Opinion: She went off opioids, and her chronic severe pain became bearable

To the editor: I can attest to the accuracy of the article on pain medication. (“Over-the-counter painkillers treated painful injuries just as well as opioids in new study,” Nov. 7)

About 10 years ago, I was hospitalized for a condition that required me to be taken off all pain medications immediately. I had been taking opioids for several years due to severe back pain, and the resulting pain due to the removal of my medication was absolutely excruciating.

After several days, the opioid I had been taking wore off, but I had little or no pain. Over-the-counter pain medication was sufficient to control what pain I had.

Years earlier I had read that the more pain medication one took, the higher one’s tolerance to it became. I now know how that happens.

Doctors and patients need to be educated that with respect to pain medication, less is more.

Joan Maggs, Granada Hills

..

To the editor: Using ibuprofen or acetaminophen long term can seriously harm your liver and kidneys, and when a person is in great pain, recommended doses go out the window. On the other hand, using opioids as prescribed has no adverse effects on our body organs.

Examine the organ functions of people who have taken opioids and those who have taken over-the-counter analgesics for years. Look at the results. Opioid users will find their internal organs functioning just fine.

How do I know? After taking opioids for severe pain over two decades, my organs are fine. My friend who had used acetaminophen for a dozen years just had a liver transplant.

S.R. Fischer, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.