2014 New Pain Medication Laws Dictating To Doctors That They Cannot Prescribe Anything Equivalent 120 Mg Of Morphine Or Higher A Day Per Patient (Page 36)

I was told Friday by my Pain Management Doctor at my monthly appointment that the DEA was implementing a new law dictating to doctors on how much pain medication they could prescribe per patient per day. It could be equal to no more than 120 mg of Morphine per day per patient and they had to comply within 3 months for all of their patients. I am trying to find out as much information on this as possible. I don't know if my Pain Management Doctor is stating fact or if he is just running scared and if he is stating fact, I don't know if this is federal or state (Alabama) mandated. I spoke directly with the Southeastern division of the DEA in Atlanta this morning and they are not aware of any law of this nature coming into effect and I also contacted another pain clinic locally that has never heard of it either. So I have been trying to reach my Pain Management Clinic and get a copy of the law itself so I will know if it's federal or state and if it is an actual law or just a state regulation and if it's even true but so far no one has called me back so I thought I'd try my luck here and see if anyone has heard of this. This really has me bothered. It looks like either way, true or not, to get adequate pain care I am at least going to have to move out of state if not the entire country. I will ask my questions about that in a different post. But if this is in any way true, and it seems my pain doctor is going to be going by these guidelines whether it is or is not true, it is going to cut my pain meds by almost half. I am on 120 mg of Oxycodone and 8 mg of Dilaudid per day which I was told equals 212 mg of Morphine per day. And before someone decides to tell me that I don't need that much pain medication, I will go ahead and say to you, you don't know me, you don't know what conditions I have that cause me Daily Severe Chronic Pain and other Daily Severe Pain to warrant that much medication, you don't know my tolerance for pain meds, I do NOT take any pain medication to feel high, I ONLY take pain medication to relieve some of the pain as what I am on doesn't even relieve all of my pain, I do NOT drink, I do NOT do street drugs, I see my doctor every 28 days just as I am supposed to, I take my medication as prescribed and the way I am supposed to take it except when I had extreme oral surgery a month ago and I did have to break up my tablets for about a week but they were put on my tongue and NOT up my nose and they were IR tablets so I was fine doing that as I had checked with my pharmacist prior, and you don't feel what I feel or see me lying in bed 24/7 crying from the pain because it is so excruciating and unrelenting so please before anyone starts telling me that I don't need that much pain medicine just stop now before you even start. Those of you that have to live with daily pain will surely understand where I am coming from being this defensive as I'm sure you know you are treated as a drug addict by most doctors even. Thanks in advance for any help with my question.

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Re: Michele (# 696)

We have no one left in Alabama where I'm at. I am no longer on any type of pain medicine other than Aleve and ibuprofen. 7 years of pain meds gone. I have found that my pain meds were no longer doing much anyways. I suffer 24/7. It's the abusers that has screwed it up for everyone else. 13 surgeries and finally doctors tell me damaged nerves that can't be fixed. As for politicians they all suck.

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Re: T baby (# 694)

That is so right. We give our rights away everyday. Ppl have got to quit saying what is the government doing about it. We don't want the government doing anything but protecting our borders that no one gets in without our say so. It's not just the drugs we have to worry about. It's that material that can wipe out states that I worry about. It only takes one illegal with that. That said I am no longer able to get my pain med after 7 years 13 failed surgeries. Theirs not a thing I can do about it. Their are no more doctors left that will prescribe u with opiates.

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I forgot to mention here in Alabama I was told that Alabama medical board is only allowing 50 mg total for opiates but with no doctors left to prescribe does not matter.

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Re: Jace (# 702)

Actually yes there are doctors who will, and they are in Alabama. I just can't put the name of my Doctor out here on the internet. Even after referrals to him, he has been interviewing patients who are referred and deciding who he will accept, but he does accept most patients.

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Re: Duran Duran 4 life (# 704)

I just use my Family physician he prescribes muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories. I have a doctor that gives me epidurals and and steroid injections. When the injections wear off I just bear the added pain. I really don't want to go on opiates anymore. I have been off opiates and although my pain overwhelms me sometimes. I feel like my meds had quit working anyways. My pain is the same without the medicine. I really belive I had become e so tolerant to them that they were no longer working. I could go to mobile or Pensacola maybe but I can't make that trip just to far to go with my pain. I don't sleep much but that's how I started, just back to when I began.

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Re: keikee (# 12)

Long story short. I had a prescription which I could not get filled anywhere so I finally went to ER in hopes of getting it filled at the hospital. The doctor, however, called across the street to a Walgreens who had just informed me that they did not have the medication. But the doctor was told it was in stock. So, I waited at the hospital and my friend dropped the prescription off and was told it would be ready in an hour. After getting home I got a call from the pharmacy who informed me that they made a mistake and did not have the medication. So we went back to Walgreens and talked to the pharmacist and explained that it was me that the doctor had called for. She looked at me and told me that I was told more than once that they did not have the medication and it did not matter who called; she did not have the medication.

During our conversation I used the word 'desperate'; as I had been out for days and it was going to be labor day weekend and I knew I would continue to be without unless someone helped me to fill my prescription. I got nowhere and ended up back at the hospital where the doctor finally wrote me a prescription few pills so I could then fill it at the hospital. She wrote for just a few to last until I could hopefully get my prescription filled after the holiday. I had not been home but a few minutes and the Sheriff was at my door. I was told that CVS pharmacy called them because they were worried about me! BS! Although I had proof that I had some medication after the second ER visit of the day, the Sheriff handcuffed me and had me admitted where I spent the holiday in the hospital instead of with my family. Lastly I paid 2 $100 co-pays for the ER visit and more than a $1000 to the sit in the psych ward until I could be seen by a psychiatrist!

I thought I was the only one with such an awful story; I now know I was sadly wrong!

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Re: Anne (# 20)

You are correct, this is not a federal law, but non specialists will use this as an excuse to send you to a pain specialist to take pain patients off their books due to our POTUS's proclamations of opioid epidemics... which can only exist if you are prescribed this from a Doctor feel good, or a stolen prescription, or hijacked ingredients from a manufacturer (I have never heard of this happening but criminals can be smart on occasion)... as you cannot make opioids in a makeshift lab like methamphetamines or crack, you must start out with the opium poppy which are not indigenous to USA growth except in research facilities. And even then it is almost impossible to find one of those, there are so few. Pharmacy supply centers have been busted by DEA for selling these off the books. Wholesalers can also be turned for enough cash (see walgreens /dea bust 2013) and you'll find where the illegal supply is coming from. When they were busted EVERY CHAIN Pharmacy put a "no new pain patient" policy in place. Due to the fact they were all doing it, Walgreens just happened to get caught, warning all the others to stop this, at least temporarily.

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Re: Grac (# 4)

How could you become a burden to taxpayers if you were to get SS disability?? If you worked all your life and paid into it then you would get MEDICARE not MEDICAID which is given to people who have never worked or didn't work long enough to warrant enough income though SSD. You would get SSI, which is usually for people with mental disabilities who have never worked or worked very little. SSI and Medicaid ARE burdens to tax payers. Social security disability is for people who've actually worked, therefore you would get MEDICARE and you paid for it when you worked so this is NOT a burden to taxpayers!!!

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If u can get a 120 a day consider urself lucky. But laws are changing this year 2022, due to DOUBLE OVERDOSES, since they reduced opiods in 2016. The deaths were a large percentage of CHRONIC PAIN patients, going on streets to buy... So FDA, realizes they wrote HALF the PRESCRIPTIONS, but deaths went up!

They just closed the comment on it from public opinion, and Dr opinion. Its important to post ur issues. I check FDA website monthly. So if the public had enough people, submitted there issues, hopefully law changes end of this year. I'm a chronic pain patient. The older I get the more they take away, as my bones are weaker, and my health is poor, mostly because my pain is NOT UNDER CONTROL.

FDA HAS A CHART CALLED A MML. If ur at 90%, that's HIGH. If ur ABOVE 90, 4 PEOPLE QUALIFIES, CANCER, END OF LIFE, people at home, that can't function daily. There's a name 4 it but can't remember. Anyway all pain meds are different MML POINTS. LIKE NORCO 1 POINT, MORPHINE 1 POINT. The rest are higher. I take 5 norco, and 2- 15mg MORPHINE. I'm at 80. I used to be on double plus oxycodone. Now I can only sit. But the MG u take times by how many PER DAY. so I take 5-10/325 norco that equals 50. Then I take 2-15 MG, MORPHINE, thats 30. Equals 80.

BUT HOPEFULLY, this will change end of year. People who are not in CHRONIC PAIN, will not get more. But all CHRONIC pain peeps, will get more pain meds. I know personally. They are expensive, but what are we supposed 2 do? I just pray it passes, and u can find MML chart on line. Google MML CHART MEDICATION. I seen the proposed MML chart if law passes, which it will. Its much better.

My son has leukemia, has to take CHEMO PILLS DAILY, they make him feel like he has the worst flu times 10. He works 16 hrs a day. And they give him 6 pills norcos. That's 60MML. He should be over 90. Its like WTF? He just moved to ft worth Texas, got his cancer doctor, and he sent him 2 pain mgmt. When I went to pain mgmt, they try 2 take away your meds. Not help relive ur pain. The system is just so MESSED UP.

Some people NEED PAIN MEDS. But, the ones that screwed everything up, was the people who DIDN'T have PAIN, and ABUSED PAIN MEDS. Now, us CHRONIC pain people suffer. New rule tho, break ur arm, DEFINITELY NOT opioids. TOOTH ACHE, NOPE. If u never had any, u won't get any. Thank lord, that was a huge problem. Anyways, if anyone does know of a good pain mgmt in FT WORTH, TEXAS, please let me know. I'm not double checking my note so hope its ok! Good luck! At if ur not getting ur MML ur QUALIFIED FOR, SAY SOMETHING TO UR DOCTOR. ITS THE LAW. Night.

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For your own sanity, stop trying to validate your dosage of medication to anyone. Our bodily systems build tolerances to all sorts of medicines. You could have a condition which processes medicines much quicker than other people.

I’m saying, the only person you need to explain anything to is your doctor and IMHO it DOES sound like he’s running scared from the two diabolical federal agency’s with three letter abbreviated titles.

I personally believe the DEA got CDC to write the letter with the original misinformation that ruined thousands of good people’s lives. I believe they did that thinking job security since their decades of annual billions spent on an unwinnable drug war would certainly have to eventually cost them their jobs.

Defund the police is ridiculous. It’s the DEA that needs defunding.

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CDC issues new opioid prescribing guidance, giving doctors more leeway to treat pain:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/11/03/1133908157/new-opioid-prescribing

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This was in The Guardian 5-6 years ago:

The truth about the US "opioid crisis" - prescriptions aren’t the problem

The overdose epidemic is unmistakable. But it’s driven by illicit use of drugs. If moral panic results in more patients in pain, that would be a disaster

The news media is awash with hysteria about the opioid crisis (or opioid epidemic). But what exactly are we talking about? If you Google "opioid crisis", nine times out of 10 the first paragraph of whatever you’re reading will report on death rates. That’s right, the overdose crisis.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/07/truth-us-opioid-crisis-too-easy-blame-doctors-not-prescriptions

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Re: Grace C. (# 5)

Both parties are ignoring the issue because no one understands it. The MSM does more harm. Insurance saves money - now billions. If we were Transgender we wouldn’t have a problem.

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Good luck, I understand, have not heard that either. I take 3 8/2 Suboxone strips a day wonder if that affects me?

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I understand your situation a hundred percent. I also have been treated by a pain clinic for 22 years. i understand the 28 day cycle I totally relate to friends and relatives, even people who don’t even know me giving advice or opinions about something they know nothing about. over the years, as far back as 2001 i’ve been put on doses of medication that today would absolutely not be acceptable. However, in all of those years i’ve never mistreated my prescriptions, i never missed my monthly appointment, i’ve never felt any type of reaction like you see on tv when someone goes in for treatment and says “oh my i feel so fine” i get so tired of bureaucrats dictating to Doctors and Pharmacies, they are not Doctors and they probably would never have to worry about a bad back or injury where they would be told. gee sorry cannot help you with your pain issues. The doctor that i had for over 7 years ultimately retired because of the endless calls from pharmacies and insurance companies regarding his scripts, In 2019 i went to a orthopedic surgeon. and the first thing he said to me was I can’t operate with the high doses of medication that you are taking. I go to my next pain clinic appointment and I ask the Doctor should i look at rehab centers and he says to me why would you do that?? I said I don’t know that just seems to be what everyone has to do. He says no, don’t be ridiculous you will be fine. i was fine 6-9 months later I was within the doses the surgeon felt comfortable with, no withdrawal no physical illness, all that happened was, of course, my pain and discomfort went up. i hope you were able to work out your situation and you have all of my empathy with this I wish you the best

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Upon researching this, it is a guideline for Acute Pain, not Chronic Pain! Can anyone enlighten me on why this fact wasn't highlighted?

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Addendum: This new guideline is from 2014! Why is it being Posted as something recent?

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Second addendum: My apologies; I meant to say that the comments were from 2014!

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My apologies again! I'm a 20+ year Chronic Pain Patient, and as you've probably noticed I'm starting to ramble in my disgust of this "War on Chronic Pain Patients!" You cannot make me believe that all of my Doctors over the past 30 years are wrong! I had been doing great on my opioid regimen of pain medications, until they were suddenly taken away: no need for breakthrough meds, 80% pain free, a positive outlook for my future, and now all of that is gone!

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Re: Steve (# 719)

This is old news, this is not happening today. I’m really tired of getting old threads that freaked me out and then I realize it’s just being sent because someone replied recently.

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