In a message dated 2/25/02 10:11:08 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

>Bobby!  So good to hear from you!  Whar's your perspective on the pain
>management/addiction equation with respect to narcotic analgesia?
>
>-Kyle

    While I am far from an expert of pain management, the general rule of
thumb is avoiding the phenomenon of tolerance to a pain killer. Tolerance is
the feature where it takes more and more of the drug to get the same level of
relief. If you are steady on your level of medication and your physicians is
aware of the amount you are taking, I see no problem. The trick is that every
individual is different and reacts to medications different, so it may be a
lengthy process to titrate the dose in order to get the maximum pain relief
with a low dosage, There is also a thing called the "paradoxical effect"
where a drug effects one individual in the manner opposite to what is
expected. For instance, opiates, instead of making one drowsy, "peps" you up.
This is the phenomenon which gets many health professional hooked on opiate
to cope with the stress and long hours.

Bobby