How to Recognize an Unnecessary Opioid Prescription
Sometimes opioids are indeed the best pain reliever for you, and you can certainly take them responsibly . But new research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests doctors seem to prescribe them inappropriately, which could contribute to addiction.
Opioids are powerful pain relievers for many types of short-term pain, but they are not always effective for chronic or low back pain. These were the two most common opioid prescription diagnoses in a recent study of physician visits that occurred between 2006 and 2015 . The study found that patients often received a prescription for opioids, even though no pain-related diagnoses were mentioned on their chart. We do not know for sure if the recipe was incorrect or if the data was written incorrectly by the provider.
But it is worth looking into if you are getting a prescription for opioids. The Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health lists some of the most commonly used opioids, including:
- Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percoset, Percodan and others)
- Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone, in which opioids are combined with analgesics (Vicodin, Lorse, Lortab, and others).
- Morphine (Cadian, Avinza, MS Contin, Duramorph, Roxanol)
- Codeine (by many common names)
- Fentanyl (Duragesic, Actiq, Sublimaze)
- Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
- Meperidine (Demerol)
- Oxymorphone (Opana)
Questions to ask
Before leaving the clinic, always ask about everything that you have been prescribed: what kind of drug is it and what is it for? If you’re not sure if a drug is an opioid, ask. If you do receive a prescription for opioids, consider discussing the following:
- Are you really in pain? Your doctor may simply assume you are doing this, or prescribe medication out of habit if it is usually prescribed for patients with your condition. If you’re not concerned about pain, ask if you need a prescription.
- Is your pain intense and short-lived? Chronic pain often goes away better with other medications than opioids, and sometimes with non-medical treatments such as massage. You might ask why your health care provider chose the drug and if other options might make more sense to you.
- A recipe for just a few days? Monthly prescriptions aren’t as common as they used to be, which is probably a good thing. For acute pain, a few days of pain relievers are often sufficient. If you or your doctor thinks you may need more, make sure you discuss whether it is appropriate and when to reevaluate.
An opioid may work for you, even if your situation on paper doesn’t look like a textbook case. But it is always good – and I would say it is important – to ask your doctor what medications you will be injecting into your body and if there are alternatives that provide more benefits and less risk.