2016 Cdc Guidelines For Prescribing Opioids For Chronic Pain (Page 9)
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Hey all fellow patients out there, did you know the CDC has published a list of their proposed 2016 guidelines for doctors who prescribe opioids for chronic pain? That includes oxycodone, lortab, percocet, hydrocodone, opana, suboxone, morphine, and any other drug that has an opiate ingredient in it that so many of us count on to lead normal lives!

This affects all of us and the comment period ends on January 13 2016! That's about a week from now! You know the doctors are going to have to follow whatever federal rules pass so if you are worried that you might not get the care you need please go to the gov web site for the office of the Federal Register and submit your comments to them before it's too late!

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the opening of a docket to obtain public comment on the draft CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (Guideline). The Guideline provides recommendations regarding initiation or continuation of opioids for chronic pain; opioid selection, dosage, duration, follow-up, and discontinuation; and assessment of risk and addressing harms of opioid use. The Guideline is intended to be used by primary care providers (e.g., family physicians or internists) who are treating patients with chronic pain (i.e., pain lasting longer than 3 months or past the time of normal tissue healing) in outpatient settings."

https:/­/­federalregister.gov/­a/­2015-31375

Editor's note: Please note that the above statement "You know the doctors are going to have to follow whatever federal rules pass" is technically correct but may be misleading in this case because the CDC draft says that it is "not a federal regulation" and that "adherence to the Guideline will be voluntary."

Editor's note # 2: The title for this discussion thread has been updated to reflect the topic most effectively.

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WOW! I'm trying to read the quod lines and comments already posted and it's all very confusing. I don't understand many of the acronyms and the percentages and ratios make my head spin. Since an accident in 2000, numbers throw me for a loop. I can't even play cards anymore. Anyway, the comments are in two groups: pain patients who admit these guidelines will make things worse and parents whose kids became addicts and blame the doctors. Perhaps post surgery doctors should reconsider handing opiates out to young people or maybe THEIR PARENTS should give them their pills duh! I noticed many of the patients in any cohort were > 70 years old! Why was I included in a trial? Where do they get these folks from who prove the exact opposite to what we know to be true? Sign me up! Let the cdc pay for my time and meds for a couple years and I will prove them wrong on every level!

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I'm sorry, yeah I realized that after the fact--but when will they go over the current media cover up on suicides that they keep referring to as 'overdoses due to doctors over-prescribing opiates'?

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Hello beagle, sorry to hear about your what happened at the end of your work days , and right before your retirement age , you know , the problem with this pain medication problem that the government wants to control is all about control and money and don't forget the pharmaceutical companies, I don't think the government cares about our pain or whatever condition we have and never did , they we'll do what ever they can to pay off their lobbyists, pharmaceutical and top notch people government monies and use this pain medication as a loop hole , they did this before , this is not new , we keep hearing about opioid abuse for years , and now somebody feels they have to do something, family doctors really cannot give a good amount of pain meds to help people like us, the best thing to do is go to a pain specialist, they deal with people suffering pain for life , I found that out the first time the government did this a few years ago , if you read , it says primary doctors not pain specialist, I think we still have hope if we see that specialist, I do , and I hope that life gets better for you Beagle !

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Helene

I hear ya. I had polio as an infant but it wasn't diagnosed until I was drafted in 1970. I was accepted and thought I was off to Vietnam so I went out on a mini bucket list trip. When I got back they called me back down to see another doctor. He examined me and said the Army would never take me and said "you have polio" From the look on my face he jumped in and said "not now but when you were a child." My parents confirmed all this when I got home. They let it go because I would have been sorta black listed they said. I asked how I got around and the said by scooting around on my rear end using my right leg to pull myself around. I still do that to this day if I'm on the floor and need to reach a tool if I'm working on something. I led a normal life but was weak and limped along as best I could. Doctors would tell me to "use it or lose it" so I did just that working in an auto factory for the big3. About 35yrs after having had polio muscle atrophy set in big time and I ended up in braces. Had to retire 6mo. before my 30yrs were in and a 45k dollar buy out. It's been downhill little by little every year pain wise. Now doctors tell me to "preserve what I have left" and not to do anything to hurt myself. All these doctors, pharmacists, CDC people want me to suffer to the max because of this generation of drug abusers need to be saved. As a taxpayer I've been helping these folks along for 38yrs. If they can take control of the pain they want me to have they should at least offer me the choice of being put down painlessly like an injured family pet.

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Spyz, this conference call was Not for comments on that.
"The conference call will focus on the background for development of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (Guideline) and the formation of the Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain Workgroup (Opioid Guideline Workgroup).

Public comments will be accepted, but only related to the formation of the Opioid Guideline Workgroup."

If we want our comments to be taken seriously, we need to make them in the right place and the right time. We also need to be educated about what we say. For example, there are No Laws requiring a dr to do drug screens, pills counts and/or pain contracts. They are recommended, but not required, it is up to each dr if he wants to do any, all or some. Making comments about suicides due to people not having their pain meds will only be viewed as chronic pain patients being unstable or/and addicted to the point that they chose suicide. No studies have been done regarding chronic pain patients committing suicide because they don't have their pain meds. All anyone knows is what they have been told, heard or read. We want them to take the comments seriously.

MedsChat, Thank you for moving my reply. I though the threads should be merged.

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CDC should be lined up in front of ISIS n put to death for all their murders. At least they wont be left in long suffuring like they have done to pts. with incurable painful end of live conditions

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I suffer fibromyalga, oseto and rheumatoid arthritis, plantar flashitis, migraines, sciatica. I'm in pain 24/7 and the pain meds help me move around and do things, like make myself something to eat, to actually survive, otherwise I would be bed ridden. I was bed ridden when I was not taking any kind of pain meds when I started getting this illness back in 2005, I've tried other resources first, like antidepressants, which did not help at all and made me a zombie. I don't over use my pain medications, cause I don't need too. I know how to take them, cause it depends on my condition. I don't understand why we and the doctors should be punished for helping us with our pain and trying to live a quality life instead of crying in bed with pain, it's horrible. I wish these counselors could feel what I go thru without these pain meds to help me move around! I don't think it's a right decision to punish us or the doctors that are trying to help us live a more quality life. The people that do abuse the pain medication should not be able to take them. Doctors monitor what, when and how we take our medication. Please don't take our pain meds away from us or punish us for what other people do when they abuse the medication. My life we'll be spent in bed, suffering a lot of physical pain.

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Lovely! I get through in a "listen only" format. I wanted to talk about how most of the overdoeses I am familiar with are suicides due to insufficient pain relief and the there shouldnt be UA's or pill counts unless a patient has lied to the pharmacy or tried to get early refills.

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Thank you for the number update! LOL The other one was empty.....

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I called a few moments ago and me and another party were the only ones there. It at 10:15 central time. I kept saying "hello? Hello?" I didn't get a reply

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I dialed the conference number and got the message: "there are two parties in conference including you"--that means me and only one other person, so I guess it was either a hoax or nobody else gives a damn

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The research/studies were paid for by the taxpayers and the government agency involved will always get the exact results they want to promote. In other words backup their BS with their fingers on the scale and we're paying for it... I've never seen a government study yet that wasn't severely biased toward the outcome the government wants to promote, this won't be the first one that's not biased either.
No Severe Chronic Pain patient needs a study to tell them what they need to control their pain and how much is needed. You can't lump all injures and diseases into a single category and treat them all the same! That's just complete insanity! But the best part is yet to come! A severe increase in street drug abuse which will have a severe increase in crime of all types. The terrorists are licking their lips in anticipation of all the opium they'll be putting on the streets of America after this huge American Government blunder... Funny how our government rarely if ever looks at the big picture of their actions. Welcome to our next nightmare courtesy of Odumbo! The government will now tell you how you feel and exactly what you need because your doctor and you are to dumb to think for yourselves! Don't you just love Odumbo socialism?

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Ok the CDC call is going on as I type this. When I first called in a lady came on the phone and gave me a NEW number to use. So if anyone is trying to call in here are the new details:

9am - 1pm EASTERN TIME

1-888-469-1243, enter the code 4709506 then press # (pound)

It is being recorded and I hope they make the recording available afterwards.

So far they are placing A LOT of emphasis on how much research and evidence is going towards developing these guidelines. So it seems like they are prepared to back their statements up with research studies from the sound of it.

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http:/­/­www.regulations.gov/­#!docketDetail;D=CDC-2015-0112

Editor's note: This comment was moved in from a related discussion thread in order to keep all information consolidated.

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Where can I see the guidelines? I need to read them before I comment on them! I've just read reams of text asking for a response to the proposed guidelines. I can't find the guidelines anywhere. Where can I see them?

Editor's note: This comment was moved in from a related discussion thread in order to keep all information consolidated.

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Nancy and all: Thank you for your comments and sorry to hear about your struggling too. BL you are right that they are guidelines and not really a written law but I think you can agree and none of us can ignore that doctors are less and less willing to prescribe like they once were. Why do you think that is? Were lots of them getting in trouble? Feels like having to jump through flaming hoops in the circus to get the proper care sometimes. What else can be done?

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Does anyone know what time zone the call later today is in? I'd like to give them a piece of my mind because they need to know what is going on with real patients like us.

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Recently, i have had a very bad spell of scattica with contant excruciating.pain,.i went to my pcp whp refused to give me ANYTHING, SO I left totally upset & went to the er where i was prescribed. Percocet, flexiril & predisone pak which helped greatly. My pcp still would not put me on percocet from chronic pain although she told me that was the only thing that would help.she did give me tramadol , which was about as good as chewing m&ms, i ended up going to a pain management dr.over 70 miles from where i live. he gave me percocet to last until an appt to get an injection in my back, which thank the goddess was immediate pain relief,my question is Why are ALL the drs. so reluctant to give out narcotic pain killers when they are clearly needed? My pain management. Dr.was even reluctant to give me percocet to have on hand in case the pain came back!!!! What. CAN I DO ABOUT THIS RIDICULOUS NEW RULING THAT I CANT EVEN GET PAIN MEDS WHEN I NEED THEM!!!##!!!????

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These Guidelines will not be Federal Law and will be Voluntary and they also state that they are for Primary Care Physicians. The FDA Guidelines 120 mg Morphine/120 mg Morphine Equivalent Daily that came out a while back are the same way, they are not Law, they are voluntary and they aren't aimed at Pain Management Drs, but the vast majority of pain managment drs are going by them now.

The CDC Guidelines contain much more than the decrease to 90 mg Morphine/90 mg Morphine Equivalent Daily.

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Tourture n murder used to be criminal. We all know CDC being paid off by ins. Co. so they can get away with inhumane murder. No secret severe chronic pain causes High Blood pressure, strokes, n inability to live any kind of healthy life. i just get by thanking God. alll u thieves r going to have enterity of pain in Hell u hypocrite , discriminating murderes.

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