Hi Gordon,

As rants go, I'd have to give that one a 9.5! Way to go, man, that was impressive without being excessive!

I think that we're all going to see (a lot) more of this as time goes on, mainly due, as has been suggested, the great roar on some drugs focuses more on opiate-based painkillers. This is because they are so much in favor of politicians and other high-profile celebs and so get enormous coverage in the press.

Like the others, I highly recommend seeing a pain-management specialist ASAP.

This hasn't been mentioned, so I will mention it. As one short-fused guy to another, I recommend that when you encounter a similar situation in the future, (notice I did not say "If you encounter") stop and recognize that you are about to go ballistic and take a chill-pill. (said the man better at giving advice than taking it. But I digress)

The fact is that stress is like sugar to cancer, cancer loves it. So, if you don't want to feed the beast, don't.

Good luck compadre,

Bart