Just when no one thought it could get worse, it got worse because of Fentanyl.
More than 98,000 Americans died in 2021 from drug overdoses, and that number established a new, and most unfortunate, record in the United States. The opioid epidemic has hit the 35-to-44-year age group the hardest, and the majority of those who have passed have been males, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Fentanyl is believed to be the single deadliest drug threat in the nation today because the narcotic has slivered its way into our country’s largest cities the same way it’s devoured so many tiny towns.
“We have seen more people are dying because they are using an opiate like heroin, but with a stimulant like Fentanyl added to it,” explained Dr. Suresh Srinivasan, an interventional pain medicine doctor at Trinity Health Systems in Steubenville. “We didn’t see that in the beginning of the opioid epidemic about 10 years ago, but the use of Fentanyl has spread so much that people need to realize what they are using when they decide to (service) their addiction. That combination is deadly, and people need to realize it.
“On the other hand, I’ve also seen Fentanyl being the only drug some people are using for their addiction, and that is a dangerous thing here. I’m not saying heroin is better, but straight heroin is not as deadly as Fentanyl,” he said. “No matter what, the only safe way to use any drug is when you are under a doctor’s care.”
Srinivasan has practiced in Chicago, Brooklyn, and at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., and now his office is located on Johnson Road in Steubenville. His biography on Trinity Health System’s web page states, “His goal is not only to reduce pain but restore functionality and help his patients to achieve their treatment goals.”
“What I have learned from living here and caring for people here is that people work really hard and they always have, and they really enjoy themselves, too. That includes self-medicating,” Srinivasan said. “The tradition of working hard here started a long, long time from what I understand, and that included the steel making that took place here for a lot of years, and the coal mining, too.
“I have treated a lot of people who have gotten themselves addicted to their pain medicines because of chronic pain they’ve had after many years of hard work, but there are many others who found themselves addicted because they decided to do some experimenting,” he explained. “Some of those have been kids who decided to explore with someone else’s prescriptions have been available. Once you get on that wheel, it’s very difficult to get off because your brain just keeps craving the dopamine.”
Toeing the Line
Alcohol and marijuana. According to the CDC, those two substances are the most popular for people choosing to self-medicate. Alcohol is more popular with men than it is with women, but weed is equally popular with members no matter the gender.
And, according to Dr. Srinivasan, self-medicating is a popular pastime in America.
“I have had a lot of people who have told me they smoke weed to get sleep and relax, and they have told me that they drink a lot of alcohol to relieve their pain, and those two practices are very popular across the country,” Srinivasan said. “Most people have told me they do both at the same time because there is less of a chance to overdose on the alcohol.
“One of the biggest problems with self-medicating is that you build up a tolerance to things like alcohol, and that means you need more and more to keep that pain away,” the pain management doctor said. “It’s also about the euphoria involved, and people build up a tolerance for that, too. Unfortunately, that’s where the opiates have come into play as a prescription for chronic pain, and in too many cases, it’s ended badly.”
Srinivasan has joined a plethora of his colleagues from across the country in examining new methods to help those suffering chronic pain by prescribing non-addictive medications and in many cases more physical therapy.
“Collectively, we have made many changes because of the opioid abuse that has taken place over the past 10 or 15 years, and that’s OK with me. I’ve had patients who didn’t expect the changes and they’ve been upset because they wanted to remain on their on their medications,” the physician said. “But there have been some great changes that have had nothing to do with medication, and that’s because a lot physical therapy is capable of managing pain, too.
“Some of the other options include what we call multiple pain management, and that’s when physical therapy is started at the beginning of the treatments,” Srinivasan added. “The science of pain management is an evolving specialty and it is getting better and better as time goes on. Now, we’re always searching for better ways to relieve the pain so our patients can live a better life.”
