H. Hooshmand, M. D.

DIPLOMATE AMERICAN BOARD OF PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY

BOARD CERTIFIED IN ELECTROENCEPHOLOGRAPHY

BOARD CERTIFIED IN ELECTROMYOGRAPHY  

BOARD CERTIFIED IN AMERICAN BOARD OF ELECTODIAGNOSTIC MEDICINE

INTRACTABLE NEUROLOGY

EPILEPSY, PAIN, MS

An International Referral Center dedicated to Treatment, Education and Research

RSD PUZZLE #52
Should You Rely On Prescription Drugs?

The problem with relying on the principal of prescription drugs is that just because a doctor prescribes them it does not make it right and kosher. First of all there is no such thing as small doses of MS Contin. Even the smallest dose of MS Contin will block the formation of endorphines.

Secondly, the studies that you have referred to are the studies of a mixture of acute pain which absolutely needs narcotics for treatment on a temporary basis, Cancer pain which needs narcotic treatment on long term basis, but not complex chronic pain of RSD which needs non addicting narcotics (morphine antagonists) but also needs natural endorphines and other brain hormones to heal itself. I always emphasize that there is no way RSD can be controlled unless the pain is controlled. The pain control should be with the help of analgesic antidepressants, non addicting narcotics, and morphine pump which provides such a minute continuous dose of morphine to the brain that does not suppress cerebral endorphines.

MS Contin application introduces morphine to be processed through the liver and blood-brain barrier so the amount of morphine in it is at least 30 times stronger than the morphine in the pump. Finally every human being is born an addict. I am a workaholic, foodaholic, etc... Making the brain dependent on strong addicting narcotics is the best set up for addiction. I am just quoting the study of a mixed bag of pain patients with narcotics does not deny the strong potential of addiction of such drugs.

I agree with you wholeheartedly that in medical profession when the doctor suffers from the guilt of not being able to fix the patients condition, he transfers it by calling the patient an "addict" or a "fake". It is an unfortunate fact that the doctor start s the patient on large doses of Methadone or  MS Contin, forces the development of rebound and tolerance, messes up the entire function of the brain, and at the end tells you the patient "you don't have a RSD, you are just an addict". The patient is then sent to a pain clinic to "learn to live with it". The care provider then bows out of the picture and the patient is left with no coverage and no treatment of the damages due to the "Miracles of Modern Medicine".

H. Hooshmand, M.D.