Hello everyone! I have a question about pain management. I've been in PM since last August for lower back pain, and on my last visit I noticed my paperwork said "opiod dependence". This was a new note, and I've always associated it with drug addiction, but is this something pain docs use for those on long term narcotics? I take Norco 5-325 and will until I need surgery (I'm 21 so the doctors are refusing right now). I don't have a problem with the drug, and I actually don't even use it some days. Help!

Hi Herny, () Welcome.

Yes, it's a medical term—it does not mean you're an addict or that the doctor thinks ill/less of you. Technically, it means that your body has acclimated to the presence of opioid pain medications, so that to discontinue would bring about withdrawal symptoms.

IMO it's important that people—pain patients and their support networks (family, friends, etc) in particular—know & understand definitions related to these matters in order to avoid/end stigmatization of people who legitimately need/take these medications responsibly.

Definitions Related to the Use of Opioids for the Treatment of Pain: Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine

Doc

Thank you SO much Dr. Smith! Unfortunately, on my last visit the script for my Norco did not arrive at the pharmacy and I have not been able to contact the doctor about it (out of town for my fiancée who is recovering from surgery) , so I was really getting worried about the doctors view of me as a patient (especially due to my age and the unfortunate judgements towards my particular demographic)!

IME and discussions with doctors, they're not concerned as much about patients who fill prescriptions late as they are about patients who call to fill them too early, "lose" prescriptions, report them stolen, etc.

Doc