In movies depicting life in the Wild West, cowboys are told to bite down on their belts while their legs and arms are operated upon by dirty, scowling surgeons. To modern viewers, these scenes are nothing less than barbaric. Most patients demand relief from pain, both during painful procedures and throughout the healing process. It’s considered part of providing good medical care, and patients might simply storm out of the room if they’re told that no medications of any sort would be provided. It’s just not done that way anymore. Painkillers are considered an acceptable part of modern life, and they truly have flooded all corners of society. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010, so many painkillers were prescribed, that they could medicate all American adults for a month.
While the medications can prevent pain, their use is far from benign. With this same increase in prescriptions comes an increase in addiction rates. The medications are easy to get, easy to abuse and easy to get hooked on. This is the perfect storm of addiction.
