ENCOURAGE DOCTORS TO HELP PAIN SUFFERERS

Recently, a man in another state pulled a gun on police so they would shoot
him (suicide by cop). The man who did this had a very painful condition
called fibromyalgia, which is something I have suffered with for a number
of years.

It is a very painful, invisible condition that affects millions of
Americans, and there is no cure. Just about anyone who has this condition
has been told at least one time by a physician that it is "all in their
head" when it is not a mental illness. The pain causes depression, anxiety
and insomnia -- all of which exacerbate the pain -- but it is not a
psychological illness. It is very real and very painful, and those who have
it are robbed of any quality of life. (I know, because I'm one of them.)

I have to wonder: If this man's pain had been treated by his doctor, would
he still be here today? I think that he did not really want to die but
could not live with his pain any longer -- otherwise he would have been
able to pull the trigger himself, and not have used police officers to do
it for him.

For the past year or so, newspapers and magazines have had numerous
articles bashing pain medication, to the point that doctors now must worry
about going to jail for writing a prescription. Most people who are in pain
will never find a doctor who will help them because of the doctors' very
real fear of losing their medical licenses.

I cannot understand why so many Americans must suffer daily with
intractable pain when we are supposed to be living in the greatest country
in the world. It is terrible that the means for pain relief is readily
available, and yet so many people must continue to suffer, some to the
point of committing suicide. It's a shame that we live in a country that
not only allows its citizens to suffer needlessly, but also treats those
same patients like addicts if they are lucky enough to find a doctor
compassionate (and brave) enough to treat it.

Pain patients don't get high on their medication. Drug addicts take drugs
to escape life -- pain patients take medication so that they can have a
life. There is a difference. Maybe someday the law and the medical
profession will realize this, and stop the needless suffering of many.

Lynette Klingman, Gray