The way medical professionals approach pain has changed immensely over time. It’s normal and natural that this makes certain prescriptions easier or harder to get.
Read on to learn why it’s harder to get a painkiller prescription today.
Opioid Crackdowns
One hundred years ago, getting treated for pain was a vastly different process than it is today. Incredibly strong pain medications such as opioids were regularly distributed to people for any pain they were experiencing. However, as these medicines continued to be distributed, this type of pain medication became controversial because of its side effects and addictive nature.
Many people developed opioid addictions, which is still a prevalent problem today. As pharmacists and medical practitioners try to solve these problems and addictions, strong pain medications such as opioids are more difficult to get.
Fraud
Even the less strong painkiller prescriptions can have addictive qualities. Painkillers take away physical pain, which can be an experience that people become addicted to. Because of the addictive qualities of these medicines, people may go to great lengths to get these prescriptions. Some fake prescriptions, or go to several doctors to get several different prescriptions filled.
Going around to multiple doctors to fill prescriptions is a form of fraud. Doctors have made pain management prescriptions more difficult to get to help avoid these instances of fraud. Before you get a painkiller prescription, your doctor will double-check everything to ensure no fraud is happening.
Health Risks
While painkiller prescriptions can help deal with chronic pain or recover from a procedure, there are some health risks involved with taking these prescriptions. Many pain medications contain blood thinners, which can be harmful to your liver if they’re taken too often or for too long. Additionally, many pain medications can have negative reactions when combined with certain other prescriptions. It’s always important to only take pain medication for as long as your doctor recommends. Doctors have to be careful when adding any prescription into someone’s routine, and make absolutely certain that it won’t harm them. Because of this, it’s important to answer honestly when your doctor asks you about what prescriptions you take.
Getting painkiller prescriptions is a lot harder than it used to be. Many people may find this frustrating, especially if they don’t understand why the change took place. However, the change in how easy it is to acquire pain medication is purely based on keeping people healthy and safe.
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