I have been on opioid/narcotics for chronic pain for years. But I’ve been reading that the number of deaths from narcotic prescriptions have been on the rise. Do I need to be concerned?
Narcotics are an important group of medications for the treatment of chronic pain if used as prescribed by the patient. However, according to a 2013 report by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) overdose deaths involving opioid analgesics have been increasing and rates of death from narcotics has surpassed deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. Starting with 4,030 deaths in 1999, the number of deaths has increased to 16,651 in 2010. However, most of these deaths have occurred for three reasons: 1) the medications were taken by people for whom the medications were not prescribed; 2) the medications were taken by those who decided to increase their dosage without consulting their doctors; and 3) they were taken by mistake because the medications were not stored safely away from children or individuals who wanted to experiment with opioids.
You can avoid being a statistic by taking only the amount of medication prescribed by your doctor. Should your pain increase, do not increase your dosage on your own. Contact your doctor immediately, and follow his/her recommendations. Keep all prescription medications in a location where children and young adults are not able to access them. Please discuss all concerns you might have with your prescribing physician and seek the assistance of a pain management specialist should your treatment protocol not relieve your pain.