Pain relief is an ongoing need for hundreds of thousand of individuals around the world who have been injured or are suffering from painful medical conditions. Many rely on their family doctor for opiate based pain pills, while others seek help from pain clinics. Unfortunately, both of these options often run their course, and for many there becomes a need to find the next chapter in their struggle for pain relief. As we now know, individuals who have been on opiate based pain pills for an extended period of time, develop a high tolerance for opiates. As a result, a greater quantity of opiates is required to achieve a reasonable level of pain relief, and for many, large quantities of opiates no longer provides the same level pain relief as before. After years of opiate use, many ask themselves, "Am I addicted to opiates?" This paper explores the concepts of opiate addiction versus opiate dependence. In addition, this short paper presents the concept of considering methadone as a source of pain relief. Methadone is a long acting opioid known to provide pain relief over an extended period of time. Methadone however, is not universally available. This book discusses a reasonable approach to locating and evaluating methadone as a possible source of pain relief treatment.
