Michael Bihovsky

We have a genuine and devastating epidemic of opiate abuse in this country, and it is of critical importance that this problem be addressed. But we must do so in a way that doesn__ cut off an effective (and often the only) treatment for the chronically ill, many of whom are able to function in this world at all only because of the small respite that responsible opiate use provides.

Since my symptoms began 13 years ago, I__e tried every form of pain management I could access _ NSAIDS, nonopioid analgesics, neurologic medications, acupuncture, laser therapy, physical therapy, prolotherapy, massage, and trigger-point injections. Most of these have been unhelpful; others provide temporary relief, often at great expense. At the end of the day, when my body is fully depleted of its resources and in the most pain, a single dose of Percocet is the only tool that silences the pain enough for me to fall asleep.I honestly don__ know what I__ do if Percocet became unavailable to me, and the very thought scares me. I__e been taking it for five years. To avoid any chance of addiction, I only take it at night and have stayed on a consistently low dose.

My doctors, who are not cavalier with prescriptions, give me this medication because I have earned their trust. And yet, with mounting government and public pressure, my doctors_ hands are becoming increasingly tied. They apologetically explain to me why they are required to make the medication even harder for me to get, against their own medical judgment. If the day ever comes when they aren__ allowed to prescribe Percocet to me at all, it may well be the end of the minimal quality of life I fight so hard to achieve.