#chronicallywild

This is so good! Thank you so much for recording this omg. I learned a lot and I was moved by your passion and dedication. Please do more of these! <3

And what long term benefit were they looking for from opioid use? That’s not the function of opioids. They’re not going to improve my ankylosing spondylitis. They provide vital short term relief so I can function.

And I hate being made to feel like I’m weak, or at risk of addiction, if I take medication that literally lets me live.

@octvlablak

Yes!!! Physical dependence and addiction are two different things. Thank you. I needed to hear this today. Addiction is described by compulsively taking over your life and a having negative impact in work and other areas of your life. My pain medication ALLOWS me to work on a degree, socialise, and in general act like human being. I don’t see that as a negative.

All the stories on the NY Times article are important because they show the real life impact these guidelines have on people with chronic pain.  Please take the time to read them if you can.  In the half hour since I last posted, people are already commenting that they are being denied medication because of the new CDC guidelines.

But I wanted to highlight these two comments because the main reason I am posting about this is it is important to me that people who do require long term and even lifetime use of opioid medications are validated.  You are not weak. You are not lacking.  Dependency on opioid prescriptions is NOT addiction.  And you should not be made to feel like there is something morally reprehensible because you need these drugs to survive.

You deserve the best quality of life any treatment plan can possibly offer you.  Thank you for speaking up about your experiences.  Your voices need to be heard in the middle of this crapstorm.  

There are so many important comments on this post discussing other issues. So you can expect a few more reblogs over the next few days as I have time and energy.  As usual I will sign any reblogs as “admin j” if you feel you need to blacklist this conversation for ANY reason.  Please do what is best for you.