A good friend of mine's hubby is waiting for a hip replacement surgery. He's the farthest thing from a drug seeker I can think of. He's in a lot of pain, bone on bone. He's a karate instructor as a sideline, probably that repetitive motion contributed to this problem, he's in his mid 60s.
He didn't like the oxycodones which made him itch, but Tramadol helped. The doctor wouldn't let him have 1-2 every 6 hrs like he had before. They wrote the script for 1 every 6 hrs. They told him he needed to wean down before surgery, that it would make pain control afterwards easier.
If they checked the controlled drug database, they'd see that this fellow hasn't needed pain medication until now. Are the doctors under so much pressure to meet goals to satisfy the overseers that they are under medicating?
Previously I always thought that the policies on opiates were too liberal and contributing to addiction. But now I sense an almost puritanical attitude on the part of some.
