A very good but long article in today's NY Times Magazine about chronic pain and pain killers.

Doctor or Drug Pusher?

Here's something that people in pain may well be aware of (from the article) but people who judge them and who are not in pain themselves may not be aware of:
And this... who knew?
I remain shocked that my doctor(s) would not prescribe enough Metronidazol, the antibiotic used to kill Clostridia, the bacteria that causes tetanus, but allowed me to keep taking high doses of Ibuprofen... I kept telling them how much I was taking.

Which is why I no longer have a sense of doctors knowing what they are doing.

Sure, Grey's Anatomy is fun... but in real life...

Those of us that have suffered long term severe pain do know that pain can kill us and you are right that others don't understand this. The NEJM numbers are pretty representative of the number that die each year and one reason that opiates can be a much better pain med for people that have long term severe pain. The opiates do less damage to our organs when they are used the right way. I know I don't have to have a yearly liver test for my pain med but I would if it contained Tylenol.