Hey guys - Give me another year or so to finish up my BS courses like organic chemistry and biochemistry, then I'm hitting med school. I plan on starting out in an ER to get clinical experience, and was hoping to go work for the CDC doing fieldwork research on Ebola - but I may just decide to become a GP who tries to deal with pain people as much as possible. Not sure yet.

The whole attitude behind pain meds is ridiculous. If someone who has actually studied medicine - and knows the biochemical reactions - not to mention the physiological aspect of pain receptors - continues to think that pain patients are better off without pain medication - then that med student/doctor is just ignorant. There has been recent clinical and diagnostic research confirming the fact that neurological pathways actually become "ingrained" when chronic pain has been a factor in the patients life for a long time. What this means is that a patient experiences pain, pain, pain, more pain, etc - over a period of time the neurological pathways have set themselves up to continue to do so - even if the cause of the pain has completely gone away! So chronic pain patients actually experience more and more pain. It's a nasty, evil cycle.

Any doc worth his two cents KNOWS (or should know) that prescribing such pain meds as codeine or hydrocodne (darvon, darvocete - or propoxyphene is a joke - don't even get me started on that one, lol) knows that, yes there IS a chance for addiction - BUT if the prescribed amount is small, then there is hardly risk for it. Not only that, but if a patient is on those meds for a long time, then it is a prophalactic measure, and tapering should be done with the help of the doctor and it can be done safely and with minimum effort and risk to both doc and patient.

Ack - Ok - I'm just going off now - I should stop.

Just know that when I do become a doc - I'll inform you fine people, and see if I can help some of you. It just makes me mad that so many people have to go through this BS because of what is drilled into med students skulls by their instructors who are from an older and more archaic time in regards to certain subjects.

I'll be quite now - Peace, and as little pain as possible to you all.