Sad but true.

I took opioids for three years for serious, sometimes excruciating pain. I had tried other treatments that did not work. For a year, I was prescribed medications that were non-narcotic. It got to a point where all I could do was sit. When I started taking Oxy, the burden was lifted and I could do things that "normal" people did.
When opioid dependence hit the front page, I was told I had to get off the Oxy. It was a long, slow process but It didn't kill me.
I've been just sitting ever since. I don't miss the supposed "high" of Oxy, but I miss the release it afforded me. My life right now seems pointless.
WE NEED MORE RESEARCH FOR PAIN RELIEVING DRUGS!

I can’t imagine what you must go through with the chronic, excruciating pain and loss of mobility. ❤️💕

I agreed on another OP that I would hope if I ever needed these opioids, they would still be around and not removed or restricted more due to people using them for the high
I guess the dependency can build up to overdose . We have to move forward with new researched solutions also I agree

i am in a similar situation, but as of yet, i haven't even gotten any effective pain relief, and i think that this is largely due to the current anti-opiate hysteria; going to a new doctor in a couple days, and am hoping they will help me. effective pain relief can be the difference between having a life and not having a life, it's that simple.

It feels like I've been set on fire all down my legs, around my waist, and under my arms. Topical agents don't touch it. It's most likely neurological. I have tried every prescription medication short of opioids. The pain is constant, and is anywhere from distracting to absolutely debilitating. When it's really bad, I can't do anything but lay down and moan. Sometimes howl or cry. The only thing that lowers it to a level where I can function is oxycodone. Even hydrocodone didn't work. I have never gotten a high. All I've gotten is some pain relief. I could go to a higher dosage, but all I want is for the pain to back off enough for me to function. Not pain free. Just enough to function. I have felt, and still feel, all kinds of shame for taking hydrocodone and oxycodone. But nothing else works. I am trying to find a doctor who can diagnose the root cause of the pain so that maybe it can be treated. But in the meantime, I have to work, and I can't do it without the painkillers. I am not an abuser. I am not part of an epidemic. I only take what I need. But I still feel shame because of how people talk about the medications I take.