Pain is a complicated beast. It’s not necessarily easy to treat, either. As a result, it is not unusual for chronic pain patients to bounce from one treatment to the next in search of something that offers adequate relief. The simple truth is that prescription pain medications do not always cut it.
The clinicians at Utah’s KindlyMD medical clinics say that their chronic pain patients are often in search of alternatives to prescription mads. They tried prescriptions and have not been satisfied. Some have tried surgeries, physical therapy, and other treatments to no avail. They come to a KindlyMD clinic for something different.
That something different could be any number of therapies combined in a holistic approach to pain management. The clinician might recommend a Utah Medical Card along with plant-based medicines, physical therapy, and mental health treatments. In essence, a personalized plan is developed for each patient.
The Truth About Prescription Meds
So what is it about prescription meds that so many chronic pain patients don’t like? It’s not just one thing. The challenges with prescription meds are many in varied based on the actual medication being taken.
For example, we know that opioid pain medications have a high propensity for addiction. Chronic pain patients often report they don’t like how opioids make them feel. The meds may take the edge off pain, but they also make patients feel bad in other ways. The tradeoff simply isn’t worth it.
Pain Meds and Sleep Issues
Another potential issue with prescription pain meds is sleep disturbance. Opioids, benzodiazepines, and even some OTC pain medications can interrupt sleep patterns significantly. The drugs can:
- Disrupt normal sleep architecture.
- Reduce deep, REM sleep.
- Reduce sleep duration over the long term.
- Inhibit sleep quality, leading to drowsiness during the day.
All these things add up to make a patient’s pain even worse. Without even knowing it, the medication a patient is taking in order to manage pain could be making his or her pain harder to manage because sleep is insufficient.
Even seemingly innocuous medications prescribed for pain can be problematic. Patients have been known to have trouble with antidepressants, muscle relaxers, and even NSAIDS. So what is a patient to do? We are back to alternative treatments.
Western Medicine Doesn’t Always Have the Answers
The most unfortunate aspect to all of this is the mistaken belief that western medicine has all the answers. It doesn’t. It never has. Western medicine is primarily a pharmacologically based approach. We rely on drugs, invasive procedures, and devices to manage symptoms. When therapies can be curative, we consider them a bonus.
Our reliance on Western medicine has taught us to doubt things like acupuncture and chiropractic. It has caused us to question anything that doesn’t have the FDA seal of approval. But as most chronic pain patients know, just because treatment has been approved by the federal government doesn’t mean it actually works.
Pain Is a Personal Thing
Clinics like KindlyMD prefer a holistic approach to treatment. One of the things their clinicians thoroughly understand is that pain is a very personal thing. To that end, every chronic pain patient deserves an individualized treatment plan made up of whatever therapies are most suitable.
Prescription pain medications are appropriate in some circumstances. They are not appropriate for every pain patient regardless of the root causes of pain. Patients themselves know that. It’s why so many of them are seeking alternatives to prescription meds. Either their meds don’t work, or they don’t like the side effects that come with them. Either way, they are after something completely different.
