Big Pharma's Lockdown On Legitimate Chronic Pain Patients (Page 11)

Is narcotic pain medicine becoming a thing of the past?

Why are doctors across America phasing out the practice of prescribing effective pain medication?

Will big pharmaceutical companies ever truly understand what it's like to face the other side of the coin?

Lately there's been a musty scent in the air surrounding the use of prescribed narcotic pain medication. Many doctors appear to be running scared as the DEA scours through fields of medical records, inspecting prescribing pads like a mouse scavenges for food in a dimly lit cellar.

Should the day come when doctors recommend Ibuprofen to a feeble man who's been involved in a terrible car accident (breaking several bones / requiring extensive surgery), is this doctor at risk of malpractice when there are more effective options available that they choose not to pick, out of fear? Fear of what? Doing the right thing? No, I don't think this is the reason... Somewhere along the line, in the not too distant past, doctors were loosely prescribing narcotic pain medication as if it would never go out of style. Nowadays, the harsh penalty of potentially losing their license for writing any unknown number of opiate prescriptions over so many calendar days or some other form of strict criteria, has been enough to prevent many physicians from taking even subtle "risks" with patients who are expressing obvious signs of pain and discomfort.

The unfortunately unique problem with pain is that it's not a physical object and in order for others to detect it, they'd have to rely solely on the backbone of our body language using their intuition - something that's gone missing in western practice. If more doctors took the time and really got to know their patients front to back, then they will be their own best judge of deciding what the right thing to do is, regardless of what the DEA thinks about their decision or what their drug representative wants out of the deal. Sadly, until patients are put before profits, the foundation of America's healthcare system remains in jeopardy like an iceberg affected by global warming.

While I believe that the vast majority of human beings in their right mind would choose to do the right thing, we must all work together to become the change we wish to see within every aspect of our lives; and knowing that by doing so, it will shine light on those crossing our path that need it most.

In the meantime, some patients may have to find another way to manage their pain without putting their life or health at risk. Others are turning to natural alternatives such as kratom, cannabis, turmeric and/or implementing various lifestyle changes into their daily regime... But the key is to never give up hope.

What will you do?

Warm regards to all who face life's challenges head on.

REPLY

REPORT

You know what pisses the hell out of me? Is why don’t the news and government or whoever, interview chronic pain patients that are legally and responsibly taking C2 pain meds and get their stories! Why don’t we ever see one damn article that talks about people like us who live day in and day out with chronic pain and depend on these meds just to get up in the morning and work and function, and how all this bulls*** will drastically affect us if they take all the C2 pain meds away from us. What are we suppose to do? Turn to illicit drugs or commit suicide if our pain is too great that we can’t even move? They just don’t want to talk about people like that. Who the hell cares? Studies have shown that people that take these meds for chronic pain are less likely to abuse them than people that take them for acute pain, broken bones, surgery, etc. In my state, they are now suing the drug manufacturer that makes OxyContin claiming false advertising, that they were misleading and people got addicted and are overdosing. What the f*****g hell. Food can be addictive, caffeinated pop as well! Let’s just stop eating! People can die anytime, anywhere, from anything, we should all just give the f*** up and lay down and die! I’m sorry I’m ranting but it just pisses me off that they are doing this! I won’t be able to work anymore if I can’t get these meds, at least not the job I have now, that I spent time and money going to school for so I can work. My dad lives in chronic pain also and his response to all this is, at least I have my gun!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 9

Re: Maria (# 199)

My doc told me to just make sure that if they call me and ask me to bring my meds in that my count best be right, that I can count for all my meds. He said if not they will cut me off. I've always kept mine right but he said they will account for them. But he said Norco isn't a problem. It's the stronger meds they are worried about! But I take 180 of the Norco 10s a month and mine are all counted for.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Re: Maria (# 201)

No, the gov't doesn't care. Neither do our elected officials. If I was able to, I'd get a legal suit going. All these useless petitions seem to be pointless. Anyone out there got any friends with money that care? Bottom line, my opinion, that's what it takes now. I don't do faceplant, twitster or any of those sites. Way too much of my/anyone's information out there for my liking. How about this, can any of you who are more comfortable with modern tech please help those of us who are not tech savvy? I've spent so much time on this medschat site some of what I say spread out under different headings. What about we trying to get our act together. Turn up at our state houses. I know, easier said than done. Especially for any of you having to travel great distances. More to follow. Got to bring myself & dogs back in. Cold up here!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Re: Ktb (# 198)

You're doing the right things. We all need to contact our supposed Representative's and other govt entities. Check also for meetings in your area, they're not heavily announced, where you can put in your 2 cents on the issue. A letter to the editor of every paper is surely to get some of our words published. Anyone who can do a face to face with their Rep can get a feeling where that individual stands. You can also contact DEA and FDA with comments and proplems. Ask for responses and answers from them. Repetition is necessary. Some medical professionals will help with actions that won't get them in hot water. It's time to read the rules for getting this problem heard in your next legislative session. My doctor who can prescribe isn't looking at me. He's concerned with following the govt mandates. It's difficult when you're in pain to be active, but our only hope is to reverse the knee jerk attitude the govt has taken on all opiote meds. This plan of theirs hurts Americans and America.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Re: Goat c (# 8)

I don't see how you can say that the dealers are all on Medicaid, unless you are able to factually correlate the horrible poverty that the income divide causes, of which we sadly cannot count anecdotal but no less true stories such as the many personal accounts of some poor person who is disabled, but chooses to go in pain to avoid hunger. But evidence built upon years of studying people like him shows us a sad story.

Is it really his own fault, his own greed? Or does the fault of a cruel system who forces both disabled and working people to be unable to make ends meet AND be able to live even a mediocre quality of life, one that doesn't include homelessness and hunger, regardless of how hard or how much you work?

After all, the sole factor of extreme poverty MIGHT make a Medicaid recipient sell his or her medication, which is much more difficult by the way, to obtain. Doctors don't prescribe the same medications or even issue the same diagnoses for Medicaid recipients, than for those with normal insurance and of the middle class, or the upper classes.

We all know that the top 1 classes refuse to have any part in this entire scenario, because they have their own doctors privately hired, on their own staff, who will not merely prescribe the necessary, but will easily grovel to provide the utterly unnecessary, and are happy to do so! Whilst that same medicaid patient lay outside his very door, dying for the lack of his necessary heart medication, because he can't find a doctor who trusts him not to sell it to eat.

The very factor of unfounded discrimination is based on the typical physician's perception, that would be something like worrying that the patient's economic fears- of things like homelessness and either going hungry, or worse, seeing their innocent children go hungry, which would force them to sell ANY medicine prescribed, even antibiotics.

Sadly, studies actually indicate that poor people otherwise, are no more eager to just do wrong for wrong's sake, than you are. I've experienced both sides of the poverty gap, and while I would never buy or sell medicine, I refuse to blame the poor for their unfortunate circumstances.

After all, I've been a poster child for many of the evils that society can cause. I've worked hard all my life, earned two Master's degrees from highly respected and even Ivy League institutions, working my way through college with extra jobs, grants, scholarships and loans, and even built up a growing and lucrative career, was well respected in my field (Business Analysis, a growing and ever-expanding field, particularly when, my software expertise can add additional knowledge and talent).

All it took for me, was one trusted man whom I knew all my life- but a few years apart made him no longer the person I knew, so he gained my deepest trust and love, then robbed me of every single penny I saved, looted my 401(k) and after raising a high value life insurance policy on me, tried brutally to take my life. It wasn't just me being a weak or a woman lacking confidence. I was a strong, independent woman, an intelligent woman who successfully ran my loving family and excelled in my field without ever having to step on my colleagues to do so, but the very fact that I survived the assault this animal committed on me so shockingly and unexpectedly, the very fact that justice is illusive for the poor, which was something I thought I would never be, having worked hard and saved-was displayed suddenly to me when police, rather than protecting me and admiring me for surviving such a brutal attack, instead proclaimed "mutual combat" which was the very day I realized that racism, bigotry, and petty jealousy existed in the places where it matters most - in our "justice system".

So the creep bailed himself out immediately by using MY money, MY savings. He didn't have to worry about affording defense attorneys. In fact, since he was not the father of my precious children, he had no roadblocks whatsoever to just picking up and walking away, leaving me severely disabled by the permanent and major brain damage his brutal beating caused me. I lost everything, from my hearing in one ear, to suffering from so many grand mal seizures which were ignored in jail, right along with my 14 broken bones, to the sexual assaults and the further hateful beatings during the next month, the refusal from jail officials to provide any semblance of health care, the deprivation of my depression medication from which unendurable withdrawal left my bleeding, damaged brain unable to allow me to understand or reason out anything except for the constant threats from my own public defense attorneys, who coldly explained "down" to me, how I MUST sign this minimally and shoddily written, this document with more interest in their next coffee break, than in the human lives now strung along like beads, onto the rope of the noose of their carelessness, else I would be forced to remain incarcerated until my trial was over, a trial they would ensure took years, that they would virtually ensure that I would be found guilty of, in that case, and hence I would be sentenced to years in prison. SIGN! Or she, (my "defense" attorney) would absolutely ensure that not only would I would never see my children again, who would be relegated to the (evil) foster system for the rest of their lives, but my infant son would be adopted out, should I even THINK of fighting these ridiculous charges, charges of what?

By this time you might think that I was being held on capital charges. First degree murder. Killing a child. Poisoning a family member. Something, anything horrible beyond human imagination!

I lost my entire life for completely false charges of "felony terroristic threats" against the police officers. (This means yelling at a police officer) Were they claiming even this of me, claiming I yelled, or even raised my voice- at the same officers to whom I had been so docilely gentle, but insistfully precise in describing the brutal assault, the very officers to whom I had been so respectful!?

The only point my voice had risen that day, was in an unending wail of sorrow as my children, my precious children whom I had raised so well that they were known for their maturity, kindness and intelligence, my sweet children, who were so roughly dragged away from my arms, even my very infant, literally torn from those loving arms, as he screamed, and was peremptorily slapped across his baby face, his mouth crumbling into a question that went unanswered, my baby boy, to be held like a sack of garbage by the officer, who roughly dragged them tearfully away from the mother they adored and admired.

They had never been hit before. They had never seen their mother cry before.

I spent a month incarcerated, repeatedly thrown naked into a refrigerated cold isolation room, when I could not stop crying, or when I begged for the medical care to cast my clearly broken bones, which stuck out at odd angles all over my body and had to be rebroken to mend properly, a month later, when I was released on my own recognizance after it became clear even to a judge, that if I remained there I would shortly be dead.

My case was profiled on CNN, but sadly, within even my short time in jail, several other victims of similar crimes died of their injuries, or the injuries further inflicted by numerous lengthy and brutal guard's beatings which weren't much different from cockfights in their betting and contestfull nature.

My point in replying to you is not to throw a pity party either for myself, or for the others who endure this very same abuse day after day.

I simply want to make the point that, poor or rich, insured privately or by medicaid, our fact here is the very same. And in fact, We are all the same. We need to remain united instead of using income, color, illness, even criminal history, to divide us.

If this is an opioid crisis I have to ask myself, is it? Is it really? Last time I looked, crisis, the very term, means that a LOT of people are affected, invariably touched, INVOLVED. If this is a true CRISIS, then we have an automatic factor in our collective favor: WE HAVE A MANY NUMBERED VOICE.

I understand that a lot of people have been disenfranchised for various reasons. We can't vote, so we feel powerless, especially when we see bills and companies and the public duped so easily, laws targetted against us, medicines, in the name of becoming tamper proof, becoming far less effective because the tamper foils also prevent metabolism of the medication being used, and dumb people are stupid enough to miss the destruction of the entire purpose of the medication, just so long as their puritanical leanings are satisfied (though they never see the need to make any sort of sacrifice themselves - for they are not sick, so they must not need to suffer as they ensure that us pain patients should happily ACCEPT our suffering. It's for our own good! We are supposed to learn a lesson and it's their gleeful job to cruelly teach us sinners that lesson!) yet puritanical attitudes like this are always rooted in the 14th century, never acknowledging the current imaging, solid evidence of genetic inheritance of painful physical conditions, denying any sort of anything that even smells of science!) I'm a proud atheist. For mankind needs no demons or devil. Humanity has proven well qualified for the job all by itself, and needs no additional help.

Mankind excels in its creation of evil all on its own.

I'm creating a peaceful and hopefully effective way for each and every one of us to fight back. History has shown us time after time, a simple but powerful lesson. It's all but engraved into the human psyche.

I am currently organizing a way to raise our collective voices to answer even the most stubbornly shut ears. Please write me back if you want to know more. Even those who are bedridden can participate, and each person has a strong, loud voice.

Don't waste a SINGLE MOMENT, because congress could ratify a bill that will endanger us ALL, in any minute.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW. {edited for privacy}. We have to overcome the corruption that will cause pain, take lives, and literally has the potential to break our system and country altogether.

Thank you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 9

Re: Susanna (# 205)

There is no way for us to contact you as I believe we aren't allowed to give out personal info on this site, not even our real names. I would love to see what you have come up with. I have been a pain management patient for approx 17 years. I got put on a very potent med that before the doc would allow me to start it, he wanted me to think about what the med would do to my normal life. I thought about it and decided to try the med and I have been taking it for probably around 8 years now. Now all of the sudden I am being cut down on my meds which make it possible for me to live a semi-normal life. I have not cheated and taken any meds other than what the doc said was ok, now he says that I am gaining weight (going thru menopause so of course I am) and have not quit smoking. I have no idea what smoking cigs has to do with how my med is working. So frustrated cuz I kept up my end of the deal and now the rules are being changed for no reason that makes sense at all.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 7

Re: Susanna (# 205)

You said to contact you should I desire to join you in affecting change to the government's newest war on people in pain. Sure it's called; protection against the evils of opiotes or saving innocent's from the poison pain medication, but I notice that those making these laws exclude themselves from the enforcement's. I am so sorry to hear of all that you've been through! I also agree that there are certainly some who would sell their prescribed medication in order to put food in their children's stomachs. However, the majority who were prescibed the pain medication are in severe need for the prescriptions. So, how do wejoin forces? We certainly have very little time! Since you've got a group started let's peacefully get going. Thank you for reaching out!

Editor's note: Per our privacy policy we do not allow individuals to post their own personal contact information on our discussion threads.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Seems like the opiate petition died. Well, some of you may be getting them but what will you do when they won't prescribe? Well, if you are feeling pain, hopefully it doesn't bother you much. Thank you for ignoring the petition.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Barbara (# 207)

Hello Barbara. Please go t o the US Pain Foundation and sign their petition...It may be too late though.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Re: Barbara (# 207)

You can go to Change. org and start your own petition too.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I'm done with the jumping through hoops for a pain aid me and my doctor agreed was safe and managed. Can I get help legally in Mexico? I don't want to even contribute to the thought of illicit drugs or the people turning to them.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Paul (# 208)

We must not give up. I'm not sure which petition you refer to, but I signed 4-5 in Nov and Dec. The official FDA survey had to be received by Dec 28 but that doesn't mean they've stopped getting calls and mail. DEA, FDA, Representative's from Congress at State and Federal levels as well as the Governor's from each State should be getting letters, emails, calls and whenever possible face to face visits. I utilize the alternatives. However, there's pain that just doesn't touch certain pain. For an individual with cancer what for a healthy person might hurt tolerably. The cancer patient feels pain more intensely. Fibromyalgia for some is a part time intense and less intense pain. For other's it's like a full body migraine, day in and day out. Post surgery pain doesn't follow a nice neat timeline. Etcetera and so on. Only the patient can describe what is bothering or disabling them. Please don't stop creating petitions and share them on every social media site. Letters to the editor and media puntits might just cross the desk of someone empathetic. Our Constitution doesn't give the government the right to play doctor. State's can step up and tell the Feds, not in our State. Please don't give up. All lives matter!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

The fed regulations are the fed govt overstepping their authority.... The constitution clearly states the fed govt gets its powers as stated in the constitution.... Powers not given to the feed govt are mandated by the state or the people... Where in the constitution does it give the fed govt the power to regulate drugs?.... Also drug panels violate constitutional god given rights. They steal fluids from your body (thus not being secure in your person) then they analyze those fluids (searching without a warrant), then if there is something in those fluids that they say is not supposed to be there they punish you for it without rechecking for a false reading and not letting you confront the person that came up with the results that are accusing you (thus forcing you to be a witness against yourself) that I believe is a violation of 3 of the first ten ammendments known as the bill of rights.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

Re: roro (# 213)

There is nothing unconstitutional about it. The government is not requiring these things be done. Recommendations are not the same as requiring. It is still up to each doctor what they require of their patients. It is still up to each doctor what they prescribe and how much.

Unfortunately, most doctors tell patients they are being forced to do things a certain way by the government, When in reality, it is the doctors choice. Doctors do this because pateints give them less grief when they think it is out of the doctors hands.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Re: BL (# 214)

The thing is the government and CDC are scaring the hell out of doctors and now it’s very difficult to find doctors that are willing to prescribe the pain meds. In the state that I live in doctors are saying that they are unwilling to take the risk and are just stopping giving their patients the meds they need and have been taking for a long time and know they need them but just say sorry and that’s that. They don’t even wean them off so they say their patients are turning to the street to get drugs and will overdose and some will commit suicide. My doctor for one said that yes they are just guidelines but if they don’t follow them and a patient of theirs overdoses, the government will blame it on them and say they should have followed the guidelines.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: BL (# 214)

So show me where in the constitution that it gives the federal govt the power to even institute a bureaucracy that regulates substances... The fda is an illegal bureaucracy but no one wants to take the responsibilities of a free society seriously enough to actually learn how the govt is supposed to actually function, thus there is a shortage of people to put these bureaucracies to the test of legality and they have been around so long it's like the lie told so often that many are taken in by the frequency of it being told they believe it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: Maria (# 215)

If doctors did not agree with what is going. They would call their politicians, State Medical Boards and Professional Organizations and share how they feel. A handful of doctors are complaining about it. But that is all.

Doctors are already organized with their Professional Organizations. If enough doctors complained to their Professional Organizations. The Organizations would speak out without naming individual doctors.

What doctors tell patients and what they say to each other is not the same.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Re: Roro (# 216)

I don't have time to give a Civics lesson.You need to do it yourself.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Re: BL (# 217)

This is so true!!! They say one thing too u s & something else too others,making us think they have our best interest at heart when all the time they are just going alone. I'm sure if their family needed anything for pain its plenty in the circle too help each other out. I'm not saying its not a "few",that are going too bat for us....just not enough too make a difference.
God Bless & hope one day all this is of the past.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Re: BL (# 218)

I dont need a civics lesson .... just the phrase in constition that gives fed govt powers to regulate medication ...... oh yeah there is no such delication giving the fed those powers

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

People with chronic, intractable pain are being discriminated against and it is imperative that we join forces to fight ...

557 REPLIES

Thanks to all you drug abusers there has been an ongoing war on us legit chronic pain patients. Thanks to all who abuse ...

118 REPLIES

Many people that are being turned away from opioids (and maybe other drugs) are refused based on the requirement that th...

1 REPLY

Is there a rep. for the ppl. who were controlled on 3 OxyContin OC a day, who now suffer and have proved the new OPs DON...

68 REPLIES

I had signed an old petition "Stop the DEA from interfering with chronic pain patients and their medical professiona...

29 REPLIES

Has anyone else been prescribed Belbuca? I'm unable to have any other opiates prescribed to me and now I'm on th...

4 REPLIES

My husband is disabled. has had 3 hip replacement surgeries, moved to southwest michigan last month. husband's dr th...

3 REPLIES

My dr said they were limiting prescribing oxys to just cancer patients, took me off oxy 30s and now im on 4mg hydromorph...

48 REPLIES

All local pharmacies claim to be full concerning pain medication patients. I've been everywhere within a 200 mile ra...

3 REPLIES

Hi sir iam a having hbv from last 5 years but dont have much symptoms but from last few days iam having pain in liver ar...

5 REPLIES