DrugBuyers.Com: Do D.O.s as a Group "not believe in narcotics"?

Toe - I don't think that DO's as a group prefer to stay away from narcotics. My PCP is a DO and I have a 12 year relationship with him. I asked him about his belief and practice when it comes to meds one time and he was happy to explain. First off DO's like to treat the whole person and he starts with the least amount & type of med and work his way up to stronger meds if needed. He tells me that people show certain physical symptoms if pain is present. A couple of signals that show up in connection with pain are elevated blood pressure and a high pulse rate.
He also told me that when it gets to the point where stronger pain meds are needed then he will refer the patient to a specialist for further treatment. He doesn't do this to "pass" the person along to someone else so he won't have to deal with it, he refers them out because they are having problems that are outside of his speciality and experience. My wife ruptured a disc last year and I took her to the doctor. He had an MRI done that day and referred her to a back specialist. During the wait time to get in to see the back guy my doctor gave her percodan, but just enough to cover the 10 days until her appointment.
DO's as a group are compassionate and caring and like all of them (MD's & DO's) there are some bad apples who either don't care or want to keep everything in the middle of the road and stay out of the governments radar.