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 37)

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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No, that is NOT true at all. It is up to the doctor's judgement, especially after the CDC clarified the 2016 guidelines with their letter in 2019, then they UPDATED the guidelines in November, 2022, removing any mention of MME entirely in them.

They are still recommending no more than 50-90 MME, but it is NOT in the OFFICIAL guidelines from the CDC.

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Re: Quiller69 (# 2)

Not only can you take age or less of any products such as Percocet, 10, 325 or hydrocodone 10 325 because of the aspirin the doctors almost always will not prescribe you over eight a day at least have a medication’s I do not know the limits variety but I have a limit on pills when you have to be careful.

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Oh, little girl, I truly empathize with your situation. I was hit by a car that was driving at 65 miles per hour. This happened while I was aiding a police officer during an accident, which flung me 180 feet from the mirror. You can imagine the severe injuries I sustained. Now, 10 years later, very few people understand what real, and I mean persistent pain that endures 24 hours a day, feels like. I am prescribed Percocet 10/325, eight tablets a day, which usually last about 10 to 12 days, after which I endure the rest of the month in pain. If not for gabapentin, I would never make it. I sincerely wish those who enact all these laws, thinking they're saving lives, would understand that a lot of people are pushed toward suicide and other lethal means because they can't cope with the pain. This pain strains marriages, careers, and relationships with children, ultimately causing many to lose their loved ones. If people discover that you possess such medication, they attempt to steal it. This, in turn, opens up a host of other problems. There are instances where people try to inject the drug after dissolving it, but that method is ineffective because the medicine only lasts for 15 minutes as opposed to taking it orally which lasts much longer. This predicament has resulted in a divorce for me and a lost relationship with several of my eight children. I could go on with my story, but as you know, the only person who can control you is you. Doctors generally don’t like to prescribe that type of medication in the strengths you’re talking about because it puts their license in jeopardy. I deeply sympathize with you and hope that you can find a resolution for your distress. It's neither pleasant nor fair.

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Re: Victim of ABME (# 11)

One of the problems is show me these young people and older people make stupid decisions for their medication, not use it for the purposes need, I understand if they get addicted to the medication and looking for any type of meds to get them off of pain or get them high, but until that stops which it never will, that’s what goes on with these ODs people don’t understand how strong the medication is and then they miss use it family or parents or whoever gets so upset at the drug companies when you’re the one, making the decision whether you take it or not, not that that makes a difference because it’s so hard. It just is good luck in your endeavor. I hope you can find some relief.

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Re: alwaysNpain (# 14)

If you take the medication gabapentin, it will really help you with withdraws and pain because it’s a great diabetic pain reliever. For a while I was on 3200 of gabapentin when you’re only supposed to take 1200 mg a day I wouldn’t recommend taking made me say

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