The Fear Mongering Over Tiger Woods’ Hydrocodone
/By Crystal Lindell
Famed Golfer Tiger Woods was involved in a rollover car accident this week.
While the crash was likely caused because he was reportedly looking at his phone and changing the radio station when it happened, something else has taken up nearly all the coverage of the event: Two hydrocodone tablets.
Police said Woods failed a sobriety test at the scene and that they found two hydrocodone tablets on him at the time of the accident. The pills were marked “M367” which means they were likely 10mg hydrocodone and 325mg acetaminophen combination tablets, commonly known as a generic form of Norco or Vicodin.
For context, hydrocodone is a Schedule Two controlled substance. A 10mg tablet is equal to 10 morphine milligram equivalents (MME). The CDC recommends caution when taking daily doses that exceed 50 MME.
A hydrocodone tablet is routinely given out for post-operative pain or extensive dental work, such as wisdom tooth removal. I think anyone who’s ever had an out-patient surgery is probably familiar with the medication.
For chronic pain patients who already have a tolerance to opioids, hydrocodone is typically something that can be taken to reduce pain while also performing routine daily tasks, like cleaning the house and working. In fact, I took one right before writing this column.
It’s very likely that Tiger Woods takes them for chronic pain, seeing as how he has had multiple back surgeries. As such, he likely has a tolerance.
That’s not to say that taking a couple hydrocodone couldn’t cause impaired driving and lead to a crash. It most definitely could. Especially if the reason Woods had two hydrocodone on him was because he had taken a bunch more.
It’s just that the way the media has covered the accident and the two pills would make you think he was basically found with two pounds of street fentanyl on him.
The Palm Beach Post ran a story headlined, "What is hydrocodone? Tiger Woods had the pills during DUI arrest.” In it, they write:
“Hydrocodone is an opioid used to treat severe, chronic pain. The medication has a high risk of addiction and misuse with some of its most common side effects including dizziness, loss of consciousness and severe tiredness.”
I mean, yes, technically that’s true-ish. Hydrocodone is indeed used to treat severe chronic pain, but they left out “among other things.” Most people who take hydrocodone for chronic pain build up a tolerance and have no severe side effects, especially “loss of consciousness.”
Meanwhile, the New York Post ran a story headlined, "The dangerous risks of the pills found in Tiger Woods’ pocket in DUI arrest"
The article was especially egregious. In it, they write:
“While the drug is prescribed to treat chronic pain or manage pain after surgery or injury, using it is not without risks — and serious ones at that.
A highly addictive opioid, hydrocodone is in the same class as oxycodone, morphine and fentanyl — with a high enough risk of abuse that prescriptions have dropped by as much as a third since their peak in 2011.”
Trying to equate hydrocodone to fentanyl isn’t just disingenuous, it’s also potentially harmful to pain sufferers..
For those who don’t really know what hydrocodone is, that kind of messaging means a pain medication that will almost certainly be prescribed to them or a loved one at some point will become something to avoid. They may not take it when they need it. Or they may shame a loved one for taking it when they need it.
Not to mention how harmful coverage like this is to chronic pain patients in general, who have been trying to fight the stigma around opioid medications for years now.
There is legitimate concern that media stories like this will make already overly-cautious doctors even more hesitant to prescribe hydrocodone to patients who really need it.
On Reddit you can already find chronic pain patients worried about the ramifications of this type of coverage. One user referred to the New York Post article as, "Just another opportunity to demonize opioids and chronic pain patients."
Another poster lamented: "I see my PM (pain management) physician on Friday. I'm sure this will be a topic he'll bring up. Sigh..."
In another Reddit thread, a user writes:
“Everyone knows that people who take opioids long term get used to the effects of the opioids as their tolerance grows and you learn to have a pretty normal life and do things like work, go to school, and yes… drive. I mean, are we supposed to lock ourselves in our houses and never come out again and just wither away? No, we still have a life.”
It’s disappointing to see the news media jump on any chance to continue demonizing opioids. Reporters should know better by now.
One day, they themselves will likely need Norco or Vicodin for some sort of pain. And because of their own work, they may have trouble getting it.
