Chronic Pain, Pain Medicine and the Opioid Crisis with Ed Coughlan

Ed Coughlan journalist and editor of the National Pain Report joins us today. He covers the story about how the response to the opioid crisis is hurting many chronic pain patients. During our conversation we cover the political as well as the personal side of pain in America. 

Millions of people in the United States have chronic pain and many find relief by taking opioids, which used to be called pain medicine. Since the start of the "opioid crisis", which I contend is in reality an overdose crisis in the addiction community, people in pain are being forced to reduce or even completly stopped from taking their pain medication. We discuss what this type of preventable suffering does to individauls, families and to society at large. 

This is a very personal issue for me. I’ve been in chronic pain for over thirty years and I’ve definitely been affected by the current opioidphobia that’s gripped the nation. So I’m very grateful for Ed’s work and his perspective on this issue.

Ed does an amazing job over at the National Pain Report covering the news concerning pain, practical ideas that can help those in pain and giving a platform for people in pain to share their stories. We discuss the state of the pain community advocacy efforts and what can be done to help change the draconian and in some places, like Oregon, absolutely barbaric policies surrounding the treatment of pain.

During out talk we also touched on how the true enemies of those in pain aren’t people with addiction, doctors or people who advocate for alternative therapies but those who are lobbying the government to make it extremely difficult or in many cases impossible to get effective opioids to treat their pain. 

Personally I advocate for the total separation of Medicine and State and I believe that individuals have the right to consume what they choose. But as Ed said during our conversation the world has  changed since the current opioid crisis started and that’s the reality we have to deal with. The question is now how can we gain back some of our freedom lost during the last few years, and once again to choose, along with our doctor, how best to ease our pain.

We also talk about how undertreated pain can lead some to contemplate suicide or actually take their own life. If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts please reach out to friends and family or contact https://samaritanshope.org and you can also call or text them at 1-877-870-4673.

If you are in pain or know someone who is or you want to educate your friends and family about what the issues are surrounding politics, pain and solutions to help those who are suffering, please check out and share our conversation. 

After listening to the conversation head over to 

http://nationalpainreport.com and check out the great work Ed is doing. 

You can also follow him on 

twitter @NatPainReport 

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NationalPainReport/ 

I also mentioned that I have found success using Kratom to transition off of opioids and to manage my mild to moderate pain. If you are interested in learning more about Kratom check out https://www.americankratom.org . 

I personally recommend Red Vein Bali from Natural Organix. 

 https://naturalorganix.com/home/70-204-buy-bali-kratom-online.html#/39-package_count-50_capsules 

Use Promo Code: CH20 for a twenty percent discount. 

Thanks for listening and let us know your thoughts on how to help make sure those in pain can find the relief they deserve. 

Pain will always be a part of the Human Condition but we have the gifts of nature and the products of our own reason to make that pain much easier to bear. 

Brad Miller

The Chronically Human Podcast