Background and aims:  The use of opioids to relieve chronic pain has increased during the last decades, but experiences of long-term opioid therapy (> 90 days) points at risks and loss of beneficial effects. Still, some patients report benefits from opioid medication, indicating that opioids may be adequate for effective pain control in particular individuals. Guidelines for opioid use in chronic pain do not help identifying who benefits and who does not, making the first person’s perspective an important complement. 
In this study we explored the lived experienced of managing chronic pain with opioid therapy. The objective was to understand the sense-making of opioids as a long-term treatment from a first person’s perspective. 
Methods:  We used a qualitative research design; interpretative phenomenological analyses. Ten individuals with chronic pain and opioid therapy were purposively sampled in Swedish tertiary care.
 Results: Three super-ordinate themes emerged from the analyses; without opioids the pain becomes the “boss”; opioids as a salvation and a curse, and; acknowledgement of the pain and acceptance of opioid therapy enables transition to a novel self. The participants used opioids to regain control over pain, thus reclaiming the wanted life and self, and sense of agency. Using opioids to manage pain was not unproblematic and some of the participants had experienced a downward spiral of escalating pain and uncontrollable opioid use, and stigmatization. 
Conclusion: All participants emphasized the importance of control, both regarding pain and opioid use. Trust between participants and care providers was essential to enable satisfying treatment.

&#8220;MY LIFE IS UNDER CONTROL WITH THESE MEDICATIONS&#8221;: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MANAGING CHRONIC PAIN WITH OPIOIDS

“MY LIFE IS UNDER CONTROL WITH THESE MEDICATIONS”: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MANAGING CHRONIC PAIN WITH OPIOIDS