In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids

Travis Reider’s terrifying journey down the rabbit hole of opioid dependence began with a motorcycle accident in 2015.

Enduring half a dozen surgeries, the drugs he received were both miraculous and essential to his recovery. But his most profound suffering came several months later when he went into acute opioid withdrawal while following his physician’s orders. Over the course of four excruciating weeks, Reider learned what it means to be “dope sick”—the physical and mental agony caused by opioid dependence. Clueless how to manage his opioid taper, Travis’s doctors suggested he go back on the drugs and try again later. Yet returning to pills out of fear of withdrawal is one route to full-blown addiction. Instead, Reider continued the painful process of weaning himself. Learn more as he discusses his personal struggle with opioid dependence and withdrawal and explores the intractable causes of America’s opioid problem and their implications for resolving the crisis.