THE PAIN OVER LIMBAUGH'S FALL

I'm not much of a "dittohead," but I do have a soft spot in my heart for
Rush Limbaugh for reasons unrelated to politics.

When my father was lying nearly comatose in the intensive care unit the
final two weeks of his life, he rallied only once - to request a radio "so
I can listen to my buddy Rush."

Those were his last coherent words.

Say what you will about Limbaugh, he brought life to the party. His
admission now to drug "addiction" caused me to say to a friend, "I feel
sorry for him." Why? "Because I feel sorry for anyone who suffers addiction."

If, in fact, he is an addict. The verdict is still out despite what the
evidence suggests. Also, pain specialists are distressed that all the
piling on following Limbaugh's admission of drug use may set pain
management back 100 years.

First, there's a difference between physical dependence on drugs and
addiction. If you use legal medications as prescribed, you're unlikely to
become addicted.

Recent research shows that only between 6 percent to 10 percent of all
chronic pain patients on opioids become addicted. That's the same
percentage as the general population who becomes addicted, for example, to
alcohol or shopping or gambling. In other words, the risk for opioid
addiction is no greater than the risk for other addictive behaviors and
substances.

The key to avoiding addiction to pain medications such as Oxycontin, the
opioid Limbaugh was taking, is presence of pain, according to Joan Wentz,
an assistant professor and specialist in pain management at Jewish Hospital
College of Nursing and Allied Health in St. Louis. That is, if you have
pain and treat it with opioids, you're unlikely to become addicted, though
you may develop a physical dependence.

Dependence means simply that your body adjusts to the medication and if you
withdraw abruptly, you will suffer unpleasant symptoms such as sweats,
palpitations, hallucinations.

Addiction, on the other hand, is defined as compulsive craving and
uncontrolled use despite harm. Whether this definition characterizes
Limbaugh's situation is unknown and may remain unknown as he pursues
private treatment.

The number of pills he reportedly procured doesn't necessarily indicate
addiction, says Wentz. He indeed may have been in pain and, because of his
body's adjustment, needed more medication to manage it.

Wentz and others in pain management worry that people who need medication
now will fail to seek treatment for fear of addiction, and doctors may
hesitate to prescribe it when needed.

In a recent bulletin to pain specialists, the American Pain Foundation
charged the media with perpetuating "long-standing myths and misconceptions
about pain management and pain medications" in its Limbaugh coverage.

"When properly used, pain medications rarely give a 'high' - they give
relief. And, most importantly, they allow many people to resume their
normal lives," said the bulletin.

The fact that Limbaugh could continue functioning in his career makes Wentz
skeptical about his being an addict. As to whether he's a hypocrite, well,
that's a tougher charge to dismiss. It's hard to swallow Limbaugh's
punitive line for drug users when he tossed back Oxycontin like M&M's.

Not surprisingly, Rush's critics are delighting in his humiliation, though
some have leavened their comments with sympathy for his obvious pain,
whether emotional, physical or both. Fans and colleagues, meanwhile, have
circled the wagons, trying to draw a distinction between Rush's addiction
to legal medications to treat pain and those who become addicted to illegal
drugs merely to get high.

Sorry, but that doesn't wash. Whatever Limbaugh's official designation as
an addict or someone who is drug-dependent, he crossed the line in seeking
drugs illegally, just as addicts do. Moreover, people who seek to get high
are not getting high out of the evil of their hearts, but out of the
weakness of their spirits. What is getting high if not seeking relief?

Limbaugh's fall from grace ultimately may be a blessing not only for him,
but also for people who suffer pain and those who succumb to addiction. The
message in the bottle is this: Suffering pain is not heroic, and becoming
an addict is not a crime.

Maybe even Rush will allow as much when he brings his irrepressible, and
doubtless humbled, spirit back to the party.

Kathleen Parker, is a syndicated columnist for the Orlando Sentinel