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"One of the most interesting questions that this scenario brings up is, whether or not House is a miserable bastard because of his leg pain, or if he was always that way."

In an episode in Season One, Cuddy asked Stacey what he was like before the leg injury, and she said he was just the same as he was now.

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I was disappointed that they didn't explore House on methadone more, actually. Life without chronic pain is a different life, and it would have been interesting to explore House's core personality over several scenarios before tying it up too neatly and way too quickly for my taste.

I agree that 13 was insanely stupid.

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"Foreman was the only one from the team to figure out that House was doping himself up"

Didn't Kutner realize this first? He may not have known he was doping himself, but he did tell Wilson about his odd behavior.

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I agree that House hasn't developed as a character. We haven't had new insights or progression of his character since season 3.
I was actually looking forward to a painless House. If even for a few more episodes.
I think he was still a good doctor while being happy and pain free. He just made a single mistake with the MRI at the beginning of the case. We've seen House make a lot more mistakes then that when attempting to heal a patient.
I think Thirteen should have kept her mouth shut. I mean, what teenager isn't confused. If this had happened to me, I'd rather of never known.

And Methadone isn't worse then Heroin. It's produces many of the same effects, but it is completely legal. Methadone deaths are generally caused by complications of taking Methadone with other medication/drugs/alcohol.

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"11-year-old boy who suffers from XX and XY chromosomes".

Haha calssic ><

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Julia Campbell is everywhere. Mother on House, mother on scrubs, mother on Heroes...

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As someone who is constantly horrified by the rampant fear and misinformation regarding opioid pain medication and pain paitents, I've always liked House for showing that just because someone needs painkillers (vicodin is not even one of the stronger ones) to function, that doesn't mean they will be doped out and unable to function/do their jobs - Gregory House does his job better than anyone else could.

But there has always been an irrational fear of the medicine House takes on the part of Wilson and Cuddy - both of whom are doctors who should know better - especially Wilson who does nothing but treat cancer patients who are in severe pain. In fact, it's been established that Wilson prescribes his cancer patients (the fact that they're dying is completely irrelevant) oxycodone, the medicine House probably should be taking. Whatever House was taking - even if it were heroin, Wilson and Cuddy should have been thrilled that he was feeling well and in no pain. Cuddy threatened to fire him if he didn't stop taking a legitimate, legal medicine that was clearly working for him.

Now, methadone is a very long-lasting opioid and it has a tainted reputation for being something heroin addicts take to detox, but in reality it's just another mu-agonist opioid, no different than vicodin, oxycontin, morphine, or any other such drug. The reason they use it for heroin addiction is because, as an equal class of drug, it stops any withdrawals, and because it's long-lasting not many doses need to be taken and there's no instant rush as there may be with shorter-acting painkillers. Plus, methadone has the unique property of binding to the mu receptors in your brain very strongly, so that if you were to inject yourself with heroin, you wouldn't feel it.

But the notion that someone would be on a dose of methadone enough to alleviate their chronic, severe pain, while allowing them to function fine, and then suddenly out of nowhere, later on in the day, not having taken another dose, they'd suddenly OD and stop breathing is total, 100%, absolute NONSENSE. It's physically, chemically, medically, scientifically impossible. It was established that House had not taken any more, and he wouldn't have - methadone is dosed once per day.

I'm horrified at how this episode demonized a legitimate pain medication, horrified at how Cuddy and Wilson treated their friend - who they know suffers from chronic pain (there's no question about him faking the pain in his leg), and horrified at how House was willing to blame his lack of pain on his job performance.

Is the fact about House to be gleaned from this episode that he was a nice, friendly, cooperative, noncurmugdeonly guy before his leg infarction caused him chronic pain? Really??? The only reason why House is House is because of his pain? House was an average if not crappy doctor before his pain? Come on. If that's true, then the dynamic of House's character, and the entire show, is different.

House always defends his use of pain medication - and rightfully so. He shouldn't have to defend it, but he does. But because he ordered an MRI, which ultimately proved to exacerbate the patient's problem (what were the chances of that?), he blamed it on his being in a good mood. Seriously? Like they don't always order an MRI for every patient the second they get the case. MRI has been step number 1 (along with tox screen) for 99% of patients over the past 5 seasons of House. Does anyone really think House would have suggested NOT doing an MRI because of the the ultimate negative impact it had on the patient at the resolution of the show had House been on hydrocodone (vicodin) instead of methadone? That's nonsensical - of course he would have ordered an MRI. Even if an MRI was unnecessary House would have ordered one - he's the lord of unnecessary testing.

House doesn't function well when he's deprived of his pain medication - we witnessed that firsthand a few seasons ago with the Tritter incident. And now, we're supposed to believe House doesn't function well when he's on the best medication for his pain?

Houe was not stumbling around high - look at the petty signs of dangerous drug overuse that his "friends" complained about - he asked Wilson before taking his food, he was nice to a patient's parent, etc. Things all of them would do themselves.

I'm just pissed off about this episode, in case you can't tell. Very pissed off. All of it was bullshit. Cuddy and Wilson were assholes, the writers who created an unrealistic overdose scenario were assholes, and House was an uncharacteristic idiot in giving up a medication that worked very well for him. House is a dumb doctor when he has too much pain, Houe is a dumb doctor when he has no pain, but Houe is a brilliant doctor when he's suffering just the right amount of pain? The Goldilocks pain level? Is that was this is? Jesus Christ, are the writers of this show nuts?

Worst episode of House ever, IMO.

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I never blame House for taking the meds. I cannot imagine living with constant severe pain. I would do anything to stop it. And Cuddy and Wilson were SO wrong, to try to stop him from feeling better. But I wonder if the pain is what keeps House so sharp. Yes, he's totally genius, but maybe the pain helps him to be even more. The pain may keep him from having all the 'sweet thoughts' that the rest of us have, allowing him to totally concentrate on medicine. And 13 made a HUGE mistake in getting so involved. It was none of her business.

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Can I ask an obvious (at least to me) question here? If this leg causes so much pain and thus addiction/dependence on pain meds (which I don't blame him for at all)...why doesn't he just amputate the bloody thing? We have prostetics that allow you to do pretty much everything nowadays. And by the way, 13 is an idiot. If I were that mother I would have 1) sued the hospital for breach of confidentiality 2) kicked 13's anorexic bony a**. I can't believe Cuddy let her stay on the case...in the real world, she would have been fired. As well she should be being the headcase that she is.

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When is 13 gonna die? I hope soon!!!! Why does she get to be in the center of all the last
episodes?
I liked this episode much more than the 2 last ones, House was part of the plot and not a by stander. I also think that the girl-hooker that was in his apartment when Wilson stopped by wasn't there just to watch him sleep. Since he was pain free he just had wild sex with her because he's a normal guy who has a life while he doesn't do Cuddy.

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Melissa: why would you amputate a leg when there's medication that you can take to stop it from hurting? Because the medicine is politically incorrect and your "friends" are opiophobic ignorant jackasses who'd rather see you suffer in pain than take the medicine that helps you function pain-free? That's a bad excuse to chop off a leg.

Then there are the "ethical" issues people would raise and few if any surgeons would be willing to amputate a perfectly good (i.e. not malignant, not going to kill you) body part. Especially one as big as a whole leg - starting at the upper thigh. That's a huge amputation.

The only problem with being dependent on a medicine is not being able to get the medicine legally and inexpensively. Nobody would fire a diabetic for needing to take insulin. A lot of the commonly-prescribed antidepressants, like paxil, cause severe withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly.

The problem is not the pain medication House takes, the problem is with society's view of these medicines. Everyone is inherently jealous of those people who take opiates, and they feel that you have to "earn" the right to take those drugs (war injury is fine - they "earned" the right to take morphine). Deep down inside, everyone - you included - is jealous of pain patients who receive opiate prescriptions.

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Re: House changing and growing...I think the point is to have a character that APPEARS to grow, but his primary personality traits ALWAYS reassert themselves eventually, and he stays in place. That allows him to stay on this job, doing the one thing that brings him joy: solving puzzles. Well, two things: Solving puzzles and being right.

If House grew as a person? The show would be over. Immediately. It would become unwatchable.

And yeah...13 would be under a mountain of malpractice paper right about now. As would everyone at this hospital...half of the crap they tell patients or family of patients is illegal to divulge.

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Would House be happier without the pain. Of course. Would he be nicer, I don't think so. I think House without the pain would be the best that House has to offer. Ascerbic, misanthropic, egotistical, snide, brilliant, unaffected........and damn happy about it. Simple.

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"Secondly, the last scene between Cuddy and House. She's desperate to keep him around and have him happy (or slightly less unhappy at any rate) not because she cares about his well-being, but because a nicer House is someone she could have a real relationship with. "

not sure it was that angle they were searching with that scene, I think she says this to him so because she wanted him to stop taking the methadon, wishing he do the contrary ... another step in their "game". I dont think she liked much the "new improved" House.

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Bruce- WTF? Dude...you read much, too much into this thing.

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It was a true delight to see Hugh Laurie end this season with "softness". He looked great in a suit and with a shave. Thanks to the writers of "The Softer Side "episode. Remember this is only television, not real life. Do not criticize an eqisode that can end a season with such grace.

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Well this episode certainly hit some buttons I don't think the writer's knew they would hit. Yes, chronic pain and the solution to chronic pain is a constant battle. Being someone who suffers from Fibromyalgia my whole life being in constant pain is not fun, especially pain no one can see. My husband has a heart defect that causes him daily pain and we both constantly deal with the decision whether to kill the pain and feel better or live with it and not be on medications. Plus then theres the question of what medication to take and the pros and cons. My husband watched this episode and became seriously pissed at Cuddy and Wilson for giving House crap for trying to kill his pain. Plus he was functional! He wasn't doped up and stabbing people with needles. He was being nice and relaxed. OMG! Give the man a break. I think there biggest issue is they only knew how to deal with the acerbic House and was sure he would sprial downward like he does on Oxycontin. However, Houses decision was just as stupid. He made a mistake anyone would make, but not only that he now knows that he needs to filter requests, so why not learn from this and be pain free and still a great doctor. This show starts to get better, even has interesting storylines, but then dive bombs constantly. As much as I like Hugh Laurie I'm having serious trouble sticking to this show.

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