10 Medical Missteps

The Narcotics Trap

When you show up complaining that something hurts, the easiest way for a doctor to get you out of the office is to send you off with a prescription for a pain medication that contains a narcotic (like Vicodin or OxyContin). The drugs are relatively easy to get and tempting to take, but you should never use them for chronic pain. Narcotics addiction is insidious. The drugs change who you are, and over time they make any and every pain worse. Stay away from them except in cases of acute, time-limited pain — and if you're on them already, work hard to get off them.