The CDC has recently updated its clinical practice guidelines for prescribing opioids to patients. These updates have affected numerous doctors and patients, including some patients who were already prescribed opioids. It may not be clear from the outside why pain management doctors still prescribe opioids, since these drugs are very potent. As stated by Garrett Greene, a patient interviewed by USA Today, patients who have been prescribed opioids may seem completely fine on the outside.
Opioids such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine are prescribed to patients in specific circumstances. Most often, these prescriptions are made for patients who have undergone surgery, or who have conditions that cause intense pain such as cancer and cystic fibrosis. As opioids are very potent drugs, they provide relief for moderate to severe pain, depending on what is being prescribed and the dosage.
As mentioned by Greene, a patient with cystic fibrosis, both the average person and pain management doctors alike might look at someone who has been prescribed opioids and feel that the patient lives a fairly normal life. This might lead to the belief that the patient doesn’t need prescription opioids. However, a patient may be good at putting on a brave face despite their pain, and their opioids make the difference between a normal life and intense physical pain.