Hi,
I read your article and many of your experiences are - sadly - the normal behaviour with pain and pain killers in Germany. In the south of Germany even more than up in the north (from my experiences). But there is hope... I would recommand that you search for a new doctor - in the best case a young doctor fresh out of the university. The reason is simple. Pain management have only recently become a major topic in the professional training and myths and wrong behaviour are strong. younger doctors understand more and more that pain means stress and stress make sick and is a negative influence to the healing process. I hope that more and more doctors in Germany understand, that feeling pain is not a guide - it's a burden that nobody should carry. Wish you the best. Quazni (I hope my english is not as bad as I think it is.)
I think you completely failed to read between the lines - the article is a criticism of rapidly increasing number of people addicted to pain pills in US and their excessive consumption across the country.
I'm pretty sure the author is a woman... the article says she got a hysterectomy, which is surgery to remove a uterus. (She also mentions her husband in the opening paragraph)
Overall this is a pretty disappointing article, for a verity of reasons, one it does not really express anything it just tells a very boring story with seamingly no point
It advocating for less pain management in the US? or better pain management in Germany, I cant tell
It is critical of the idea that citizens of the US desire to eliminate pain? I am critical of cultures that endorse and support living with/in pain
"Excessive" consumption is subjective depending on your point of view. Further the increasing number of people addicted to opioids is a complex issue that has some correlation to prescriptions but can be debated on if that is the cause as other factors can be at play, further the increase in DEATHS as a result of said increase in addiction IMO can be more closely linked to the ever increasing desire to treat addiction as a crime not as a medical issue which causes a whole host of black market issue including quality and potency inconsistency in supply chain directly leading to more Overdoses
> younger doctors understand more and more that pain means stress and stress make sick and is a negative influence to the healing process
I hope you are wrong because I would hate so see anythign resembling the painkiller addiction wave in the US here in Germany. The doctor in the text is correct in saying that pain can be an important guide for your own healing process. Otherwise, you can easily overwork/overexert yourself which damages the healing process
The opiate prescription policy in Europe is currently absolutely not converging with US practices. Practitioners are instead looking into alternative means of pain control, such as hypnosis (which is less of a scam than one may think).
The whole point of the article was that she did not need the painkillers and actually prefers it in hindsight.
With the american "sick day" system drugging yourself to work is a necessity. The german take as many sick days as you need lets you choose the healthier route.
Not only is it healthier but also better for the employer long term. A drugged employee makes more mistakes and might suffer injuries from lack of attention.
The sibling comments have already discussed that you're misreading the article. I want to address your actual comment with a counter-anecdote.
My previous general practitioner retired a few years ago, and passed on his office to a younger colleague who's in her 40s. I'll visit her maybe once or twice a year because of some infection or internal inflammation. There's a marked difference in how she treats those things compared to my old doctor: He would always prescribe me a few over-the-counter drugs for symptom relief. My new doctors's approach is to just prescribe rest [1] in most cases, together with recommendations for homemade remedies. If that's how younger doctors play the game, I'm all for it.
[1] And lots of it. Sick notes are never for less than a week, and she insists that if the symptoms are not completely gone by the end of that time, I shall come back and get another few days off.
I agree on the stress, you can however remove some of the stress. It's not because you are in pain you have to suffer. I know it's not entirely true, but it is to some extend.
