Relieving Pain With Abuse-Proof Drugs

Doctors Turning To New Painkillers That Don't Cause Addiction

(CBS)  For many Americans, drug abuse is a painful fact of life. And pain is often the cause. By one estimate, more than 33 million Americans have abused prescription pain killers. For the second part of the series, Easing the Pain, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook examines new prescription pain killers that are designed to prevent abuse.

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Twenty-nine-year-old Brooks Bono remembers the exact moment he first bit into an oxycodone pill and felt the rush of narcotic.

"It was just massive pain ..." he said.

When Brooks chewed the oxycodone rather than swallowing it whole as directed, he broke the time-release mechanism and absorbed most of the narcotic within a few minutes.

"It was just a blissful feeling," he said.

Born with a tumor in his spine, Bono had multiple surgeries, leaving him searching for relief. But his doctor was reluctant to prescribe too much.

"You think he was afraid of overdosing you?" LaPook asked.

"Definitely," Bono said. "Or, prescribing me and me overdosing myself and then him getting blamed."

Finding pain relief at last was overwhelming - and sure enough, so was the temptation to abuse.

"Then I realized if I took three or four that I also got high off of it, which ended up being what led to an addiction," Bono said.

Up to 25 percent of chronic pain patients abuse medication at some point. So companies are developing new formulations that can't be crushed, chewed, snorted or injected.

"It has the content of a viscous gel," said Dr. Lynn Webster.

One new drug being tested is Remoxy, a form of OxyContin. It's too soft to be crushed. Another drug, Embeda, is a pill version of morphine. If crushed, snorted or injected, it releases a chemical that blocks the effect of the narcotic.

"Oh it was painful to do something like this. Simple movement of my shoulder was really unbearable," said Scott Taylor.

After a year on Embeda, Taylor is pain-free. Although he never had the temptation to abuse the drug, others did.

"I've had a few of my work buddies ask if it got you high if you could try it and I 'm like no, don't do anything other than relief pain, and that's only " he said.

"I suspect over a period of time if these new formulations are as effective and safe as we think that they'll probably replace most other medications out there," Webster said.

These drugs are in the final stages of testing and are waiting to be approved by the FDA. For Brooks Bono, they come too late. But with the help of a new team of pain doctors, he's no longer abusing the narcotics.

If this type of pill were available years ago, does Bono think he would have avoided becoming addicted in the first place?

"There would have been no temptation, to abuse the medication cause it wouldn't have been an option," he said.

These pills won't stop patients from taking too many of them, but they should help doctors be more aggressive with pain - and less worried about abuse.

[linfinster]

Wow, first I''ve heard of this. I wonder what the gel is made of. Also I wonder what possible damage we will find out about in 10 years, and how much money was made rushing this to market?
On the other hand, sure hope this is a turning point for people to get the pain relief they need and couldn''t get because of addiction.

[ddbanes]

PLEASE IF THIS COMES AVAVIBLE I AM REALLY WANTED TO TRY THIS . THERES NOT A DAY GOES BY I DO NOT HURT. I DO NOT WANT TO GET HOOKED ON PILLS AND THIS IS MY BIGGEST FEAR PLEASE KEEP ME IN MIND

[ddbanes]

PLEASE HELP ME I DO NOT HAVE ALOT OF MONEY BUT WILL GIVE YOU WHAT I HAVE I HURT EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE

[ddbanes]

YOU CAN REACH ME BY EMAIL PLEASE PLEASE HELP

[ddbanes]

IF THERES A DAMAGE AT LEAST I WILL BE PAIN FREE FOR A
WHILE WITHOUT BEING HOOKED PLEASE REMEMBER ME
THANKS

[willww2002]

I use extremely strong and effective painkillers called agonist-antagonists, available in various strengths for moderate to major pain. They have built-in chemical safeguards that kick in if you take too much or combine them with other drugs, plus they''re a relative breeze to discontinue. Having also been prescribed narcotics twice - and discontinued them twice, there''s no comparison.

Lots of powerful and safe solutions to severe pain have been available to pain specialists for two decades. They should be ashamed of themselves for not using them freely, for letting conservatives in government use their medical practices as political propaganda, and for letting the DEA dictate treatment for their patients.

The problem is not the availability of new forms of narcotics. The problem is that pain specialists don''t work closely enough with their patients, don''t really LISTEN to them, don''t actually stay with it until they see results. Insurance won''t cover that many visits. The DEA doesn''t like it; they check their pharmacy records. Government doesn''t like it. It''s just not done. Oh, and your average pain specialist has the backbone of a jellyfish.

[winiatlas]

To Katie Couric and the editors of CBS Evening News,

I have benn watching the Easing the Pain Series with interest as I am a chronic pain patient. I was dismayed by tonight''s report because it was said that chronic pain patients "often" abuse drugs and then that up to 25% abuse drugs. That means that more than 75% of chronic pain patients don''t abuse drugs and good research bears out the fact that relatively few chronic pain patients abuse their pain medication. Most of us are looking for a way to have a life, not escape from life by getting high. Getting high interferes with having a life. You can''t work, have a relationship, care for your kids, drive a car safely and many othe acrvities of daily living.

I would appreciate if, in one of your future reports this week, you would correct the misrepresentation of chronic pain patients as drug seeking addicts. We use narcotics to get of bed in the morning and get on with life. We''d be fools to waste our precious pain relievers by using enough of them to get high and then running out of them. Most of us aren''t fools.

Wini Atlas

[dakotaclark]

Hmmm...

I have chronic pain - from arthritis in both knees and hips, right flank migratory fibromyalgia, degenerative disks in the back and neck, and, the residuals of 3 left wrist surgeries.

Doctors have prescribed a variety of pain meds that simply do not work.

For me, Vicodin, Percodan or Oxycodone, are like taking a glass of water for pain.

One thing for sure, those pain meds DO cause some very serious anticipation - of constipation.

Unfortunately, taking those meds with a pint of prune juice DOES NOT help. lol

Therefore, rather than taking meds that do not work, I just deal with the pain.

Most people look at me and think that I am a crankyoldfart, when in fact, I am just trying to deal with the pain.

It is very difficult to manage a smile and present a happy look on your face all the time, when you are in constant pain.

[oregonron-2009]

how do i get on the list to try some of these new non-addictive drugs?

[angels1977]

i have been taking pain meds off and on for about 10 years and i have stopped with no problem. When you need the meds you are treating the pain and not taking it for the addiction i agree with the other saying why would we abuse them by taking them for the high when we cant afford to run out.

WE NEED THEM!!!!

and i dont think you should make us suffer for the ones who dont care abusing them. Yea i would take something that would target the pain and no high cause that is what i take them for is the PAIN.

[joyous88]

and why is our big deal ''conservative'' government,

concerned with what the citizen is taking,

big brother facist government, the republicons

are criminals, four more of the same vote insane mccain

[sheisntreal]

Hi...I have a question for everyone. Does anyone EVER get help/recover/live with severe chronic pain? I''ve had pain over 2 decades, can''t find doctors who''re willing to help.

[susanhelit]

If the idiot doctors would pay more attention to properly treating the pain, and less to CYA, people like this wouldn''t be driven by pain to abuse the medication. I''ve been fortunate enough to have little of that type of pain in my life, but enough that I do know what it''s like. Or, there''s my great-aunt who attempted suicide because her doctor would not treat her pain - after a long life of hard work, self-sacrifice, the pain was just that bad - and they won''t treat it properly for fear of addiction.

[marymcq]

If anyone thinks it can''t happen to them, your wrong. I was a 34 yr old nurse, never drank, never smoked, never did any drug what so ever, I started getting bone pain all over my body. My doctor prescribed Vicoden ES, 1 to 2 tablets every 4-6 hrs as needed for pain. After taking those pills as directed for 5 days my body and mind were already hooked. The more you take, the more you need to achieve the same pain relief, 5 years later, I was taking 17 Lortab 10/500 every 3 hrs, that is 136 pills a day, the 10/500 means 10mg of hydrocodone, and 500 mgs. of tylenol. One morning I woke up completly deaf, as you can imagine I paniced, No one ever told me that you could lose your hearing from taking too many pills. I had to take that many or I would be in withdrawl, anyway, I lost my hearing (completly, I can''t hear a thing), my gallbladder almost exploded, it had to be removed, my liver and kidneys are damaged, my Central Nervous System is broken beyond repair, which means I suffer nerve pain 24/7. I have been clean since January 6, 2004, and I''m doing great. I got a cochlear implant on my right ear, so I can hear 60% in my right ear, and not at all in my left. I''m back in school working on a degree in Business. In 2006 I was voted Drug Court Graduate of the Year and I was invited to Tallahassee to speak at the drug summit, and I met Gov. Jeb Bush. My point is this, drugs are bad and no one is immune.

[extremophil]

Abuse-Proof Drugs? Yeah, sure.....and I''ve got the proverbial swampland in Florida for sell, too.

[chad55555]

Have any of you ever noticed how the police gives the impression and government that every person is a drug dealer or user.Thjey never take into account that pain is so bad it difficult to live with.EVERY TIME YOU FIND A doctor that understands how pain can destroy a life,he ''s afriad to help because of the fear the gvernment will take his practice away from him and the people that need help NEVER get it.IT''s a lot like the police you see on TV news that push people out of wheel chairs or whatch them gives birth in the back of a car with handcuffs on or whatch aold guy have a heart attack and do nothing,they do smile and think it''s funny to see a human in distress. TOO A PERSON IN SERIOUS CRONIC PAIN IT NO JOKE. MY CRONIC PAIN STARTED WHILE FIGHTING FOR THIS COUNTRY IN COMBAT AND BLOWN UP, AND THE VA WILL NOT TREAT CRONIC PAIN,THEY ACT LIKE EVERYBODY IS A DRUG DEALER OR WORSE,THINK ABOUT THAT. CRONIC PAIN HAS TO BE TREATED DIFFERENT THEN YOUR LOGAL DRUG USER IT''S JUST NOT RIGHT HOW PEOPLE IN PAIN ARE TREATED AND THE DOCTORS THAT TRY TO HELP THEM. THE GOVERNMENT GOES TOO FAR MOST OF THE TIME,HELP THE PEOPLE, STOP DESTROYING THEM BECAUSE OF CONSTANT PAIN THEY LIVE WITH EVERYDAY.

[r10pn]

Guess who the biggest abusers are? How about the lawyers and doctors who work with accident patients, giving patients drugs they don''t need, so they can get bigger settlements and in some cases the patients don''t even need the meds. These are the people who sell them and/ or abuse them. If you''re in pain all you want is to alleviate the pain, not get hooked on drugs. I live with severe chronic pain and it''s pathetic how the medical community treats you when you even mention "pain". They give you anti-depressants, ant-inflammitories, injections, whatever they can to make a buck! I wonder how many physicians follow the same protocol when they''re in pain! I wonder how many accident victims are really in pain or think they are in order to get $$$ from a lawsiut! It''s time the chronic suffers get the help they need!

[puzzler125]

All you would have to do to take more than the prescribed dose of a gel is to spread it over a larger area than originally intended or if in pill form figure out a way to open it and spread it. Someone will figure out a way to abuse it.

[craftcr]

there is a difference between abuse and dependency, outlined on webmd.com

[Sandiebuck37]

I am one of the 70,000 plus people in this country who are dealing with chronic pain. I have Degeneterive Disc Disease which has resulted in 5 back surguries that have only made my pain worse and left me with a leg that does not work. I also have RSD and Sciatica. These are just a few of my pain problems. While I understand that there is a growing concern over prescription drug abuse, there needs to be a segment that sheds light on those of us who do not ABUSE meds, we take these meds as prescribed by our doctors, just to try to make it through the day, just to try to live some kind of life. Your one sided coverage makes it harder for us to get treatment that we so desperately need by doctors because they are afraid to prescribe the meds we need just to get out of bed.

[ssilver567]

I am also a person w/chronic pain who is able to take my narcotic meds w/out abuse. It is very punishing to a) have the pain and b)be denied pain medication because of physiican bias & all the hoopla surrounding addicts & their problems. I have been a pt.at a very excellent medical school clinic. I remember how shocked I was when my very emenient, and seemingly ethical physician confided what a "pain" it was to deal w/sickle cell patients. He "knew" that his problems with street "diversication" (when pts sell their drugs to others for profit)came in part from his sickle cell pts. who were African-Americans.

As for nurse marymcq; I say good for her; however, let it be known that the med she had a problem with, Hydrocodone aka Vicodan/lortab; is not usually given for chronic pain. It is a short term, euphoriant. Instead, there are better options than oxycontin, time release opioids that do not get a person high. It''s unfortunate that her experience & her strong judgements will hurt as many as it may help. Physicians love to point at stories like hers as typical; when they are not.

[m08041979]

My husband has suffered with chronic pain for 8+ years. He has been on every type of pain mediciation available. He has had two back surgerys and an internal stimulator implanted, which didn''t help. He is open to any and all suggestions. If I read the report correctly, this isn''t a new medication, just a different way to administer old ones. One of my husband''s doctors said that when a spinal transplant comes available, my husband would be perfect candidate. He does NOT abuse pain medication, he USES it to keep from going crazy with pain. I have always hear the good suffer with the bad but.........

[ddbanes]

Would you please send me the information on how to try this i am will try anything to help i do not want to get hooked i have been in pain for over 9 yrs now please send me the information
please please
[e-mail] please help

[perm3800]

I am so tired of hearing that chronic pain sufferers are really in it for the drugs. I truly doubt that 25% figure. I know they (DEA) watch your intake like a hawk, the stuff kills your kidneys and/or your liver (hydrocodone has tylenol - that lady who claimed to have been taking all that Vicodin had to be lying or she would have needed a liver transplant due to excessive ingestion of acetominophen.) I don''t have wine with dinner or a toddy when I have a cold any longer because I can''t risk taking the pain meds if I have alcohol in my system because I like having a functioning liver and two functioning kidneys. I am one of those fortunate persons who get night terrors from free opiates so overdosing on my pain meds to get high isn''t likely - any more than the minimum needed to push it back to managable ruins my sleep. Night terrors are to nightmares as athrax is to rhinovirus. I am looking at having to manage increasingly severe pain over the next thirty years, I don''t want to max out this early in the game by taking more than is needed. Katie, you are part of the hype. Having had a husband with severe pain, one would think you wouldn''t buy into the hysteria. Drugs such as hydrocodone and methadone are CHEAP and all these grand new pain killers (celebrex, et al) are EXPENSIVE, dangerous and don''t work well over time. Big Pharma buy you that necklace?

[democrat122]

Quit your whining and go do something about it. Go get a degree, or just learn on your own, and work on contributing to the scientific knowledge that breeds NEW interventions for pain. All your whining doesn''t help anyone. Quit expecting OTHERS to fix your life and step up and contribute!

[akahlok]

Chronic Pain suffers are people who just want to be able to function. They work, and drive cars and have families. The hardest part of having pain is that some day you will not be able to go to work any more and you know how people will look at you as a lazy, good for nothing individual. After all, you are on drugs. I cannot go a day or two with out my thyroid medication because my thyroid no longer works at all. Does that mean I am addicted to that medicine. Does my blood pressure medicine count because they say I have to take that. What is the difference? I don''t get high from these drugs any more than I do from morphine or dilaudid. Why am I less of a person because my body doesn''t function at its best and in order to continue functioning I have to take medications. If some one took my thyroid meds they would get a rush after a few days as there body began to speed up. Does that mean I am on speed? If we cannot trust the people we license as medical doctors don''t give them a license. Why do we have people who are not doctors making judgements about my medical care.

[lily2008-2009]

I am a 67 yr old woman who suffers from chronic back and siatic pain. I''ve had 2 back surgeries and the condition was made worse by a fall at work about 5 years ago. My doctor has had me sign a waiver (in case I overdose and kill myself I guess,) so he will be absolved from any wrongdoing by prescribing me pain pills. I take my meds, oxicodene in this case, exactly as directed. They offer my just enough relief that I don''t feel like jumping off a bridge to end the pain. I am not addicted, but I do depend on the little relief that I get from this medication. The trouble is that the longer they are taken, the more one''s body becomes used to them and in order to get any relief from the paink, I have to take a higher dosage. In the beginning I could take 2 5mg three times a day (total 6 per day). Then it was 3 per day to get the same relief. Now, in order to get the same relief I have to take 2 10mg three times a day or 60 mg as opposed to the 30mg per day I started out with. I suspect that I am nearing the time when 2 10mg tablets per day will not be enough to take care of the pain. I know my doctor will not prescribe anything more. What do I do? Do I have the rest of my life(hopefully 20 years or so)to look forward to living in constant pain? I don''t want to knock out my kidneys or liver by taking too much, so what is left for me? I hate waking up every morning knowing what''s in store for me.

[sheisntreal]

I can''t believe....I finally found other ppl with pain like me. I''ve had nerve damage pain, severe, for 21 years. My life stopped the day of my injury. Now doctors just blow me off like I''m a druggie who wants a fix, even after I ask to be a guinnea pig, to try ANYTHING for relief.

[three12161]

People most at risk for "addiction" are those who have a temporary need for narcotic medications due to surgery, minor trauma, or injury that will completely heal. Most of us who suffer from a life long chronic pain problem understand that long-term use will cause "dependancy." This is no different, for example, than a diabetic being dependant on insulin. We only want enough relief to feel as normal as possible. Most of us with true, chronic pain conditions hate having to take pain, nerve, nausea,(and "now let''s really party",) stool softener & laxative medications, and would love nothing more than to sail happily through our day with out setting eyes on a pill. Most of us only take what is needed to manage. That''s why it''s called pain management, not pain elimination. We don''t ever experience "pain-free". The amount of medication needed to be "pain-free" would mean "passed-out," which is the exact opposite of what we are aiming for. There will always be people out there trying to scam to get drugs to sell, or who fake pain to get drugs for recreational use...but they will be out there whether those of us with legitimate problems recieve the help we need or not. The actions of the dishonest should not condenm the rest of us to a future of misery, nor continue causing us the unbelievable frustrations we face everyday with the medical community in trying to get proper and effective care. God, please help common sense prevail!

[Maggie1057]

Wells said, Three12161! The rest of this is making me ill! Why is it assumed if someone takes pain medication they will become this crazed addict? What about those of us who actually have severe pain and require it to get through a day with any amount of normalcy? Do I NEED my pain medications? YES! Do I sound like an addict? Probably. Am I one? Absolutely not! I have been prescribed morphine, Fentanyl, OxyContin, OxyCodone and more. I have a pain pump implanted to give me a steady dose of a much needed pain medication. I also take them orally. I hate the way they make me feel I do not drink because I cannot stand the way it makes me feel. Blissful? NO. Drugged, confused and sleepy. That is not how I want to live my life. I don't have the option most days. I have a disease called RSD/CRPS. It is the most painful chronic pain disease on earth. I've tried accupressure, accupuncture, meditation and more natural treatments than I ever knew existed. They do not help with the pain. There is a difference between dependence and addiction. I do not abuse my medications, I do not take more than was prescribed (although at times I have wanted to), I do not order extra online. If my body is dependant on the medications then I trust my doctor to take me off safely. My doctor must trust I am not abusing them. Those that do make it impossible for those that actually need them to be able to get them. I'd like to thank all of you who make it next to impossible for many to get their meds because of your own selfish need to escape. It was once quoted, "A drug addict take pills to escape life while a pain patient takes pills to live life." Grows up and get help addicts. Quit making the rest of us pay for your weaknesses!