Are Federal Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids Hurting Patients With Chronic Pain?
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- As Oklahoma and Purdue Pharma reach a landmark settlement, we look at an underreported result of the opioid crisis: the underprescribing of opioids for patients who rely on them for pain management. This month, more than 300 doctors and medical researchers sent an open letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning patients have been harmed by a lack of clarity in guidelines for prescribing opioids. The CDC revised the guidelines for primary care physicians in 2016 in order to improve safety and reduce risks associated with long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain. But many say the new guidelines caused confusion and led to the reduction or discontinuation of opioids for people who responsibly use the medication to manage pain related to cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus and fibromyalgia. We speak with Terri Lewis, a social scientist, rehabilitation practitioner and clinical educator who is running a national survey of patients and physicians to calculate the impacts of changes in chronic pain treatment. We also speak with Barry Meier, the author of “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.” He was the first journalist to shine a national spotlight on the abuse of OxyContin.
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I am a suffered of chronic pain and I can tell you we are a forgotten group. We need a voice.
Guns
@@magicalindigoadult3838 you are going to get reported
You have my sympathy. I've had 2 different pain doctors tell me to buy street drugs for my spinal surgery.
AMEN! I've been suicidal since MEDICAID, (mind you,) goes against my doctor's orders and chooses some arbitrary number of pills they will ALLOW ME every month. I want to know the name of the sadistic little bureaucratic who is deciding I just don't need that medicine, all while billions of Fentanyl flood over the boarder EVERY DAY. As an American, I say, SECURE THE DAMN BORDER AND KEEP YOUR NOSES OUT OF MY MEDICAL TREATMENT!! Diseased, terminal people don't have to go out SCREAMING IN PAIN!!!
Yeah my doctor pretty much hinted that I need to do that too. He didn't tell me to though he sure hinted it. I don't even know where to start on the streets. We don't have a drug problem here openly on the streets. Only drug addicts no where to look.
Be well
This Meyer Guy is the wrong. Chronic back and neck pain is debilitating. My life is ruined because of botched surgeries and sub par pain management. This is a nightmare.
I have had extreme back pain since 2007 for 12yrs now & had L4 TO L5 spinal fusion surgery only to make the pain a little worse. My Wife who is an RN BTW is upset with me because she didn't want me to get it done but I wanted to get it fixed badly so I could get back to work fixing airplanes as an A & P Technician. The pain is so bad there's no way in hell I could even sleep without taking my pain meds. Only you, myself and others with chronic pain TRULY know what it's like being in this much pain 24/7, it's a F'ing living nightmare!
@@jetenginethrust863 So sorry for the hardship you endure; I also have failed back surgery syndrome since the L4-S1 fusion caused scar tissue growth on nerve roots and more pain. Over the years my back problems worsened and I battle 2 autoimmune diseases and fibro, so a simple Sessions suck it up aspirin won't do. All this pain and loss of a normal life is indeed a nightmare, I certainly agree.
@@supernova44 I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll say some prayers for you and Sandy Arctic
try some kratom tea,1 level teaspoon kratom power, 1 teaspoon limone juice , 1/4 teaspoon suger - warm water not hot ! see how it works , its the only legal choice we have left , OLA to the quacks !
@@EDD519Kratom dependence is horrifying. Not only does it not help with chronic pain that much, but you have to redose every 3 hours just to not go into withdrawals. I feel 1000 times better on Suboxone.
Unfortunately all patients lose their teeth extremely fast because of dry mouth caused by suboxone. They need to legalize opiates, full stop.
I’m in a horrific situation because of this crisis!
12 years on my medication for chronic pain, and now I’m in my bed all day, isolated, and left suffering! I have very young children and this is not right for the people who responsibly take medication!
Help.
I’ve been through 13 major surgeries after having my neck fractured in a rear end car accident. Last year I was given two months worth of pain meds to last me 10 months. I was cutting my pills into threes trying to survive. I can’t tell you how many times I contemplated suicide because of this. I can’t tell you how upset and angry I am over our system and society failing people like me once again.
Thank you for talking about the real victims in this opiate war.
My bones keep getting microfractures.
Hang in there and find some distraction and joy in life.
Check out Ken McKin's videos for Pain Nation. Some people do understand what we are up against.
This Is UNCONTIONABLE!
You cannot take away the only effective pain relief in opioids. LEGITIMATE pain sufferers HAVE RIGHTS and should NOT be controlled by government to suffer in DEBILITATING, EXCRUCIATING PAIN.
The other medications cause terrible side effects that leave permanent damage. Opioids DO NOT CAUSE physiological DAMAGE TO RESPONSIBLY prescribed patients.
You right same shit here too
The cdc guidelines are, quite simply, a death sentence for all people with chronic intractable pain, that are being intentionally denied appropriate pain management without any true science to support their one size fits all "guidelines." The cdc is full of liars with Anti-American, Anti-Human agendas and now, in 2021 it is becoming obvious to even the most obtuse citizen that the cdc is intentionally harming the US population!
To drive this point even further the cdc, fda, surgeon general and other public health agencies have knowingly and intentionally twisted and skewed their "data" to project the false narrative that all legitimate, chronic, intractable pain patients are dying on the streets because of their responsible use of legally and legitimately prescribed opioids, which many have been on, responsibly for decades! The reality is the opioid deaths that are the real issue are those that opt to use uncontrolled, unregulated street drugs, inappropriately labeled as "fentanyl." (One must question which government agencies benefit, financially - via black budgets withheld from scrutiny - from the importation and distribution of illegal street drugs.)
Now that the cdc is being fully exposed for their involvement in the creation, funding (and distribution?) of the biological weapon from Wuhan - Covid19, it's time to put them under a microscope and discover why they are committing egregious crimes against humanity.
It’s about time someone at least is acknowledging our existence as now WE are beginning to end our lives, rather than live in torture.
Woah! Someone actually spoke against this ginned-up hysteria!
I'm amazed a chronic pain patient hasn't shot up a pharmacy yet, considering how we are treated.
Unfortunately more will die. It is a forme of torture to deny or take away pain meds from ligit chronic pain sufferers. I find it hard that this is legal. My meds have been cut so severely (not a high dose, as I have read from others doses)that I have to take xtra to shower, walk to get food, other meds. That makes me go through withdrawl and have horrible pain every mth. I couldn't even make it to my mthly Dr.s appt. today, so I won't get a refill due in 2 days. Their goal is to get to zero. They don't have to do that. The mme is 90. I wasn't on that much- they didn't need to alter my meds at all. So here I am, barely able to care for my Angel cat, or take garbage out. It's just me, no one else. This is a losing game. I hope I'm not the next statistic. I just wanted a more pain free life, not one in bed 24/7. God bless everyone who is suffering through this.😢💜💕👎
Joyce Duhaine, my brother ended his life seven years ago because he could no longer stand the extreme amount of pain he had to go through everyday when they took him off his meds which were helping him. This is a sad evil world we are living in. :-(
This whole situation is unbelievable. How can they leave chronic pain sufferers without some relief? The pain clinic I was going to cut everyone down to zero Opiates. I've had nothing for 2 mths now. I'm in too much pain everyday. I think about death every morning I wake up. I shower 1x per wk., because it's so painful. I'm not washing my clothes. I can't sit or stand long. No way I can walk anywhere. This is extremely depressing. I'm 62 yrs on Sun. I know I can't live this way. I know that for a fact. Towards the end of the tapering of my meds, my insurance wouldn't cover Oxycontin, 2x 30mg then down to 2x10mg. So that caused a huge problem. They said I had to take the equivalent by another company, which is cheaper. Couldn't find it. By that time I'm going through withdrawl, and couldn't make it in to see the Dr, so I could at least get Percocet, a short acting Opiate. Three wks later when I felt I could maybe make it in, they said I have been off Opiates so long, I wouldn't be given any more. I'm on Disability, for 2+ yrs now, so obviously I have pretty bad pain, but not enough to take a stronger pain med that helps me function. I want to cry everytime I think that THIS IS IT. This is what I will face every day the rest of my life. I have Rhumanoid Arthritis, so I will get worse. A knee that needs surgery, my neck needs surgery for a herniated disc, which hurts alot almost every a.m. I have disc problems all down my back, and a car accident 6 yrs ago, a guy hit backend of car and totaled it, A very violent crash. Since then, I have horrible pain lower back and hips. I know my hips are misaligned. My Dr. acts like I shouldn't be in pain. Brain washing along with the pain meds being taken away. My life has no meaning. I'm in bed all day, every day. I functioned much better on Opiates. That's what they're for!!! Oh, did I mention I am living in a motel for 2 half yrs? That's because my meds were cut so drastically Spring of 2016, I couldn't work, missed too much as I went through a terrible withdrawl and pain. That resulted in me losing my job, and apt---both 16 yrs each. Lost all my belongings. Missed eye surgery when 1st cut back---retina was broken and detached. Still can't see out of that eye. So I left with my 2 cats to live in car, which I did for 4+ mths. No friends couches, in my car, sleeping sitting up.I lost 1 cat 1st wk out. So much loss. I'm still dealing with it emotionally. Now no help for my pain. I'm so tired and don't wish to fight anymore. What's to fight? The gov't decides how much pain I'll live with, my quality of life. This is a farce, we weren't the ones causing the problems. They just don't care how many people take their lives. But junkies who overdose can get Narcan and be resurrected. Even in this small motel room, I deal with much pain. It's such an effort to do the smallest of things. My cat is basically keeping me alive right now. One day that may not matter as my depression is getting worse. Thanks for your time if you read this.
Let people make their own decisions without a government busybody.
who is the govt to practice medicine without a license, by telling licensed prescribers who they can treat and how?
This is just the beginning
Now it’s covaid
You can’t trust the government
They want to control all of us
STOP 🛑 STOP ✋!!,TALK TO A LOMG TERM CARE PATO Taa
@@dondressel452 COVID is totally unrelated to chronic pain prescribing. You sound a bit unhinged.
@@divynelyjynxie24u i agree lol since when is the government experts in the medical field? oh, just take some aspirin and you'll be fine. geez. talk about no compassion for the people in pain.
As someone who has lived in constant debilitating pain since 1999, yes sweeping laws concerning pain medications will definitely hurt. If it wasn't for the pain medications I take daily I would be unable to work full-time at my job and take care of my family. Over 90% of us don't become addicted because we are taking meds for legitimate reasons. Instead of criminalizing those who do become addicted and punishing those who don't, we must be smart in how we handle this.
@BLAIR M Schirmer 👏👍
BLAIR M Schirmer over prescription of opioids doesn’t exist?? You can’t be serious. I agree maybe chronic pain patients are under prescribed but the whole reason this crisis started was because of the over prescription of opioids. The FDA approved OxyContin which claimed to be safe and non addictive. So doctors handed them out like candy. In the 90s you did not need to be In chronic pain to receive an opioid prescription. 80% of heroin users start on opioids. There is a alternative it’s called medical marijuana. It doesn’t work for everyone but for some patients it does. And the FDA doesn’t approve medical marijuana as a safe and effective drug.
Shari H. I am wondering what you are using as a definition of ‘addicted’. I consider myself addicted to opioids because, although I don’t abuse them, If I were to stop taking them I would go through an intensely painful and mind shattering withdrawal.
I don’t understand how anyone can take a very addictive medication, and not be addicted to it.
Could you please enlighten me?
Matt Miller Canada legalized marijuana. You are allowed to grow 4 plants of your own, or you can buy it at some liquor stores. It’s now legal for recreational use, but you can be pulled over and tested for being too stoned to drive. Grass can help, but you have to be willing to be stoned all the time, even with edibles. You can buy liquid CBD, but it is very expensive. I tried it, and it did nothing for me. Homegrown will give me a break, not because it helps with pain, but because it sort of separates your body from your mind. The partial relief is short lived.
Kelly Hudson I’m saying that I think it’s ridiculous that the FDA doesn’t approve medical marijuana as a viable treatment. It does not work for everyone but it should be used before anyone is prescribed an opioid. The FDA approved of OxyContin which was marketed as a drug that was non addictive. So to me that does not make any sense. When someone takes an opioid for a long duration of time and they try to go off of it they are in more pain. This is why it is so addicting. So instead of prescribing people these drugs in the first place we should try other treatment options. But obviously there are cases where people are in such an extreme amount of pain that they need these drugs.
Over 200 suicides from chronic pain group I used to follow after doctors stopped prescribing them out of fear of having license revoked it’s absolutely criminal what’s gone on!
People have the right to choose their drugs..
I agree totally. Only I know if I have a Motrin headache or a codeine one.
Yep! Unlike any other class of medication for any other disease, patients are more than qualified to say opioids work and their benefits outweigh their risk in our specific cases. In this way, patients deserve a way to bypass discriminatory doctors if we have a record of efficacy in our charts. If we have to switch providers for whatever reason they should not be allowed to discontinue our efficacious pain medication because they don't want to ℞ them. They wouldn't discontinue diabetes meds, they wouldn't discontinue immunosuppressants for transplant patients, so they should not be allowed to discontinue opioids based on zero medical basis supporting the discontinuation. We should be allowed to sign a waiver saying we understand the risks and accept them and that would allow us unfettered access to the effective dose we've shown response to.
It’s very insulting when your doctor tells you to meditate rather than give you pain meds that would be effective. What’s next healing crystals?!
@EGH181 💯 agree with your comment! They should go meditate when they are in deliberating pain.
A physician can document everything, back it up with second opinion referrals, etc. But it does not matter if the medical board targets you. If physicians do as you request, many will have their careers destroyed, become impoverished, have their marriages destroyed, have their families destroyed, and have their children traumatized. I know. I lived through it and am still living through it. My experiences have made me lose all trust in the government and made me now realize that the U.S. is no longer a free nation but has become a conglomeration of Administrative State dictatorships. No one elects them. No one can legally get rid of them. They don't have to answer, beyond mere lip service, to the public or the lawmakers. And they act as judge, jury, and executioner. Do you know that many medical boards are now actually run by appointed attorneys?
My response to the "alternative" pain management options were borderline deadly (side effects). When I moved, and brought my medical file to new doctors, I was labeled as a junkie and pulled off my fentanyl cold turkey. The Pain Mgmt clinic told me they couldn't prescribe, but if I needed any injections to come back. The injections last less than a month (they are supposed to go for 6 months) and I'm in constant pain, plus had a blood clot from injections going wrong, so am leery of letting a doctor that reviewed my file for less than 5 minutes and declared me an addict, do anything surgical in nature. I went to 6 different pain management doctors before giving up, and taking an asprin. By the way that means my quality of life is very much compromised, since the pain killers only addressed 20% of my pain, just enough to get me functional and had been at that level for years, I had not failed any drug tests and never had more in my system than prescribed for 18 years prior to this. Punishing the honest is what this system does, over and over and over again.
Just go get it straight from the cartel. That's what these politicians want you to do.
Yes, it is. The suicide rate among chronic pain sufferers who have either been cut off completely or have had their meds cut severely is on the RISE.
My doctor's hands are tied because the government has decided that they know my pain and disease processes better than my physician that I've seen for over 10 years, which is ludacris!I've had my pain issues since 1995 and been on medication since 2000 because I dealt with the crippling pain until I couldn't deal with it anymore. I don't take my medication to get high and when aspirin or whatever worked, that's what I took. Who wants to go to the doctor every month or be tied to a damn bottle?
The reality is, if I just wanted to get high, I could go to a methadone clinic and get up to 200mgs a day every day, but as a chronic pain patient can barely get enough to dampen down the tortuous searing pain!
This is affecting Vets who were severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan as the VA has cut several people off I've spoken to because of these new laws...and we wonder why their suicide rates are so high!!!
I understand cracking down on abusers and those using non prescription opioids, but stop making those who are using their meds as they are supposed to be pay for the sins of those who don't!
rachael wyld stacey Soldiers with PTSD are also being treated with atypical antipsychotics, which in my opinion, is criminal. Side effect? Violence.
@@Caperhere Not good! Not good at all!
rachael wyld stacey, my brother took his life seven years ago because he could no longer stand the excruciating pain he was in everyday since taking his meds from him. The suicide rates are climbing, but they don't care. This is what they want the people in pain to do so they won't have to be bothered by at least one more person. I hate this evil and cruel world.
I have a friend who doctor took him completely off his pain medicine who DID commit suicide. He had cancer and IBS.
His doctor cut him off even though he had cancer???
That’s a crime in itself
Launch a formal complaint with the board of physicians and surgeons,its as easy as writing a letter
A physician can document everything, back it up with second opinion referrals, etc. But it does not matter if the medical board targets you. If physicians do as you request, many will have their careers destroyed, become impoverished, have their marriages destroyed, have their families destroyed, and have their children traumatized. I know. I lived through it and am still living through it. My experiences have made me lose all trust in the government and made me now realize that the U.S. is no longer a free nation but has become a conglomeration of Administrative State dictatorships. No one elects them. No one can legally get rid of them. They don't have to answer, beyond mere lip service, to the public or the lawmakers. And they act as judge, jury, and executioner. Do you know that many medical boards are now actually run by appointed attorneys?
Sessions. " we need to stop addiction"
Translation. We will decide wether you deserve treatment. We will decide your quality of life. Because it bothers us that some people abuse drugs.
Abuse ,will always be here, its unstopable !
92% of people who take prescribed opiates do not become addicted.
People in pain need the relief they provide. The 8% need treatment for addiction. Let's provide for our patients needs for care and a higher quality of life.
Do you know how many millions of people are prescribed opioids?
It’s actually 21-29% that become addicted.
That’s MILLIONS of people.
Nancy Mesek ,
Hey, thanks for your post. Where did you get your numbers? I was part of the medical team who educated doctors in hospital on needs for pain control and these are the last numbers I have.
Thank you Cathy, you are correct! I have been using fentanyl patches and oxycodene for years, no over doses or escalating dosage! It works and allows me to live a life worth living! It does make it harder for chronic pain patient's to get their meds.
Nancy Mesek ,
Just checked with CDC surveillance.
They're giving me a number of 2.1 million. 2.1 million out of 320 million. Check me on that but let me know where your numbers came from.
recniabsal ,
CDC surveillance is still a good source. It hasn't been compromised.
You can trust it.
That's so true. I suffer severely with sciatica and back pain from degenerative rheumatoid arthritis. This episode has lasted for 6 weeks and I'm completely unable to function normally. Been to primary doc three times in 3 weeks and they give me shot of steroid and anti inflammatory. Now they're trying to see if I'm eligible for pain management through the LIVING BEYOND PAIN PROGRAM which is a tideous process just to see if I'm qualified. I'm on disability for same problem along with behavioral conditions. I've not asked for meds since 2017 and now with opiod abuse EVERY ONE has to suffer. Sad
Cheryl Adams I'm so sorry for what you're experiencing; I know it well and then some. Praying you'll get the relief you need soon. God bless.
@@GladysAlicea thank you for your kind words. We ALL have so much more in common than NOT
Cheryl, these injections of steroids make things worse in the long run. Steroids cause bone and connective tissue to soften and disintegrate. I refuse to have them, plus I'm allergic to the preservatives, and steroids make me severely depressed. Do the research
@@marthajf73 thanks for the insight. I know there's side effects with just about everything. Yet sometimes when you're in pain or in need shees you'll try just about anything. Thanks though. I'll do research and the thing about friend is, the doctors DON'T inform us of the side effects, and for the most part we trust the doctor. Go figure
I also have extreme back pain since 2007 12yrs now & had L4 TO L5 spinal fusion surgery only to make the pain a little worse. My Wife who is an RN BTW is upset with me because she didn't want me to get it done but I wanted to get it fixed badly so I could get back to work fixing airplanes as an A & P Technician. The pain is so bad there's no way in hell I could even sleep without taking my pain meds. Only you, myself and others with chronic pain TRULY know what it's like being in this much pain 24/7, it's a F'ing living nightmare!
Thank you, this has been a sentance of torture & lack of quality of life. Leading to loss of muscle mass we've worked hard to keep, losing jobs & ability to care for ourselves & families.
I'm relieved to here someone finally stand up for the millions of patients that are going through a genocide.
They're trying to kill us off. This is no accident, its by design..... I know im sufferin' my ass off... since I've been a chronic pain sufferer since i was 3 (41 years) it robbed ne of my childhood. Then the injuries piled up and my adult life got stolen too. I pray for all of us every hour of the day.....
So true
I try to not take my tramadol any more than necessary, but if I didn't have it when I really need it, I could easily find myself wanting to choose death.
Same here, but tramadol is not the same as opiates.
Use kratom. No one is going to FORCE me to stay in agony.
Tramidol gave me anxiety how can u take that it dose not take pain away
@@q.t.gamingfamily Kratom is our only hope,(as long as its legal).
@@edwarddunlap7344 that wouldn't stop me either😏
That's a question that, unfortunately, is completely ignored by our government and healthcare system.
Unfortunately, the DEA and policymakers have created a system where chronic pain patients and patients in end of life care are often unable to get treatment (or adequate treatment) for pain and suffering. In an effort to reduce illicit opioid and prescription opioid use, and treat opioid addicts, they've attacked people who are most vulnerable and most in need of opioid pain medications. Chronic pain patients have the lowest rate of addiction among all patient populations, at 0.3%, and yet we're being punished for the negative choices of others. We should all be able to get the medicines we need to function and enjoy life as much as possible. What are the alternatives for those of us who can't get life restoring medication? Suicide and / or illicit drugs. And suicide rates are skyrocketing among those chronic pain patients who are unable to find a doctor willing to help.
In my case, I was hit by an 18-wheeler and then fractured my spine in a cycling accident. I've been bedridden for years, unable to get any opioid pain medication (after exhausting all allopathic treatments and alternative treatments). My husband has cancer and has also been denied opioid pain medication. Instead, he was told to use distraction, massage, acupuncture magnets, meditation, hypnosis... And if none of those worked, they said he should try "acceptance therapy" and psychotropic medicines.
The only doctors who have a free pass to prescribe opioids (govt issued waiver) are DATA 2000 addiction medicine doctors AND they can ONLY PRESCRIBE OPIOIDS TO OPIOID ADDICTS. Other doctors who would like to treat their patients who are suffering risk DEA raids, loss of livelihood, and even incarceration. It's ludicrous.
The CDC had admitted to inflating the numbers of prescription opioid related deaths, illicit drug related overdose and deaths used in combination with other substances, and how numbers are derived. For example, if someone dies with any opioid in their system, it's counted as an opioid related death. If an 80 year old dies from cancer and has any opioid onboard, it's a prescription opioid related death. If someone, like Prince, dies with illicit fentanyl onboard (not to mention high doses of 5 other substances) it's counted as an opioid related death because illicit fentanyl is an analogue of prescription Fentanyl. If a person dies with alcohol, benzodiazipines, illicit fentanyl, heroin, in their system, it's counted as a prescription opioid death.Again because illicit fentanyl is an analogue of prescription Fentanyl. These faulty reporting methods on which
policy-makers are basing all the insane laws and guidelines. Obviously, it hasn't been working. How long will it take for them to come to their senses? With the ignorant, old white guy, reefer madness mentality among our policy-makers, I'm not holding my breath.
For a common sense approach see: www.drcarlhart.com
Thank you for that brilliant response.
No one EVER questions these cooked CDC numbers. Even among my favorite alternative news sources, the CDC is NEVER challenged for their corruption & lies. Thus, the very narrative, the opioid "epidemic", is accepted *without any skepticism* !
It's quite insidious how corrupt our corporate/ government agencies have become, and how destructive the results are to everyone.
I was diagnosed with ME/CFS. For 20 years, I've watched the CDC deny, dismiss and ignore this devastating disease. They barely fund it. They've been caught several times diverting ME/CFS research money into other research. For 20 years they have pushed the idea that this disease is psychological. Evidence has finally shown it to be an autoimmune disease of the brain & CNS.
In the 1980s, large outbreaks of this disease occurred (at the same time as AIDS). AIDS kills fast. ME/CFS kills painfully slowly, so it has been totally ignored. Most people have heard of AIDS, but more people will get ME/CFS.
There are lab tests for AIDS. The cause is known, and prevention is known. Because of research, there are now many treatments.
The cause of ME/CFS is still unknown. Most doctors *still* have never heard of the disease (if they have, they think it's psychological). There is no lab test. There are no FDA approved medications. No accepted treatments.
After fatigue, relentless pain is the #1 symptom. The suicide rate for these patients is astronomical, and just going up. This attack on opioids is devastating these sufferers.
People should be terrified. Terrified of this disease. Terrified of the destruction of scientific evidence, research and institutions.
People should be screaming about the ME/CFS epidemic, *NOT* a manufactured "opioid epidemic".
The 2013 MED(Morphine Equivalency Dosage) is what caused me to be let go from the pain clinic I had been going to, seeing the same doctor and complying with everything that was required of me for over 10 years. Before that I was prescribed lower dose pain medication like Vicodin and Ultram by my family physician. I never was prescribed Oxycontin. I was on time release morphine(old and cheap).
I cannot function without pain medication, no longer work without it.
I nearly died going through withdrawals. I believe I would be dead if not for cannabis. Which the damn government decided is illegal.
I disagree with that man(and Jeff Sessions)....it depends on what your back pain is caused by as to whether you should suck it up. A sprained muscle can heal and is helped by physical therapy. Bone and neurological disease needs medication among other treatment.
Thank you for finally being unbiased in your reporting about this!! I have left comments previously and have been advocating for patients everywhere. Besides the thousands of patients speaking out and sharing horror story after story and the escalation to denying even cancer & hospice patients pain medication, this was also addressed at the Senate Hearing Committee on Pain Management During the Opioid Crisis.
The CDC has publicly admitted they used misleading & inflated numbers of overdose deaths in their 2016 Guidelines. he way deaths are recorded can mean someone took one pain pill after a doctor visit, died in a car accident on the way home and their death is listed under "opioid related".
Now Gillibrand & Gardner are trying to force every one to be capped at 7 days only for acute pain! These types of laws have already been passed in over 25 states already and are not working well. Some states make patients go back, in person, to the doctor for more pain meds every 3 days/ We have more and more nurses joining the CPP community and explaining how being forced to move around so soon after surgery increases healing time, possibility of infection, possible tearing of sutures and are describing the terrible pain patients are going through .
Acute pain is an amputation from a car accident, it is a compound fracture from a skateboard accident, it is emergency surgery; acute pain is not just from getting a tooth pulled.
It's also not supposed to effect CPPs (Chronic Pain Patients) but neither were the CDC guidelines.
My profile pic is an xray of my back. I was injured at work in 2003. I've already gone through the stigma of trying to get acute pain meds while already receiving maintenance pain medicine. for my already daily pain. Pain medication doesn't magically work better to cover an increase in pain from major surgeries. Having your bones cut with saws and metal hammered into place causes an increase in pain for well over 7 days.
There are many qualified individuals ready, able and willing to speak up on our behalf, I hope to see more stories of the unintended consequences in the futre. We've already lost 7 people this month alone to complications caused by severe un or undertreated pain.
It causes release of cortisol, tachycardia, increased blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks.
An especially heinous death, perpetrated by a doctor too afraid of the DEA to continue to prescribe needed pain medicine, to a double amputee among other issues, who had never abused her meds and followed all the rules, is Dawn Anderson. Please search the article written by Dr. Richard "Red" Lawhern describing her final days after she was found unconscious and rushed to the hospital with a terrible infection and still denied pain meds while in the hospital and then refused dialysis because she was so tried of being in pain. She was then held down against her will and forced to receive injections.
CPPs are not denying there's a drug/addiction problem in the US and that people with substance abuse issues need treatment as well, but it's due to IMF (Illicit Manufactured Fentanyl) not our prescribed pain medicine. Yes, there was a time, 20 years ago, of pill mills and some diversion, but those days are long past.
Why, despite a decrease of 30-45% of prescriptions and prescription medications available is the OD rate still climbing?
Even Human Rights Watch has done an investigation into this issue and found that CPP are suffering greatly, and being forced to choose between street drugs or suicide.
Thank you so much for finally telling the other side of the story. I've been on Hydrocodone and Fentanyl patches for 15 years and have never had the first problem taking them, of course, I do take them as prescribed. These new rules that came over the past few years were cruel to those of us who take them for legitimate reasons and who don't misuse them For me, if not for these drugs I believe I would have committed suicide long ago. To say to take an aspirin is someone who simply does not understand or appreciate what chronic high level pain is. Jeff Session is an asshole for being so flippant about it all. And frankly, until now, so to has the media in general. The news should always be about ALL the facts, instead of all this one sided BS we see constantly.
His aspirin comment reminds me of the old fallacy that Marie Antoinette supposedly said.."Let them eat cake."
Well said. I bet he will get proper treatment if he ever needs long term pain management
Let Sessions take an aspirin for the pain that I’m in every minute of my life bc my spine is crumbling. How dare he!
"if not for these drugs I believe I would have committed suicide long ago" DITTO! Jeff Sessions is an entitled, silver-spooned, small-minded bureaucrat who certainly does NOT have medical lic!
@@marthajf73 Those soft spoiled characters have NEVER HAD TO SUFFER, they are sick people! Pain patients must band together to fight this shyte. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? They WORK FOR US, CALL YOUR CONGRESSMEN IN EACH PARTY AND LOBBY. Dignity is a HUMAN RIGHT!
I've been disabled from CFS/ME and Fibromyalgia since 1995 and have tried every therapy suggested since then. Since 2006, I have successfully been treated for my pain and insomnia symptoms with an opioid and a benzodiazepine. I functioned so well I had more or less forgotten I was ill. I was able to volunteer and work part-time and was a caregiver to my partner. That was until 6 months ago when I was totally cut off abruptly from my sleep medication and had my pain medication tapered down by 60% which was (and is) torture. This was because of my double board certified pain management specialist's fear of being arrested by the DEA due to the 2016 CDC Opioid Guideline's recommended 90 mme (morphine milligram equivalent). It's NOT working and I have been set back years. With this lowered pain med. dosage I barely sleep and when I do it is once every 48-72 hours. I am sleep deprived and find it extremely difficult to function (cook, clean, bathe, drive, etc.) because of my pain. My life is reduced to staring at the walls consciously breathing to get my mind off the pain. Every chronic pain patient in the country has been adversely affected by these draconian CDC dosage limitations. Please write your legislators. No one should have to live in pain. And I want my life back.
you sound exactly like myself!!!!!!!!!! almost word for word. im glad im not alone. THANK YOU!
DEA is worse than Hitler! I can,t get Tramadol! It,s the only one painkiller I am allowed to take after kidney transplant. Of course nobody geves it to me. Oh, how they worry about me health! What if i become an addict! It,s like saying: you might become a rapist cause you have a dIck.
Quality of life....
I can not wait until one those who are responsible for these guidelines to endure watching their loved ones exist in agony or to experience it themselves
It only takes an accident or something else life altering to come to understand what quality of life is
You and I both
Yes, the guidelines are hurting pain patients. We are suffering in intolerable pain. We need doctors to uphold their oath and do their job of doing no harm.
The reality is, pain can not be measured & is difficult to treat.
First one needs to understand that an opiate is addictive BUT when a person takes opiates for pain, and they take just enough for that pain, an addiction is not nearly as likely to develop.
The overprescribing of these drugs didn’t help but I believe the reaction made it it worse. The numbers reflect that.
There’s are not many options when it comes to chronic pain. I should know. I’ve suffered for 20+ years. I exercise, stay active, eat healthy & try not to over-exert myself. A close friend is one of the best Chiropractors in New York, all of that and I still experience pain that leaves me unable to function. Just supposed to live with it? How wonderful.
It’s not like there isn’t medicines out there, but they ALL have a negative side. Ibuprofen (Advil) works well but it will eventually make your stomach bleed...I watched my grandfather go through it years ago. He eventually was prescribed opiates (low dose morphine) and it worked well for him. Into his 80s he could play a full game of tennis, 18 holes of golf & still go home to cook dinner for 3. He lived an active full life, because of opiate pain treatment. That’s anecdotal but it’s also a very good example of the majority of people who need help with chronic pain.
There’s also aspirin & acetaminophen (Tylenol) can also be helpful for low level pain, but again it’s rough on the stomach & terrible for your kidneys if used regularly. All 3 thin out the blood as well. Then stuff like Celebrex just doesn’t work and causes all sorts of weird side effects. I read somewhere that it only helped around 5% of those taking it. So that’s not effective.
Then there’s Opiates. They can be helpful & it would be a lot better for Chronic pain sufferers if Doctor’s were allowed to prescribe these and NOT feel like criminals, instead of patients being forced off these medications, and many feel they need to go to the streets where they die from the Fentanyl laced dope out there. It didn’t have to be like this...
I look at it like this, during the 2000s, Doctors & Pain Clinics, we’re shutting down in an instant. After practically handing out the stuff for 20 years. Many were forced off these Opiates WITHOUT time to ween off and were “left hanging.” That’s tremendously irresponsible. In a matter of a couple years, hundreds of thousands of people if not millions in the US were forced off medication.
That created the market and the buyers were all ready lined up. I believe since then it’s a 7 fold increase in overdoses...that did not help matters.
I remember there were lots of addicts 10-15 years ago, but they didn’t die. Today, there’s at least 2 ODs in the Obits, everyday. Used to be 1-2 per year. This is one of the worst areas of the country for opiate abuse.
I’m a Progressive, Commie but when it comes to medicine (not drugs themselves, just the treatment of patients by doctors) I am practically a libertarian. No one has the right nor should they be able to interfere with a Doctor/Patient relationship in anyway. For better or worse. Do no harm. That’s the Hippocratic Oath. I also believe people should see a second doctor at least yearly for a second look and opinion. (And they should have Medicare-For-All to utilize those services)
The whole problem with the “Opiate Crackdown” is it has lead to more and more people going to the streets. And eventually we have 60,000 dead last year from ODs.
Odd, because 10 years ago it wasn’t even 10% of that number yet there was just as many addicts & more Doctors that prescribed more Opiates.
This is a parallel to the early 20th century when “Hard Drugs” were made illegal. Doctors didn’t care and continued to treat addicts, as they saw withdrawal and the affects of addiction are worse than leaving them to their own devices and creating an underground market where quality couldn’t be assured.
At that time, the largest purge of US Doctors (over 16,000 licensed Physicians has their licenses revoked) because they protested these laws, knowing the harm it would cause if all these addicts were “let loose” and continued treating them anyway (often for free) morphine, methadone and dope addicts. It parallels today’s situation, except the Doctors, especially Independent practitioners, are even more powerless today.
In the end, it feels like some eugenics program. The poor and addicts are “lesser” and fuck em. That seems to be the attitude that fuels these horrible policies.
The poor, either deal with the chronic pain with no help at all, or have to go to the streets. That’s horrible. Especially in contrast to the Rich having access to Doctors that will give them whatever they want.
It’s an issue that touches on so much of what’s wrong with our society. The desire to want to use drugs in the first place is very high for a “rich” Nation. The inability to treat people with chronic pain in the name of “public health,” Doctors are fearful of prescribing medicine, and there’s now a huge illicit opiate trade and more addicts then ever. And the criminal injustice system only messes things up more.
These policies are a failure and it’s another reason the Drug war needs to end! It’s really that simple. With Drugs, it should be Doctors. A health issue not a Legal issue. Dealers & Detectives don’t help addicts...Doctors do.
Justin M that was an excellent comment. I hope democracy now read these comments and realizes how fucked up this really is. Stop listening to those doctors who want to make money on every torturous device out there including implanting boxes in people that they have to charge through their skin!
Yes!!!
Prohibition has NEVER WORKED!
Addiction is not caused by the drugs. And yes, this is yet another attack on the poor and vulnerable.
They cut my meds in half. If not for anti-depression meds I wouldn't be here
I feel you.
@@msblueocean7533
Chronic Pain *IS* our reality. And we are punished for it.
I can't even tolerate antidepressants. Allergic to aspirin and nsaids.
I'm 34yrs old & have had 2 stress-induced heart failures since age 27, mainly due to going thru 20 years of being treated like an addict just because of my age, being stuck in the body of an 80-yr-old!
My pain Dr has been weaning me down from the only painkiller that works for me (hydrocodone) & now that oxycontin & oxycodone are likely going to no longer be produced, I have gone from having 3 insurance-covered meds to the ONE that my pain Dr says I can't be on long-term!!
I will be dying any day, it just would be really nice if it wouldn't be literally HELL when I do!!
Bernice Panders Why do you think you are going to die soon? Withdrawal from opioids can cause severe, long lasting depression.
@@Caperhere Um, as I said, I'm waiting for my 3rd stress-induced heart failure any day, and my Dr for some reason is forcing me to switch from the only med they can give me that works. I've been on everything under the sun multiple times, almost never the right med & dose, and every year there's another "crackdown on opioids", another pain med disappears off an already short list of meds they prescribe & are covered by medicaid! Now, it's going to shrink from 3 options to 2 or even 1, and it's going to be one that doesn't work for me at all!
I've had severe depression since I was 7 or 8, it's not withdrawals...
I feel for you Bernice because I understand.
I am a disabled firefighter that was injured on the job; I was exposed to a virus that has caused me to suffer with chronic pancreatitis which last year I was admitted to hospital 9 different times. I went to a pain specialist and they started treatment and yes after nothing else worked I was prescribed opiates. But since their treatment started I have been able to treat my extreme pain at home vs going to the hospital and being admitted anywhere from 5 to 9 days. Until they can find a cure, I’m stuck and yes at times those of us with legitimate medical conditions that require pain management are getting left out of the conversation. New laws make it difficult at times and increase the hoops we need to jump through. So far it hasn’t been a problem, but with all the extreme measures it seems our government likes to do, I am just waiting until the time comes where I will be back to going to the hospital when my disease flares up.
These people who want to make the rules don't have a damn clue what pain is. If they had the kind of pain I have they would be on their knees begging for relief.
Jefferson BEAUREGARD Sessions said, just take aspirin and tough out my throat tonsil and lymph node cancer and the nasty treatments I must go through to live past the next year.
When you die, you can have your ashes mailed to the GOP to let them now their lack of healthcare KILLED you - actionnetwork.org/groups/mail-me-to-the-gop
BlowItOutYourCunt It’s not just the GOP my friend
polachee Jeff Sessions needs a blanket party
Barry Meier has no idea what he is doing by his crusade.
Another who knows nothing getting involved. These suit people don't know anything about working people's lives.
Which is why I never got into "pain management", YIKES! I've seen too many people in the last year cut off of their chronic pain meds which were legitimately obtained with appropriate diagnosis turn to harder drugs that are illicit / illegal such as heroin. That in turn only fuels the drug trade which will be turning more towards hard drugs because of the legalization of marijuana.
Things needed turn out better in the next 20 years or I'm retiring as an expatriate out of this country!
Diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and stuck in the middle of this....
I never got the genetic testing required for an eds diagnosis but they diagnosed me with joint hypermobility and fibromyalgia and i feel for you!
I'm expecting to see 80 year olds out with their walkers looking for a dealer. The situation is totally unacceptable and disgraceful.
@@marthajf73, they took my 94 year old dad off his pain medicine. Now he suffers everyday. How barbaric and evil is that? This is a man/veteran who fought for this country in WWII, and look how much they care. They wish he would just hurry up and die! You are so right.....it is disgraceful. Beyond disgraceful.
I have hEDS. I have 0 doctors managing my condition. I was DX in early 2020 by a geneticist, then left on my own to figure out what to do about it. I have since found that there are few to no doctors in my area familiar with hEDS who treat adults.
Though, I was only DX a couple of years ago, of course, I’ve been living with it forever. I was DX with fibromyalgia in my early 20s (I’m 38 now) and was treated by the same pain management clinic until July this year. I had my low-moderate dose of “lesser opiates” abruptly taken away, though I’ve been 100% compliant for over a decade with the same doctor.
I have a masters degree. I have worked very hard to have a successful career (in public service) and to provide my family. I’ve only been able to accomplish all that I have because I was properly medicated. I got a new doctor who is not effectively been treating my pain yet. It seems like a he’s following a protocol by prescribing medication that might as well be aspirin, but he has stepped up a little since he’s seen the the vast deterioration of my functionality.
However, I’m FAR less productive now and for the last couple of months. All I seem to do is work on feeling well enough to work. I’m lucky in that I’m an individual state contractor, so I essentially work for myself from home. On the flip side, if I don’t produce, I’ll lose my contracts. There’s NO safety net.
JFK had health issues and required pain medication for a functional life. What if they abruptly took away his medication? There are so many talented people who cannot contribute to society because they have been arbitrarily, involuntarily, and abruptly (no taper) taken off the only medication that allowed them a functional and socially contributory life.
I had a friend who was in a motorcycle accident. The doctors gave him pain pills but he kept asking for refills to often so they cut him off. He then went out and got some heroin and accidentally overdosed and died. Mark Volmes RIP
Jasus, this is what's happening. Sorry, William.
I’m so sorry.
And that's what the real crisis is. Most of the heroin/fentanyl overdoses were pain clinic patients who were cut off. I have been to several funerals because of this. The real heroin addicts were used to it.
I've known many people who have ODed after their doctors cut their pain meds. One of them had 7 herniated discs. 7.
I rejoice everytime one of them dies and is FINALLY pain-free. It's the only choice left to us.
He had recurrent pain from trauma. That happens. Chronic pain doesn't exist only innately, it absolutely can develop especially from trauma. They should have never cut him off. His blood is on their hands.
Amy, please keep covering this story....many pain patients are suffering, turning to street drugs, committing suicide, or accidentally overdosing on street drugs because they’ve lost their pain meds, had them cut way down or cut off altogether. no one is covering this story....please don’t let it go..,thanks for having Terri Lewis on. Please have dr. Lynn Webster, dr. Red lawhern, dr. Stephen kertesz, Cindy Steinberg, etc etc.....what’s happening is reprehensible..the suffering is enormous. We don’t treat animals the way pain patients are being treated.....by govt, doctors, pharmacies, insurers....Trumps govt now talking another 30% reduction in supply...cancer patients, post surgical patients, chronic pain patients, all these groups can no longer get opioids.,,.this dr. Meyer u had on, omg...ignorant fool...I’d like to see him spend ONE WEEK in unrelenting severe pain. 😡🤬😝
I’ve read many of these posts...
Many of us end up not just suffering from pain...
The despair is scary for me.
But I just wanted to add to the conversation about how “they” try and determine the level of pain we are in.. or how they make the judgment as to rather we are addicted or not.
1. Never become angry or upset when they’re disrespectful towards you.
Or you’re an addict
2. Never discuss the issue of pain and what will help...
Or you’re an addict.
3. Never have Comorbidities, or you’re making up stuff to get drugs.
Or you’re an addict.
4. ZERO ROOM FOR ERROR ANYWHERE IN YOUR LIFE OR YOU’RE AN ADDICT!
I find it pathetic our doctors are not fighting for their patients.
Adults should be able to make decisions that doctors provide like it has been. We are responsible for our own care. Detroit hospital refused to get my pain under control peri-op for major neurosurgery to remove tumors, multiple laminectomy and laminotomies. Then I was dropped after a month with no care! Bedrest for 21 months now.
i have suffered since this has happened, i have struggled with my business, my daily activities, my mental health has taken a turn to constant stress in fear of another crack down uggg. i have never thought in terms of taking my own life but the last 12 months have caused me to really wonder if i will be able to even make it another 12 months . my sleep went from making it 4 plus hours to im up all night tossing trying to get comfortable while fighting pain. i was at 120 mg taken down to 90mg and i haven't been the same since. i am mad at the addicts who were addicts claimed a doctors prescription turned them into addicts instead of being truthful that they were an addict way before, im mad at the fear it has caused doctors of being sued and losing their licence, im mad at the statistics that do not include fentanyl and heroine use, im just mad.
Thank you democracy now for bringing this to the forefront. To unite us. We need a lobbying group.
Does Amy pay you well? Do you get paid sick leave? I was thinking of working there after I get a lobotomy.
Class action lawsuit? I'm in.
The good news is that the CDC has spoken again, in favor of higher doses for severe pain. They are saying that 90 MEE was meant for people starting out, not for long term patients.
I'm glad to hear the CDC removed its head from half way up their ass. My thanks to those who advocate for us and exposed the anti opiod activist docs who pushed this ignorant 90MME veiled threat dose guidelines and overblown OD death statistics. I feel sorry for the newbies who thru no fault of their own have been thrust into a world of suffering and be told to suck it up with an aspirin. I do understand not starting off people on super high dosages, esp. if they are opiate naive patients. Thanks for the update!
First, your comment was several mths ago. Second, I see no change. My pain meds were down to zero 2+ mths ago, and now I lay in bed all day. In too much pain when I DO ANYTHING, even shower. I can't get pain meds for my pain. I'm 62 yrs on Sun. I will not be having another birthday. I cannot see myself living like this too much longer. What's sad is, I was just a little bit over the 90mme when I went to a pain clinic instead of my reg. Dr. Their goal was for everyone to be tapered to zero, which I didnt know at the time. They would not have been in any hot water to let me still have most of my dose that I had been on for 2+ yrs. The way my life is now, suffering quite alot everyday, didn't need to happen!!!!! Why is a PAIN CLINIC refusing pain meds, and taking them away from people who can have half a normal life?!?! It is very frustrating for someone else to be in control of my pain, and quality of life. If I take my own life, it will probably happen in a fit of rage and pain. I just can't see existing like this. What's the point? I don't wish to suffer anymore. I understand the suicides and the state of mind. Why would you want to keep on living when the 1st thing you think of in the morning is how you wish you were dead, and then somehow get up. I have a " 4/ever in a good mood" cat, and she's the only reason I do get up or do not end this suffering. I believe one day will turn too dark, and promise relief, and that won't matter. My life would be soooo much better if I had less pain, and could take care of myself better, like taking a shower more often than 1× week. Bedridden, when I don't have to be. The gov't can go straight to HELL.
@@TuxyKat I was very disappointed when the 2019 CDC update came to nothing in changes. However, the CDC is coming out with new guidelines sometime this year. Real pain sufferers and experts were involved in writing them up this time, not just anti-opioid zealots.
@@TuxyKatyou still around? 🙏🏽 suicide is not the answer
After 5 years of untreated pain for my chronic condition I have stopped all care for my chronic condition. I do this to hasten my death as I can no longer handle living in constant chronic pain. What the guidelines have done is make real patients victims of their pain and addicts are still dying. In fact since the 2016 guidelines opioid overdoses have only INCREASED!
Sorry about the typos, but I hope you will view my rant positively it's entirety - or, at least, mostly. With enough "likes" I'm contemplating sending a more comprehensive editorial to some major publications to see if they have the balls to publish. Thumbs up or❤?
My dad had a major car accident when he was in his mid 30s. He had a work accident as well. Had his hand completely crushed and rebuilt. Had his legs crushed and was in a ton of pain. He was getting pain medication legally through his doctor but then they stopped prescribing because of the DEA crackdown. His doctor was afraid to lose his license. He was recently found dead from fentanyl. Such a great plan.
Thank you for this Democracy Now piece. It’s very considerate but our doctors are now able to “Just Say No” to chronic pain patients and we have been unceremoniously been dumped. Instead of having enough pain meds to have a modest QOL (Quality Of Life) we are now just surviving in isolation, and nobody really cares about us. Truth doesn’t matter only the narrative of the day. Gotta go now, need to meditate.
Whatever happened to first do no harm? I wish there was a way that they could hook me up to a device to measure my pain throughout the day, and to pair that with surveillance of a mock apartment to see how I have to accommodate the average daily tasks such as making dinner. I used to be a thriving business professional, who was active, and having a quality of life. I'm 38, and have to pull up a chair to cook dinner now. I have to physically pick up my legs to put them in and out of the car. Most nights I cry myself to sleep silently the pain is so bad, and when I wake up I'm crying wondering how I'm going to make it through the day. I have a uncurable, debilitating ,progressive, neurological genetic disease. I used to be managed with a long-acting medication twice a day, and a breakthrough 4 times by my neurology doctor I saw for several years. Everything changed when I moved to a new state now can't find a specialist who is familiar with my rare condition, and my primary doctor who has my records has prescribed me one tablet a day of a 10 mg pill for 30 days. Now I have developed severe depression and anxiety, and panic attacks that only adds to the physical pain. Punish the ones who are doing wrong, not the ones just trying to have a as normal as possible life. Things have to change!
I have said that for a long time--- I wish we could have something on us throughout the day to prove our pain. Many days at work (have not worked for 2+ yrs now) ---last 9 out of 16, I remember thinking, " I wish they knew my pain right now, they wouldn't believe it---off the charts". It would help with the Dr's who become paranoid that every patient is using them, lying to them, faking, etc. I've seen it more than once. You know, one bad ruining it for the rest. I do wish they invented something. That would really solve many problems, esp. for the patient in ligit pain. I wish you the very best.💕💜💞
we the people need to make our own decisions and control our own lives .
While recuperating from kneecap replacement surgery, a hospital nurse ran through the entire pharmacopia of so-called ''pain killers,'' and ONLY the opiate Dilaudid was effective. An intravenous dose of morphine produced NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER, not even drowsiness. My brother told me I'd make a lousy junkie. Some of us NEED opioids sometimes.
I've had chronic pain for over a decade now due to a spinal injury, and I have to say that getting my prescription filled has, on occasion, been a nightmare. Some doctors treat you like a junkie when you're simply trying to get a refill. Fortunately, my pain comes and goes - most of the time it's just a dull ache, but sometimes I can't even move because the pain is so bad, so I only take pills when the pain becomes unbearable, but I feel for anyone who has to take opiods more regularly.
Did Berry Meier really say that some people deserve relief through pain management, he must believe that some of us don’t deserve relief at all
Jeff session hope u never get ms or fibromyalgia
If so take an aspirin
Aspirin and NSAIDS can cause G.I. bleeding which can lead to death. Also gabapentin us is NOT a painkiller, but it will make you stupid and clumsy. The only pain it may help is something like diabetic neuropathy, not arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc
Actually I hope he gets that and more and I hope he gets a nurse and doctor who believes same as he does and gives him a blasted aspirin.
Anti-opioid zealots should never be allowed to be administered opioids. Never. They think there are effective alternatives for all cases? Fine. Put your money where your mouth is. Their charts should have flashing red warnings saying they have elected to be a zealot and no controlled substance may be administered. Watch how quickly they realize how stupid anti-opioid zealotry is.
Wow. I just went through a month of miserable, debilitating pain from teeth being removed and dry socket. And this "expert" says it's a minor thing that doesn't need pain medication? I went to the emergency room because it was the weekend and they gave me 3 pain pills and sent me home. I even went to the dentist who removed my teeth and she said, "It's not infected so you're just going to have to live with it while it heals." Huh? Why? Why must I be in extreme pain instead of getting some relief? I'm a grown man but there were times I just wanted to break down and cry it hurt so bad. None of the doctors in my county will prescribe pain medicine because of DEA directives. The DEA is a multi-TRILLION dollar operation over the last 60 years and their "War on Drugs" has been a total failure. Now they want to take medicine away from senior citizens. Where is the human compassion?
Twice in the last 5 years I needed short term pain management for acute conditions and was denied it by both my personal physician and by a hospital emergency room doctor. I've probably taken opoids 5 times in my entire life to manage short term pain. I'm 70 years old and I'm at no risk of becoming addicted. Because of this dumbell policy I unnecessarily suffered nearly unbearable pain for about 4 or 5 days twice. Sessions never fails to surprise me about just how stupid he really is.
My spine was crushed in a fall in the Army in 1981. VA Rx’ed me my first dose of pain meds in 2000 to help me to keep working. They cut my functional dose by 70% in 2018. Not because I was better but because they set a ceiling dose that ALL Veterans could only have the equivalent of 6 percosets per day MAX no matter how long they have been successfully benefitting from the medication or what their specific painful condition was. Many Vets were drastically reduced by 200-300% and more and sadly many ended up taking their own lives from desperately high pain levels,
The amazing thing is that the Poppy flower is the USA people's favorite plant 🌺
I've had 2 bouts of spotted Fever while having relapsing polychondritis... I've got 9 completely deteriorated discs in my spine, 0% cartilage in most joints, I've got less than 20-30% cartilage in my left elbow & left hip, plus the polychondritis is also attacking my lower ribs/nose/ears... I still work out to try to counteract, but went off the meds once & I had a stroke from the strain.
Yes, I take pain meds, I'm in a program for the last 13yrs, I take my meds literally on the clock, I take 10+ drug tests a year thru my program - I wholeheartedly go by the book & follow every rule...
But love how the government would still like to call me a crackhead, & tell me to take an aspirin & toughen up - deal with it. My meds have always helped about 50-60% which is actually what you want, anymore than that can really fog up your thinking & judgement, just taking most of the edge off is more than enough, besides no pain would probably cause you to totally forget your actual limits & you'd probably hurt yourself beyond help - just my personal opinion.
I would honestly hate to wish my situation on anybody for an extended amount of time, but maybe the government could get hooked up to a computer & a dozen stun guns so that they could see what "take an aspirin & toughen up feels like".
Why am I reading some chronic pain sufferers are still getting their pain meds?! Mine were tapered to zero, and that totally changes my life, including thoughts of death when I open my eyes and haven't gotten out of bed yet. Some HAVE committed suicide! So why is this discrepancy happening?! It's a matter of life and death. Something is really not right here. In 2016, because of cutting my meds too severely, I lost my job/apt of 16 yrs apiece. And all my belongings. I also missed a very time crucial eye surgery, and lost sight in that eye. I lived in my car for 4+ mths, left with both my cats, and lost one 1st week homeless. I moved into this motel when weather got colder and I just couldn't do it anymore, 2half yrs ago. I received Disability 2 wks homeless. Couldn't get help while I was working in inhumane pain. I had to lose EVERYTHING!!!!!! I'M 62 yrs this Sunday. I was on a much lower dose after the sickness. But then, unbelievably, they took the pain meds away AGAIN!!! I paid a huge price to not work anymore. It did happen because of my Dr and the new rules. I have suffered greatly because of this. Still am, emotionally. I get very anxious when I have to go anywhere, and many things I just don't do. Now that all my meds have been taken away, I can't go anywhere because pain can come on very sudden, and I need to be by my bed. I'm in pain all day, but I refuse any pain I can, at those really high levels where you have to zombie yourself out to tolerate it. I skill I learned at work. This whole Opiates Crisis turned into MY CRISIS, and I speak for all who have or are suffering. If you didn't lose your job, then home, belongings, a beloved pet😢, then you are that much better off. I know the main thing is the pain. My past is gone, like I never existed. People I spent yrs around are gone. My work closed, a big retail store. Anyway, having your meds cut can risk your job and home. That makes very, very desperate people who will do desperate things. This whole Opiates scam has ruined too many lives. We are collateral. Living a life in severe pain is totally unacceptable, yet our gov't is responsible. They could care less. I am totally ashamed of my country. You don't force your people to live in inhumane pain... to escape they take their lives. Someone has to take responsibility and make it right. For some, sadly that will never happen. I'm so sorry.
I would like to give Sessions a new pain.
Absolutely correct! In my state, people are being herded into pain management offices where they want to provide everything except pain medicine. And of course, they are billing for services that patients don't need or want. They are treating everybody as drug addicts.
B. P. What state are you in? Pls don't say CA!
DE
@@GladysAlicea what about CA?
@@GladysAliceaI am in CA. Worst state for chronic pain patients.
@@remowilliams6152 Absolutely. Hope you're well. I went back to Cali in '20 and '21, and after multiple xrays, MRI's, CATs and blood tests, neurosurgeon recommended surgery for spinal stenosis. No way. These drs humiliate you if you ask for pain meds, urine tests at 69, even with long history of chronic pain, perm disability and cases of medical records. I left and after many prayers, the Lord relieved my pain with minimal meds. It can be quite depressing though.
This is a serious problem for people with chronic pain. The CDC falsely conflates the long-term need for pain medication with addiction. If a person is in severe pain, they will be "addicted" to ANYTHING that relieves that pain. When they don't take the pain meds, the pain comes back. Duh! There are many who will need to be on opioid medication for pain management FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. This does not mean they are addicted. There is no need for these people to 'get off' their pain meds.
I've never wished for anyone, even my worst enemy, to experience what I do pain wise 24/7/365... but that guy who said take some asprin... I do.
If they had our pains they would not of cut our meds
I think that the problem in lies with the insurance companies...yet again. For years this was allowed to go on and it was perfectly fine to pay out on it, thus creating this epidemic. Now, that has changed and it is ridiculous the hoops that you are forced to jump through now. Like others commenting, am a patient with a chronic incurable disease that requires a level of pain management so I can have some semblance of quality of life. Without relief from pain, I do not move and am unable to help myself because I am literally frozen/crippled with pain. People like me actually are addicted, but in a controlled and deliberate manner it is called dependency. I view it like a diabetic who is dependent on insulin to survive. Pain is not considered a metabolic condition warranting the on going renewable medication tier. This is what needs to change. The coding of chronic incurable conditions which allow for any and all means of pain control to be covered would be ideal.
Really! I have MS and DDD and I used to be treated for my pain in Maine. Oxycodone was like a miracle for me. Gave me my life back. Now I’m told to take Tylenol and do yoga. Have tried every alternative med my Drs could think of. (Actually passed out and broke a tooth on Gabapentin)My stomach aches everyday from the amount of Tylenol I take. I’ve lost custody of my kids to a man who physically abused me because I can’t take care of myself lest anyone else. I shower about twice a month and it is a huge and painful ordeal. I don’t expect no pain of course. It would just be nice to not be a lump on the couch anymore and go back to being human. Some quality of life before I’m completely disabled from MS would be nice. I’m not going to but I’d like to see the suicide statistics since 2017 on patients like me.
Of course some simple blanket-statement, or as you say "one size fits all," policy isn't going to help. The problem of addiction is complex and thus requires complex solutions, and obviously prohibition is never a good solution.
@BLAIR M Schirmer Right, a problem induced by legislation aimed at reducing addiction.
Five years later, it's worse than ever. For the doctors who refuse end-stage cancer patients: shame on you.
I can tell anyone here as of 2023 now and a chronic pain patient; things have gotten worse. I've literally been abandoned by all my healthcare providers leaving me with very rare and complex debilitating chronic pain condition. The alternatives available are not what people might think they are. Pain management injections cost over $2,000 for four hours of pain relief; that's rediculous. Especially for someone who hasn't been able to work in two years (the $2k was with insurance btw). Right now I'd say is a very bad time to be a chronic pain patient.
YES!! YES!!! YES!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for covering this issue. The pain community is losing more and more to suicide every day. This video is 4 years old and things are only getting worse for people in pain.
Barry Meijer; "Pain Killers are not the answer, there are other pain management methods" Spoken by a guy who is not in FUCKING PAIN!
There's no sympathy from them at all they think by just saying it that the problem will work itself out without their intervention actions speak louder and lately no one has tried to make it better for everyone
Oh...Dr Lewis I miss you so much!
It is so sad for those of us in pain. Harm is an understatement. My daughter life has been ruined. She has lupus, fibromyalgia and yes she is beyond feeling hopeless as she has withdrawn from college and now had a seizure due to pain exhaustion. Still no one can/or will help. Her life is being ruined.
If Barry Meier had to deal with chronic pain I think he would change his mind quickly.
Wasn't the main group addicted younger ? It wasn't the elderly
Intractable pain without adequate pain medication is a misery that o wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
What you saying Teri is new patients with serious pain from whatever cause simply won’t receive effective pain medicines!
... that dude 7:40 needs to experience chronic back pain from nerve damage that is so intense that it hurts to breathe and that is so intense that there is nothing -NOTHING that can alleviate that pain except an opioid ... until then, he needs to stfu ...
#Legalize2020 Legalize weed, and all psychedelics now!
@BLAIR M Schirmer Yeah, I noticed that GLARING omission. Proves he doesn't know ANYTHING!
Of course, but stop co-opting the pain patient's crisis regarding opioids. Cannabis is rarely efficacious as a solo therapy for us. Stop derailing our plight to talk about cannabis, because of course we agree it should be an option, but it is not and never will be a total replacement for opioids. Stay in your lane. We're saying opioids and advocating opioid access for a reason, and that reason is not because cannabis is effective enough.
Yep...they are harming me.
A physician can document everything, back it up with second opinion referrals, etc. But it does not matter if the medical board targets you. If physicians do as you request, many will have their careers destroyed, become impoverished, have their marriages destroyed, have their families destroyed, and have their children traumatized. I know. I lived through it and am still living through it. My experiences have made me lose all trust in the government and made me now realize that the U.S. is no longer a free nation but has become a conglomeration of Administrative State dictatorships. No one elects them. No one can legally get rid of them. They don't have to answer, beyond mere lip service, to the public or the lawmakers. And they act as judge, jury, and executioner. Do you know that many medical boards are now actually run by appointed attorneys?
problem is so absurd that many years ago i went without painkillers for the excruciating pain of an exercise injury caused burning pain to the nerve in my arm originating in my neck. i had to wait 2 weeks of misery b4 PT eventually resolved it. the urgent care in metro DC I went to when i had a SECURITY CLEARANCE working for DoD wouldnt give me anything despite my clean-cut appearance and well-spoken manner. Ever since then in 2004 I horde painkillers i am ever prescribed. Ive had 10 year old pills that i use for if and when i eveer get so hurt that i need them bc i cannot depend on the medical world to give me them even when I clearly need them. But they give them out like candy to my now elderly mother, which a burglar loved when he broke into my mom's house. Absurd. This has all happened so they could flood the market w these pills. sell more now, who cares about the mess.
THANK YOU TERRI LEWIS
I’m in too much pain to say what I have gone through. My Northern California dr told me “you DO know that euthanasia is legal in California “. Suicide has been a constant thought for 8+ years. I never had alcohol, tobacco or even caffeine! I hung on to my last 9 morphine pills for several years just so I might be able to attend a child’s wedding ! I never abused any drugs. I am now using marijuana gummies. They are expensive and I hate the feeling of being drugged but my pain is worse. I literally tremble everywhere and moan with every breath. Sleep is hell which only makes pain worse. Sadly, countless people Will turn to the streets and end their lives…a terrifying reality.
All the doctors and govt people who say that the opiates don't help pain, or they say just take an asprin/tylenol, I hope they all end up with chronic pain and find out opiates and opioids are the only things that help ease the pain, and as soon as they realize they need it, I hope the doctors start cutting them off like they have been doing to so many pain patients. I hope they all suffer in pain because they are causing so many people in pain management to suffer... Many legitimate pain patients who are getting cut off from their pain medicine do not only contemplate suicide, a lot of them end up having to find pain management in other ways which is causing them to become addicts or they buy something they think is the same medication they used to get through their doctor so they take it like they used to and end up overdosing because it wasn't actually what they used to get, its fake and probably has to much fentanyl in it. This war on opioids is causing more harm than good just like prohibition caused more harm than good back in the 20's
Sometimes i say to myself "Oh my God,oh my God, just get me thru this pain."
Standard question at the er/ doctor's office,are you suicidal? No, but not a day goes by without me thinking about it. Hurting EVERYDAY makes you wonder what the point of even being here is.
In the meantime I'm supposed to have compassion for drug addicts. I'm so tired of hearing the graduation stories: pain meds to heroin. BS. No matter how bad my pain gets, the thought of shooting up NEVER crossed my mind.
Please cover this story again! We are losing/have lost the ONLY medications that help us live any quality of life. We are stigmatized, neglected and being abandoned. No one seems to care that addiction is not pain/pain is not addiction, and the two diagnoses deserve to be treated with very different approaches. The people who take pain meds are almost always taking them as a last resort. We are 100million, but the 2.5 million addiction sufferers are determining our healthcare. Please help! Director of Communications For National Pain Council.
Short answer, and correct answer, is YES!
I am better now, struggled with chronic pain for years. several operations I am finally better after YEARS!! I feel this is totally legitimate, It is sad.
I need help! I have adhesive arachnoiditis that I was diagnosed with approximately 22 yrs.ago, after being on a stable dosage of pain meds I was just told I have to go back to pain management clinic because my doctor does not want to prescribe my meds anymore.I have already gone down in dosages twice now.but, this new doctor does not want to write for my meds. I need help please.
law abiding folks , doctor scrip , WE DON'T GO TO THE HOOD, COMPRENDA ?
It's not that we're losing our insurance, it's that our doctors won't prescribe the amount of medication that most chronic pain patients, who have been on long term opioid therapy, need. They read the 2016 CDC guidelines with the mention of the 90 MME, as a hard upper limit, instead of as a guideline for prescribing to opioid naive patients. It has hurt those of us who have been force tapered, had our mg.'s reduced involuntarily and without our input, or have encountered pharmacies who refuse to fill valid opioid prescriptions, thereby overstepping their scope of practice in that they are nullifying a valid prescription that the patients' doctor wrote for them. How is it a pharmacists right to decide that a patient with a valid prescription from their doctor somehow does not have the right to have that medication??
They just put me on Palliative care for multi organ failure and COPD & Pulmonary Hypertension which lead to a 75 % Paralyzed Diaphragm and over 46 surgeries and my white count is 18,000 and there looking for a auto immune or cancer and the Pain i am in makes me want to give up so my Question is am i under the CDC restrictions ? and a week ago my new Pain Doctor said his hands were tied and he knows i am in alot of pain and has me on the 50 mme but that doesn't in no way help my pain :( :( i feel so sorry for all of us suffering like this it's inhumane !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!now that i am on Palliative care does that change anything ?? or do i have to suffer even though i am at the end of my Life almost ?? can someone please answer this question??
I have stage 4b cancer and still have trouble with the insurance company and the doctor knowing how to prescribe them.
i am 70 yo male never took illegal drugs in my life . been bed for years hurts to walk sit . i had a very bad pto shaft accident that left me broken . what do i do the best i can hope for is to die in my sleep.
YESSSSS! It is UNFAIR!!!😢
Why not talk about antidepressants and the damage they cause .interesting that they are pushing antidepressants on chronic pain sufferers . Their just trying to make even more money
I can no longwr get my prescibed opiate due to federal policies. How can we band together to help one another get our damn meds?!?
I have long term (30+ years) of chronic pain that has worsened with age. My diagnosis depends on which doctor you ask. Some of them are: fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, Lyme disease, functional pain syndrome. I'm so freaking sick of know-it-all ignorant government officials and narcissistic health care providers who dont know me at all personally determining how my pain should be managed. What happened to the doctor patient relationship?
This guy has no idea what he's talking about. He deserves an illness that causes severe pain 24/7, and totally destroys his life. Thing is, I can't even take these magic pills such as oxycontin or vicodin.
And they're both right... it's that the guidelines trying to address the problems companies like Purdue caused are hurting patients like "grandma" and others with these co-morbidities. These patients in real need are falling through the cracks and suffering. Also, way to go Jeff Sessions. Your compassion is just overwhelming. I hope you never get cancer or fibromyalgia or rheumatoid. If you do, Walgreens has aspirin on sale.