exercise to dietary changes to, yes,
responsibly prescribed – and well-monitored – approaches
to medication.
At Lone Star Pain Medicine, PLLC (www.lonestarpain.
com), we keep abreast of emerging treatments, effective
approaches, and newly FDA-approved medications. And,
yes, we insist on frequent drug screenings as part of all
pain-management approaches that involve the use of
narcotic medications.
The staff at Lone Star Pain Medicine appreciates your
pain and has devoted their medical careers to helping
people deal – responsibly – with their pain. We have the
experience, the dedication, and the commitment to work
with you to develop an individualized plan of treatment
designed to help you get off the sidelines and back into
the game of life.
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Jon-Paul Harmer, M.D., is board-certified in anesthesiology and
pain management, and serves as the CEO and medical director of
Weatherford-based Lone Star Pain Medicine, PLLC (www.lonestarpain.
com), a center for excellence in the treatment of pain disorders committed to the recovery of function and the restoration of wellbeing.
JUNE 2015
Testing… by design
When you’re suffering, it can be tempting to seek the
easy and, at least initially, effective solution that pain
relievers appear to represent. As a physician, I understand
this desire; approaches like diet modification or exercise
programs take time, and many of us have been led to
believe that pills promise trouble-free relief.
The trouble is, some of the very medications that promise pain relief carry with them the potential for addiction.
What’s more, a growing body of research suggests that
the long-term use of narcotics may actually make chronic
pain worse, setting some patients on the potential path to
increased pain. It’s a one-two punch that strongly advocates for a comprehensive approach to pain management,
flanked by appropriate urine or blood testing to prevent
addiction or abuse.
Many narcotics work by attaching themselves to the
body’s natural endorphin receptors, stimulating them to
produce pain relief. Take them long enough, however,
and, as reported in the New York Times on June 26, 2013,
in an article titled “The Problem with Pills,” the brain
begins to decrease its own natural production of endorphins. And, without natural endorphins, according to the
report, a patient may become reliant upon the narcotic
simply to avoid withdrawal and feel normal.
Along the same lines, the report indicates that, once
a patient takes narcotics on a long-term basis, the body
may lose at least some of its ability to determine which
signals are truly painful and which are not, serving to put
the body in a constant state of alarm – triggering not just
physical but emotional distress. And for many patients,
this effect may be compounded by a litany of potential
side effects stated by the manufacturers of many of these
drugs, including the alteration of sleep patterns, memory
and judgment.
This potential for not just addiction, but a reduction
in efficacy, is the reason that many pain-management
physicians insist on regular urine tests. If you’ve been
taking narcotics regularly to address chronic pain, and
your physician isn’t administering routine urine or blood
screens before renewing your medication, it may be worth
speaking with a doctor about a fresh approach to pain
management.
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