Well. As addicting as they are. Some if us can't funtion without them. I have tried oxycodone, oxycotin, ms contin IR and ER, fent patch and hydrocodoneplus restoril for sleep. With the patch and hydro ( some shots begin next week, I hope it works), in patient. Also I got married and theses meds mess with testostitone so I pray theses shits work and I can go through a ptogramto get off these pills. But I need these to function as my body is otherwise in a lot of pain.

Peace.
And be pain free if you can and for all thoses that fear, may you be comforted this week and have a plan that works

Be blessed.

Woo. Sorry for cursing. Am typing on iPhone. Anyway, one word should be "should"

Opps. Lol. , I mean shots. Hope shots will work.

Your cautionary advice regarding use of pain meds is well-founded, but it is advice with a lot of strings attached; strings attached to the current conditions regarding access to health care in this country; strings attached to working conditions, the economy, society's response to the infirm and/or disabled. Once one faces a debilitating condition associated with chronic pain, it produces a ripple effect that only pain medication can subdue.

I have lived with chronic and debilitating pain for more than half my life and over 35 years. Were it not for pain medication, I could not have provided my children with appropriate time and care; I wouldn't have been able to meet my daily responsibilities, nor would I have been the productive kind of individual that society demands. As it is, I lost a thirty-year marriage and home to chronic pain, but I am certain that - without pain medication - my life would have been void of those few things I cherish most. When I reached my limit after 35 years and applied for SSDI, the bureaucracy and policy of systematic denials ruined me. I lost everything to medical debt while waiting for the system to work.

The lack of single-payer health insurance necessitates the need for employment; you must work if you hope to have health insurance. But how does one find employment or keep employment when suffering chronic pain? I've worked many jobs while suffering pain. There is a limit to which our bodies can be pushed.

Finally, in the tragic case of Michael Jackson; I believe that he suffered both physical and emotional pain: a deadly combination into which pain medication enters. Walking the tight-rope of using pain meds requires vigilant attention and the voice of reason to balance. Michael Jackson lacked the balance to keep the pain med use in check. Because he surrounded himself with enablers, he lacked the responsible professionals who should have known better.

Thank you Mr. Egerton for your thoughtful response, and for sharing your personal perspective regarding the Canadian healthcare system; it further validates my belief of how the fear mongers with hidden agendas of self-aggrandizement will perpetuate health care horror stories north of the 49th parallel. In addition, I appreciate your thoughts and well wishes.

Hoping that the current media frenzy surrounding the issue of pain medications does not add further burden to those living with chronic pain,

Jackie