A lot of TBI patients DO run into trouble with opiates. We have altered brain chemistry and poor impulse control. I also live in an area where prescription opiate abuse is a REAL problem and, frankly, I don't know if I could trust the "new" me. What your brain and my brain can handle are very different things - and my neurologist should know that. He was too eager to bring out the heavy artillery and dismiss alternatives like massage, TENS, acupuncture, etc...[/QUOTE]

Point well made and well taken. Sometimes knee-jerk reactions are not the best. You are absolutely correct - we are all built differently.

I honestly wish you the best and hope you will find a way to manage your pain that will also allow you to lead a full and productive life. Good luck, and please do share any effective treatments that you find. It might be helpful to others.

As far as the drug abusers, I have no use for them. Their need to get high and or use drugs for fun has ruined it for those with real need for pain relief. I may lead a sheltered life, but I have never encountered prescription opiate abusers and it is not a real big problem where I live. Sometimes we get tunnel vision and view the rest of the world through our own narrow prism.