Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Spring 2018

www.bartletthospital.org 11 It’s tough to live with chronic pain, but millions of Americans do. That’s one reason why prescription opioids are so popular. These powerful medications are good at relieving pain in the short term. They also help people with active cancer and people receiving hospice or palliative care cope with pain. But opioids come with some serious risks, including the risk of addiction and unintentional overdose and death. As many as 1 in 4 people who take opioids for a long time become addicted to the drugs (a condition known as opioid use disorder). And more than 165,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid overdose between 1999 and 2014. Names to know Well-known brand-name painkillers, like Vicodin (hydrocodone) and OxyContin (oxycodone), are opioids. So are generic drugs, such as: w w Buprenorphine. w w Codeine. w w Fentanyl. w w Hydromorphone. w w Methadone. w w Morphine. w w Oxymorphone. Finding solutions To help curb opioid addiction and overdose deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines for prescribing the drugs to treat chronic pain. The guidelines encourage doctors to start low and go slow when prescribing opioids in order to reduce the risks linked to long-term use. (The guidelines don’t apply to cancer patients or those receiving hospice or palliative care.) If you’re living with chronic pain, talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking opioids. Be honest about any personal history of drug or alcohol addiction. Also discuss other ways to help manage your pain, such as physical therapy, exercise and nonopioid medications. Then if your doctor does prescribe an opioid, be sure to: w w Never mix the drug with alcohol. And don’t take it with other substances or medications without your doctor’s OK. w w Never take more of the medication than prescribed. w w Never share the medication with friends or family. And keep it locked away and well out of reach of curious children and teens. Alert your doctor if you experience side effects from an opioid—such as constipation, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, sleepiness, confusion or decreased sex drive—or if you need to take more of the medication to get the same pain relief. What you need to know about opioids That’s when Claire stepped in.” “I was so sick, I don’t even remember that first conversation,” Joanne says. “Claire took Shannon aside and had long conversations with her about different options. She said that I needed a more holistic approach—a mind, body and soul approach.” Claire connected her with the JAMHI Health and Wellness primary care team. She often consulted with her by phone. Joanne calls Claire’s impact on her life “remarkable” and gets emotional when she reflects on her journey. Claire, born and raised in Juneau, has experienced the loss of people she grew up with due to overdose. But she finds working with patients like Joanne rewarding. “Claire’s help created a ripple effect that was truly a pivotal thing for me,” Joanne says. “It made all the difference. She has a way of taking something bigger than I can manage and making it something that I can handle. If Claire hadn’t stepped in and cared as much as she does, I honest to God could be dead.” An opioid-free life Today, Joanne is grateful to be free of opioids. And despite her chronic pain, she says getting off the narcotics is worth it. “Now I’m not dependent on a drug to get through the day. Now, when I look out and I see the mountains and the sky, I’m looking at them without that sheer curtain of opioids,” she says. “My thinking is clearer, my focus is better, and my brain synapses are having a field day up there!” Joanne is grateful for Claire and all the Bartlett staff who provided care. “They are a solid foundation of support,” she says. “When people are good at their job, you feel like you’re their only patient. At Bartlett, it’s not patient first, it’s person first.”