The Opioid Crisis Is a Tragedy, but America’s Response Created a Second One | NYT Opinion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2023
- How does it feel to suffer from debilitating pain but not be able to get your hands on the medication that could help? In the Opinion video above, we hear from Americans who have had to endure this nightmare.
They are among the countless people with chronic pain who have been the unintended victims of the national crackdown on opioid prescribing. In response to the deadly opioid crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines intended to limit opioid prescriptions. That advice soon became enshrined in state laws across the country. Suddenly, many pain patients lost the drugs that made their lives bearable. Some sought relief in suicide.
Last year the C.D.C. issued new prescription guidelines intended, in part, to induce a course correction. But facing a confusing mess of federal and state laws, many physicians are still afraid to prescribe opioids to genuine pain sufferers.
America’s doctors have been put in a difficult position. But it doesn’t need to be this way. It is possible to stop overprescribing yet ensure that pain sufferers get the relief they deserve. The patients in our video have one message: Listen to us.
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There is a second part to this whole issue that I hope the NYT will further investigate. Even when I've been able to get a prescription there are two further issues. First, the insurance will often not pay for full prescription as written by the doctor. For instance, I was offered 7 days of a 30 day prescription. But a second much worse problem is that for some reason Pharmacies in my state say they cannot get the drugs at all. I haven't been able to get any medication for over 3 months and my quality of life has completely changed. I went from being able to manage the pain enough to participate in life, to now feeling like I'm a burden on my family, friends and society.
How many people is this crisis going to turn into street drug addicts in the exact opposite of what was originally intended? How many people are going to just decide life is no longer worth the pain?
Exactly! It's a mess, and I KNEW it would be a mess in the 1990s when suddenly doctors were handing out opioids too carelessly. I hope and pray you can get help -- and please never give up, I was bedridden for months and I felt like such a burden to my family and friends, but I finally found a good doctor who listens to me and a good pharmacy who listens to my doctor.
Btw your dog is awesome! Dogs have been such a loving comfort ❤
🙏
I couldn't agree more. People that end up on heroin are going to bc that's their choice. I'm tired of them blaming a prescription of Norco from the dentist! I've been taking Norco for 11 years and NEVER considered sticking a needle in my arm. Although I believe I'm still being under-medicated bc of the fascist policies on opioids, I'm still thankful that there's something that improves my quality of life and helps me through each day. These shortages are going to force people to risk fentanyl laced street drugs or just choose to end their lives. It makes me furious and afraid at the same time. It should NOT be taboo to feel good. If a person is in pain and there's a pill that eases that pain, it should be a fundamental right to have unimpeded access to that medicine. I hope this madness ends for all of our sake.
Walmart kept telling me they didn’t have my medication because it was written for 120. Later I learned they were limiting prescriptions to one week supply and only new prescriptions. I switched pharmacies and it’s been (mostly) trouble free. The only time I have issues is when my doctor is away and one of her colleagues has to authorize the refill.
@@grumpyoldlady_rants My mother and I have been having the same problem over the past 2 months. Pharmacies don't have it in stock and wondering if we're going to find it anywhere.
It feels like there's no one fighting for us...only judgemental, self-righteous people that haven't yet had to live with chronic pain.
I spent 10 days in the hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. At first, I was on the edge of going into shock. They gave me Dilaudid and 10 minutes later I was watching TV and laughing. I couldn't believe there was a medication that could take away that pain.
My point is this...after I left the hospital, I didn't start hunting Dilaudid. I've been satisfied with Norco for my back pain. They are wrong to punish responsible pain patients bc of other's bad decisions.
That poor lady. Her chronic pain has aged her face and body a decade or more beyond her true age.
I hope she can find relief soon. My heart breaks for her.
We need real leadership in this country.
God Bless! This woman!❤
What needs to be done is to file a class action civil rights lawsuit but no lawyers are willing.
The Health should Not Treat Honest People in Real Pain 24/7 Stop being put into the Druggie Box i have been on then for 20 years Plus with Not Mishaps in that time Write to your Member on the Government .Please.
It's easier to just go buy herion than deal with these stupid doctors that don't want to give you anything for pain!!
I know six men that ended their lives, after they were forced off of their medicine. All worked back breaking labor for over 40 years, and couldn’t live in that pain. I know doctors who are literally quitting, because they can’t help their patients anymore. Horrifying cruelty.
It's difficult because many people are fentanyl addicts......when you talk about back-breaking work many workers of the coal mines in Appalacia used to say they use to have a sore back and rather than prescribing Ibrophen ( that would have worked for them) it was Fentanyl.......Then they got hooked on the drug......The question is is was the pain unbearable that led to their suicide or the desperate feeling because they couldn't get their addictive drug anymore......Fentanyl is meant to be way more addictive that heroine, pot or anything else out there.
There are other therapies for pain management which do not include opioids. This is purely in defense of the Sacklers who should rot in evil as far as I am concerned. They ruined lives period. The blood of many will remain on them and their children's children for many generations. May the Lord destroy that family in every way possible. Amen
@@karenmbbaxter In my community, any problems, can be traced back to one single NP. She arrested in a DEA raid, and also molested several children, including myself.
She as giving patients HIGH doses first. She killed several people, and almost killed me, by placing me on medication for Diabetes, which I don’t have 🤦♀️
In my region though, it’s farm labor. You start YOUNG. Around 8 or 9, and you are out in the fields, picking weeds, for a few bucks a day. None of these guys were addicts though. They were taken off after the raid, spurred another investigation. Apparently, according to one of the doctors, the DEA’s new “pain calculators” deemed these men to have no pain. They were removed, and wouldn’t be tapered. They all shot themselves. One after the other, hearing about these people you know 🤦♀️ I’ve know addicts in my community, my sister, god rest her soul, had addictions, but these guys, no.
We live in horrible times!
How can you say they did "back breaking" work. They could of taken tylenol/ibuprofen for their "sore back". I could be wrong but if you are doing "back breaking" work, your back problem isn't just "sore". Pain is so hard to describe for a lot of people. And it is hard to understand just how much pain someone else is in especially if you cannot physically see the source of the pain. (I hope my comment makes sene lol) opioids should not always be the first option for every kind of pain but they can be so beneficial for many. All it takes is 1 incident, accident, injury or illness from needing opioids. Last thing, you don't want to take too much Tylenol and motrin dues to liver and stomach issues. There are risks and benefits with every singal medication and we are all so unique. That's why individualized treatment is so very important.
I'm a chronic pain patient and lucky to have a doctor willing to treat my pain with opioids. My biggest issue is pharmacies and pharmacists who lie to me about not having it or it's always on "backorder" because they are limited on how much they can order and actually receive from distributors because of their poor practices (that they where sued for) I feel judged by them and because I don't look "disabled" or I'm younger or Iook like an addict because I'm having a painful day etc. Im able to get my medication for a few months before Im pushed off to another pharmacy. I have to submit to monthly urine and blood drug tests just to get the prescription. I feel like I'm on parole. I'm just tired of my character always being judged. I just want some respect. Any doctor who dumps a pain patients is putting their life at risk for suicide or making them seek out illegal, dangerous means of pain relief. These doctors are doing harm and not properly treating. There are alternatives which I've spent thousands over the years trying. Nothing gives me as much quality of life as opioid medication.
Yes. Opioids are a gift from the gods I believe.
I agree. I don't know if my doctor retired, decided not to renew his license, got fired, got barred from practicing... Kind of hope he got fired tbh. He always had something to say to get under my skin. With my last visit being the topping on the cake, making a personal insult... Anyways...
I called in April to schedule my quarterly visit and the receptionist told me he no longer worked there and I should be receiving something in the mail in a day or two. No referral, sort of just a "Sorry, good luck!" type of deal.
In Feb and March my therapy was being out in the yard for an hour or so at a time chopping down honeysuckle with lopping shears, removing vines, and pulling light brush around. I work as a caregiver for my mom. They give me 3 hours per day, but I'm usually there for 8. No health insurance, but it's something. She has several debilitating health issues and is in so much pain every day, it's all I can do. And my remaining time I spend trying to keep up with things at my house. Now I'm having a difficult time with all of it. Just mostly sitting around feeling useless, because doing dishes for 15 minutes causes pain in my lower back, traveling up the right side of my spine and starts burning. Severe shoulder pain after driving for 15-20 mins. Many issues after being hit as a pedestrian a decade ago, 2 years to find a lawyer that would take my case, only then being referred to crackpot physical therapy doctors and chiropracters, not being well informed that I could see any doctor I wanted to and send the bill to my lawyer. It was a mess, and I got royally screwed. Financially and health-wise. Though I do often forget that I am very lucky to still be alive. And that more damage wasn't done.
They want to refuse me medicine that significantly increases my quality of life, that's fine. I'm young enough to research legal (but still very questionable, unregulated, and not very well researched) alternatives. I will NEVER resort to heroin or fentanyl. But to sit and watch my mom suffer immensely day in and day out after several surgeries she didn't recover well from, with several crushed vertibrae, bad knees, and her other issues... With no form of pain relief. Even so far as a pain management doctor labeling her on paper as a drug-seeking opioid addict... That is very difficult for me.
I really hope with the new 2022 legislation things start to change for legitimate pain patients, cancer patients, and veterans. But as of now, the future looks bleak.
I advise everyone to look up Richard Lawhern. Specifically the Mystery Wire interview, and share it with as many people as possible.
As a chronic pain sufferer, my spine was damaged and I have that burning, muscle spasms and I think that the CDC laws have gone too far and the suffering won’t be reversed.
I’m just thrilled that MSM is FINALLY addressing our side of the situation!
I went through this with Walmart. They started telling me they were “out”. Then I saw a news article about Walmart deciding to not fill opioid prescriptions if the amount was for more than one week. I switched pharmacies after that.
Where are you from NYC won’t give them like if the cdc said it’s band but it’s not
I’m one of these sufferers. The FDA is slowly killing us. The majority of us DON’T want to have to take an opioid! All I want is a minimum dose tablet, which I could cut in quarters-and take just 1/4 (1.25 mg) as a *last resort* when the pain becomes unbearable. The frequency of this 1/4 tablet would be no more than once every 2-3 wks! And yet even this almost zero dose is not accepted by doctors. They just assume you’re going to become addicted. It’s absurd and cruel that we are treated this way. And it’s the FDA’s doing.
We desperately need more representation with decision makers in DC. Ty, NYT for bringing attention to this issue!
I feel for you. Your situation is definitely worse- the fda/dea is also doing this to those with adhd (also impacted by the reaction to opioid crisis). The head of the fda is an arrogant cardiologist who doesn’t care about patients and instead judges them.
May I ask what state you live in? As a chronic pain patient who became in need of treatment, right as this was all coming to a head (around 2008) I've lived in 3 states since then, & the care was drastically different depending on where I was living. The data seems to show red states, & the SE where the pill mills were primarily based (looking at you FL) have the tightest restrictions & the fewest doctors still treating chronic pain.
You should try cannabis for the pain. My fiancé is a disabled vet who got off all pills and uses cannabis for pain now, his life is completely different now.
Sounds like you honestly just need Tylenol or ibuprofen if you’re taking that small a dose anyways
@@drinkswatereIt depends on the reason for the pain. I have some pain that responds to aspirin better than oxycodone, because it’s inflammatory in origin.
People with severe anxiety disorders were abandoned too! Its a horrible way to live! 😢
This is exactly what happened to me.
Major back issues and pain, documented and verified, yet my doctor of 5 years suddenly said “no”. Told me to take Tylenol and Advil. He acted like I was an addict even though I was his patient for years, because he said they had been investigated at his practice.
I feel you! I spent therapy sessions just crying over how my doctor was treating me and how trapped I felt. I waited years to change doctors out of fear that it would look like I was doctor shopping!
Tylenol and ibuprofen (in my opinion and in scientific fact) are more dangerous and potentially more detrimental to ones health than opioid pain medication. Ibuprofen can cause liver and even kidney issues, gastrointestinal bleeding (had that once), increased heart attack and stroke risk, and on and on when taken for more than a week or two. Stuff is nasty!
Tylenol only provides sufficient pain relief at maximum dosage. And that stuff can cause liver issues, and gastrointestinal issues.
Says right on the back of the bottle - do not take for more than 10 days.
It happened to me to until I luckily tried kratom!!!
I have had 6 spine surgeries and multiple spine injections. Pain medication allowed me to work full time and do outings with my family. I am 70 and with opioids medications, I am still working full time. The pain doctors have followed me for 12 yrs. I was recently told by 2 patriarchal male doctors that since I am 70 I no longer deserve pain medicine. I have to let them repeat office procedures which I have had multiple times before and do not work for them to prescribe inadequate pain medications. I heard one of these male doctors tell a woman with spontaneous spinal fractures that are very painful and cannot be corrected , she had to have office procedures also in order to get a prescription.This is a money making scheme in a clinic affiliated with the one big pain clinic in the state.
I just had another spine surgery for which I was sent home with minimal pain medication. I was unable to sit down for two weeks due to pain.
The discrimination against my being female and age is demeaning. The threat of losing my job due to pain is baffling since pain medication works. This situation is appalling. The only thing I can do is to report these doctors to Medicare for suggesting procedures instead of prescribing medications that are cheaper and work. This will not address my pain.
That's terrible, I feel so sorry for you. My mom suffers from spontaneous fractures on a spine and on her pubic bone due to osteoporosis and she was crying from pain. I'm not in the US, and they did prescribed her opioids at the higher dosage but even that did little to help her and she was in terrible pain for months. She could barely walk or do anything.I was so scared that one day I would go back home and find her dead because she couldn't handle the pain anymore. Now she's slowly recovering and I'm so grateful but still scared for the future. Knowing that there are people like her who aren't even given pain medication is insane and enraging. I wonder how some doctors can still call themselves doctors.
I do worry you keep getting put under the knife as a money making scheme to be honest! Back surgery has become a very rare thing these days, with most surgeons finding the success rates too low to risk in most cases, so I'm hoping these surgeries are an ongoing treatment & aren't repairing past mistakes? You mentioned another woman having spontaneous spinal fractures, so perhaps that's what you're suffering with? That would make sense. You said you've also had injections so it seems clear you're not conflating the two. You could actually have a malpractice suit here, if you could find a lawyer with a heart, & can tell this story thru your medical records. If your condition is not improving & you're taken off pain medication or lowered to an ineffective dose, you could have a case depending on where you live. That's if you even want to deal with the pain of a lawsuit, which can be taxing. There are also some class action suits being formed over people that have been undermedicated, & I believe there's even a team going after the gov. Give it a good Goggling.
I have recurring spinal stenosis. I was in a wheelchair, but I can walk again after last surgery.
@@xxcnd83xxyes, it's inhumane. Prayers for your mom.... 🌹
@@xxcnd83xx I wrote a reply about my bone disease and my previous addiction to heroin in younger years due to ptsd. I withdrew from drugs that masked the trauma and pain of my bone disease. You may help your mum with pain management more and a good top up for any pain relief management by taking her to an exercise pool, walking and slow movement help a lot, diet change especially sugary things with can be inflammatory and fresh food over packaged for same reasons. I get an opioid for my pain, I cut it significantly by doing these things.. try to incorporate good anti inflammatory spices like turmeric for one, sprinkle on veg, buy a drinking kind, not turmeric pills but the actual spice. I find this has greatly reduced the time I have spent unwell to being able to move more freely and have less attacks from one of my bone and bone fibre tissue. Try to get cannabis oil with some thc, my doctor also prescribes this as I would rather that than daily opioid meds, having been once addicted I look for the best I can and no sugar I fast packaged foods makes more difference than most know. I hope your mum feels better. Good luck from oz.
I never thought I’d see a piece from my perspective. I live from injection to injection, from radial frequency ablation to radio frequency ablation, still in constant pain, forty-two years after a spinal cord injury at the T5/6 level left my upper body doing all the work. Only one doctor, a pain management specialist, will write hydrocodone but it’s a small dose. I got through grad school, married, raised two great men, doing so much more than was expected of me. Now I’m left to pay for it because OTHER people abused this class of meds. The most depressing thing ever.
I was in agony for months waiting for a hip replacement. I could not sit, only lie down or stand, but the surgeon said he would get in trouble if he gave me pain medication. As I understand it the insurance companies are involved in denying pain medications to those with legitimate needs. It needs to be fixed.
Yes, thanks to the “opioid crisis” Medicare can deny paying for the prescription and if it’s over a certain amount of milligrams which is just another way of making more money!
Not even advil, paracetamol or sublingual k
it has not been fixed and won`t be !
Medication/Opiods for those who need them, should have them.
People dying from cancer may need them but not non terminal patients.
@@santiagowechsler Pray that you stay pain free. Judgement is God's right and not ours.
@@santiagowechslerYou’ve obviously never truly suffered from a chronic health condition/problem that’s impossible to remedy or fix with the current options available. Which are insanely expensive, too. Don’t get sick, and best of luck with that. Your life will be a living nightmare if you do. ✌️
I hear that I used to hate opioids I only smoke Marijuana for my pain but I 2012 that all change when Marijuana, stop working after that.I've been on oxycodones ever since And now in two 2024 The pain is much greater then it ever has
@@santiagowechsler it is literally that attitude that is causing so many people to die. You don’t get to say who needs what!
This is the most important news story to be in the New York Times in past 5 years!!! We have been left to suffer and become a completely disabled person because they won’t prescribe opioids. The research shows that WE do not become drug addicts or die of overdose! Illegal drugs are the issue here! I would vote for someone to be President of US if they promised to fix this issue!
That sure would be an interesting election. According to statistics, that would basically be 20-40 million votes in the bag. But, with prescription opioid propaganda of the last 6 years and others affected by street opiates, that would be a lot of negative votes too 🤔
I never could understand how ppl who legitimately need pain medications just can't get them but addicts can
Addicts are probably getting counterfeit pills, made with fentanyl in them, and not "real" medication. Either way it's not fair to us who are close to suicide that we can't get some relief 😡
the people who need them, become the ADDICTS when they can’t obtain them
Through pharmacies. They are forced to
Turn to black markets.
You said it!
Yes. I’ve been in the doctor’s exam room while my elderly father asked for pain management and was told “no.” Ok. There is a flip-side problem wherein the elderly are “drugged into being less difficult,” and that’s happening less. (I really think that’s become more of an ‘olden-times problem…) Ok. Insurance-monitoring people and government medicine-monitoring people aren’t physicians though. I haven’t met many bad doctors. A couple, sure. But that number is almost insignificant when compared with how many good doctors I’ve come across. And I’m just one guy.
They’re literally the same person. The addict is just a person who legitimately needed pain medication and was forced to switch to Heroin / Fentanyl after their doctor cut them off.
As a Pain patient since before 2016 the best thing you can do is make sure that you bring a caretaker with you and I mean a caretaker that looks like a caretaker that’s reputable, family member, or a husband and a wife a mother a father when you’re having these discussions about pain management
It does not work
It works if the individual is a white man.
What has oddly helped me is that I have a family member who has the same doctor as me. Every once in a while I would bring her in and he would ask if she noticed anything odd about my behavior, or if medication was missing etc. And yes, I did the same for her from time to time. My pain doc also worked with my other docs, like my rheumatologist
This is horrific and really discouraging for my loved one who has a severe case of osteogenesis imperfecta. Thank you for bringing this to light.
th-cam.com/video/BwsQ1BatJ68/w-d-xo.html
This is me. We need to fight this bs and require we be treated on an individual basis. I'm in pain so constant that suicide seems all too often like my only option these days. Thank goodness for my grandchildren, or I might already be gone. It's just insanity. Those days when I can move freely without feeling like I'm being stretched on a rack, are the only thing that gives me hope, and that only happens when I have sufficient pain medication.
❤
Don’t give up. Consider cortisone epidural Injection, also up the acetaminophen. I have had oxycodone but was taken off after 3 years and now take morphine when badly needed. Disc degeneration is a problem as pain management is so hard. Loads of Acetaminophen. Very hard bed is necessary, I slept on the floor for 15 years.
So true. And like you the only reason I keep going are my grandchildren.
My grandchildren are my life. Because I have no other life.
There are great back injury treatments nowadays keep the hope faith courage
Humanity managed without pain medication for hundreds of thousands of years
Absolutely. I was shot in the chest by my ex. I lost my entire right lung and as u can imagine my body is wrecked by be hit by a speeding bullet. Severe nerve damage from having my lung ripped out, my body breaking down from being in so much pain that most of the time I can’t do much but sit on the couch or lay in bed. But I’ve been told over and over, “your pain is from taking opiates. Opiates actually do not work for pain. Higher levels won’t do any good, they just make your pain worse.” I’m 43 years old. I have 2 kids. I was blessed enough to survive, but that’s all I’m doing. Surviving. I want to live. I want to be at a level of pain where I am functional. The dr’s are wrong. I’ve been on a level of opiates before where my pain was managed. I’ve had to take them for 10 years so I have a high tolerance. Higher levels DO work. The govt has created a new crisis, and until they’ve had a 9mm bullet blow through their chest and then endured multiple endless surgeries on their torso front and back for 10 years, they have no idea what pain truly is. They don’t care that medical advances have allowed people to survive events that would have killed them 15-20 yrs ago…heck even 10 years ago. But what is the point in surviving just to suffer and wish you would have died???
Please go to pain specialist and let them evaluate you if you haven't already. Multidimensional medication may help you.
My brother in law is a top biochemist for big pharma. He says opioids do not work long term, body becomes tolerant or whatever the word is dont remember, thus the need to increment dosage until is useless, but the brain and neurological system gets zapped in the meantime. Its for short term people dying like any other hard opioid like morphine padges or iv morphine.
So let go of it. Find something better that at least keep it manageable.
Do not loose the hope, faith, courage, discernment.
There’s a ton of science that says otherwise. There are many people who remain at an effective disease for years without having to increase the dose.l, and it remains effective. If their condition deteriorates, then they may have to increase. I have been on a level that was effective and didn’t have to be increased. I actually decreased myself when I didn’t need as high a dose. But, it was getting to the effective dose that was the issue. There are people who are bedbound due to pain. You would rather see them lie in a bed suffering than for them to have opiates that treat their pain and make them able to function? That’s really sick. Maybe your relative has their own biases against opiates. Yes, your body becomes tolerant but that doesn’t mean you will endlessly have to increase your dose. People can be on a stabilized dose for years and years before they have to be increased, and usually they aren’t increased because they’ve become tolerant. Usually it’s because their condition has deteriorated. I truly hope they find something that works better for pain than opiates. The sad thing is if this is such a crisis, why isn’t the govt treating it like it is and throwing all of its resources into finding meds that work for pain??? I’ll tell you why. It’s because they want people on suboxone and drugs like it. Those drugs are impossible to get off of and make pharma major money. Also, if your relative is in pharma, I don’t trust a word he says🤷♀️ He probably works for the company making suboxone.
You better hope you never need chronic pain relief cause you will you will be begging for a pain pill@@peaceandlove544
And the booster shots for the plandemic @@sheilahunt7390
This whole thing hits so close to home. My mom has multiple sclerosis as well and she has had so many issues with doctors and pharmacies it’s ridiculous. She is trying to function and they are making it impossible. If you want an idea of how bad the pain can be she once broke her leg and didn’t get it treated for a few weeks because her normal pain is so bad a broken leg wasn’t even a blip on her radar. I feel like we treat animals in pain with more kindness than humans. It’s not ok.
I have MS too, I also am crippled with scoliosis and occipital neuropathy which has plagued me for years. After my doctor dumped me I lost my quality of life, ability to walk, and exist in days of constant agony. I'm waiting to die now. I once had a very full life and all of that is gone now. If people would understand that we didn't ask for painful medical conditions! This is a period in American history that will be remembered as the darkest days of despair.
lot of us feel the same way@@LauraJohnson-yw2xk
I have MS with severe pain. I completely understand where she's coming from!
As a chronic migraine sufferer, I think denial of pain relief is absolutely sadistic.
It's not denial of pain relief. It's denial of opioids. Do you realize that opioids don't work forever unless you up the dose? Do you know that if you up the dose you will eventually become an opioid addict? I promise you the pain you feel now pales in comparison to the pain you'll feel once you're an addict.
Are you suffering from chronic pain?? if so why don't you tell us what your solution is I take a half of a 7.5 mg as needed to be able to do small walks yard work house work i live alone im 62 i was a heavy equipment mechanic for 20 years for the FD Ive had Two fusions I do not get a buz but i get enough relief to get some things done@@snowshoes5942
@@snowshoes5942that is BS. I have been on a stable dose for over 15 years.
@@snowshoes5942 Opioids are the only drugs that relieve pain and allow you to remain awake and functional, without causing severe organ damage. Depending upon the cause of pain not prescribing opioids may be "denial of pain relief." The tolerance that develops may happen much more slowly than the fear-mongers might want you to believe. Perhaps some people develop a tolerance faster than others, I have no way of knowing, but personally I was able to manage on the same monthly dose for 20 years. To be fair, this may be because while some people have constant pain all day and all night, my pain level varied from hour to hour, so there were times when I could go for 4 to 12 hours taking less opioids per hour, or taking no opioids for 4 to 12 hours, and other times when my pain acted up, and I needed more. That's why I found extended-release formulations to be unsuitable for me. I tend to think these increase the development of a tolerance. It is better to use immediate release formulations if you can. If you take a dose, and 4 hours later you find your pain has either not come back or is at a bearable level, you don't have to take another dose. With ER formulations, you can't skip a dose like that.
@@snowshoes5942 It’s easy to say this and undermine their situation when you dont experience this persons pain. You can toss around the word addict all you’d like but the word dependent is more fitting, people who grow “addicted” to legal opiods arent going to overdose nor will they be on the streets. So I ask, what exactly is the problem and what is YOUR problem with it?
This was too short and deserves more detail regarding this issue. People suffering from opioid addiction is a crisis and unmanaged pain is also a crisis. The United States is at a crossroads with regard to implementing policies that empower citizens and reflect our common values. Our empathy for each other allows us to know there is a problem here, but we are in a sea of suffering and need to try to think clearly about how to create policies that reflect both our diversity of opinions as well as a commitment to the common good.
I am not addicted. I work full-time. I am in constant pain. There’s no help for me. The doctors I said in the end additional procedures I’ve had six spine surgeries. Many of them are for recurrent spinal stenosis, so I am walking again, but none of them offer any pain control if they don’t get profit, they don’t help you.!
Also probably take the ‘opinion’ label off because this is just reporting facts.
Fentanyl is addicting. Opioids in contrast, if properly monitored by a physician is safe and can help patients live their lives.
I’ve loved people who were both addicts and chronic pain patients. One of my close friends because addicted and it was awful…but she couldn’t get treatment because she had chronic pain. She was beginning to turn her life around when a blood clot killed her. She was 22.
@@graciephilFentanyl is an opioid. I used to be on it for chronic pain. Any opioid used long term can cause dependence even in people who are not psychologically addicted.
Doctors have NOT gotten the message from the CDC telling them to keep prescribing for pain patients. Withholding is an ongoing problem in 2023 in spite of the suicide risks.
So the question is why I guess. Are doctors to busy to notice, are insurance companies trying to keep costs down or is the CDC to wrapped up in COVID to really get the word out? Or something else entirely?
I've lived with chronic pain for over 35 years. In my 40's I was in a pain clinic for 8 years where I was treated appropriately and was able to continue my nursing career which I loved. I was abandoned by that clinic as so many patients have been. Within a year I was disabled. Because of that medical trauma I didn't see any doctor for years. After 11 years I finally asked for a referral and now, at 68, have more sources of pain and a pain clinic that takes my pain seriously. I'm seeing a shoulder surgeon in two days and for anyone with chronic pain, the prospect of surgery is daunting because of needing to communicate with new people about pain management. It's so hard to advocate for ourselves for something so essential to our quality of life. Thanks NYT for this video, it's excellent.
People who suffer true chronic debilitating pain often turn to alcohol or take their lives. The people who are addicts and steal and harm themselves are the ones who took this away from those that took the right doses, never tested positive for multiple substances, and did not doctor shop. However, they are looked at as if they are criminals. It is tragic and it needs to be known they are suffering. Dogs get more pain relief than humans do. Doctors who follow the federal guidelines are safe but even so, many refuse to help those in genuine need.
Alcohol works on GABBA recptors not endorphins receptors so most likely opioids were just masking the pain.
Instead of booze try a drug like GABBAPENTIN. Opioids don’t help all types of pain.
Gabapentin didn’t help my muscular pain or my neuropathy.
Just because it’s being hailed as an alternative to pain medicine it doesn’t mean that it actually works.
Just an overprescribed alternative nowadays.
@@sarcasticallyrearranged It can also mess with our brain and cause depression, aggression, and rapid mood swings among the many side effects.
@@starchaserz yes, I've seen some people have terrible side/after effects from that medication.
I had to stop taking gabbapentin it was giving me brain zaps at night I was only taking 300mg at night to help me sleep@@Italocanadese81
It's utterly ridiculous, Doctors need to use their commonsense and treat each person as an individual case.
Why would you say stuff like that but the u have the devil's num but then you want to talk about having common sense🤡🤡
@@Bossbaby09595 😈
kinda hard to do if youre given 15 min per patient encounter
@@gaiac1979 I get that, it's sad to see genuine people in pain.
@@Bossbaby09595wha
I wish they had done this years ago! I'll never forget my pain doctor cutting me off cold turkey because suddenly I was a risk to his license due to my age. They made me feel like my dose was so high, but yet they were the ones prescribing it for years! (And actually, it was relatively low by comparison). Anyway I begged to go into detox so I could get relief but I didn't qualify bc I wasn't diagnosed with Opiate Use Disorder. I could've lied to get in, but then I'd never be allowed to receive pain meds again. Turns out I should've just lied bc even without going in, I still have never been allowed pain treatment again.
I'm not a candidate for surgery or injections bc I had a stroke after one treatment. I gave up. I struggle with pain daily after serious injuries from not at fault accidents. My family suffers the most though, bc I'm not the same wife and mommy as before.
Now, even my dental surgeon would not prescribe pain meds after serious bone graft surgery! And gave the same reason... not to risk his license. So I'm a risk and not a suffering patient...nice.
I'd love to do a book on this one day. Including photos since ppl have to SEE YOUR PAIN TO BELIEVE YOU. it shouldn't take that though. I feel for all in this situation and wish you the best!
They lie to you about your age. It’s just another way of manipulating you. If you’re healthy, you can take medication. I just want to make money off of you and multiple interactions with these doctors. It’s always the same thing. How much money can I make off of you they don’t care about the pain they don’t care about your ability to live, they are the monsters I went to medical school to prevent from practicing I failed because I had a major car accident, and my voice was taken away from me
Kratom can help with some pain
As an Australian I am continually amazed at the level of dysfunction of the US healthcare system , yet American ideology is holding back genuine reforms that will make life better for citizens and not to mention cheaper healthcare and medications.
My mother destroyed herself with alcohol because she was self medicating for chronic pain. It's tragic to watch someone suffer daily and for them to not have any relief.
My mom is 90 and told me thats how they used to treat chronic pain when she was younger with lots of alcohol.I believe lots still do cause it also numbs the mind
it's frustrating to see them all go overboard with issues and take drastic action that the people aren't asking for. They don't listen. They don't use judgement. they just go extreme and ruin people's lives, and then backtrack a few years later. I've had pain killers several times for different problems, and when it stopped hurting, I stopped taking them. That's what most people do.
Stop the unjust drug war!
I had a dr suggest suicide... I wish I was being hyperbolic. I survived a broken neck for someone to tell me if I can’t take the pain I should consider palliative care.
Palliative care isn’t suicide…
This video needs more views. Please share in your chronic pain groups.
Please continue to research this people are having surgery and getting no pain medication! I had a leg amputated and got no opiates after surgery!! I am not alone!
I am so sorry for your treatment. I had a gallbladder removed and when leaving the hospital I was given no pain meds! I called the doctor and said it felt like you stabbed me 4x and give me nothing. My husband after I screamed in pain all night finally got the doctor to write me 10 pills. It is unfair the treatment we receive. I have you in my prayers.
My friend was a medic in Vietnam. While a medical amputation is different than a war injury, loosing a leg is loosing a leg. The first thing they did was pull out the morphine. I am so sorry you were abused like that. (It is abuse, can't be treatment, they didn't do anything).
Thank you for shedding light on this issue. The over correction is causing patents to suffer needlessly.
So so many people were being treated and managing without abusing or being dishonest. Then the money the clinics were making took over. More appointments they charged for, more drug tests they could charge for (even though the patient had never had a bad test in all the time they were being tested). More referrals to unnecessary appointments, that just caused confusion. The providers were no longer listening to the patients in most cases. I could go on and on. Insurance definately shouldn't be deciding which drug, at what potency is right for all the patients. The government shouldn't even be involved except to identify and prevent the ones that are abusing the system.
Yes! We need to stand up for chronic pain patients! This is not humane or fair! Why cant they monitor prescriptions better!
They can they only give out 5 to 7 days supply it’s in the regulations now plus the dr said it they can’t give more a month it’s the drs that won’t follow the new cdc guidelines to prescribe they can prescribe that amount but still won’t I only had some after surgery but I have pain in my disk it’s not right
This is a genuine tragedy
This is an important video that more people need to see; hopefully the right people see it.
Let doctors prescribe and monitor their patients!
My partner suffered needlessly after surgery. It’s really a horrible state of affairs.
My heart breaks for her. This is happening to SO MANY people and I’m glad it’s being brought to light. People with disabilities and illnesses are being treated like criminals. You can’t say you’re in pain without fear of the doctor writing you off as an addict. People are being told to take advil after major surgery. It’s ridiculous.
It’s hard enough as it is, and ONE doctor or nurse can wrongfully accuse you of drug seeking and now that’s in your chart forever. They’re playing with people’s lives. It’s absolutely disgusting how healthcare workers treat people with chronic pain. They’d rather treat us like addicts, because if they didn’t, they’d have to realize how much they’re making us suffer.
Im from the uk and 42 years old. Until last year for 6 years ive chronic pain from failed back surgery. I have been into the a and e so many times begging for help and have been treated like absolute s###, like a drug addict. It got to the point where i attempted suicide due to the pain. I have since had an implant which has completely changed my life. Im off all the medication (was previously on fentanyl and pregabalin and occasionally oramorph....all at the same time) and now work full time and havent had a day off sick since having my implant. I feel this ladys pain. Its inhumane how those with chronic pain are treated
Failed implani
Failed implant
What kind of implant do you have?
It's called a spinal cord stimulator, like a TENS machine but implanted on my spinal cord
@@emilybrailsford6914 So glad it worked for you, sometimes it doesn't.
I’m sorry for all the people here who are suffering. I hope a day will come soon when you all can get pain relief.
This is so sad. My heart hurts for them. And some doctors are just cowards, honestly. A good doctor can usually tell the difference between a patient who's in chronic pain and someone who's seeking a recreational high. And honestly, better to err on the side of treating the people with pain. Yes, some patients have opioid addiction, but isn't it better for them to get their pills from a pharmacy than from the street?
My grand mother died in 1968. As a young woman she had a colostomy. I remember as a child her regularly taking Paragoric. I believe she took it most of her life. It started as a patent medicine, then became prescription only but her doctor kept writing for her. She was fully functional until her final illness and never showed signs of being on any drug but also she was not having pain and gastrointestinal distress. What would they do to her now? If they can keep addicts on methadone why can't they keep pain patients on their drugs?. You can't fake a disintegrating spine, any fool could tell they'd be in pain.
Doctors are such overrated people.
😢iknow this too well....my husband is going thru the worst pain now that his pain managenent dr was shut down by the dea. There is no more pain management for those in severe chronic pain niw. His only hope is back surgury now... Or shots to block the nerves... Its so hard to see him suffer. It has been two months now since he was cut off of his pain meds..so he went thru the withdrawal with no help or weened down and now it is tylenol and ibuphrofen which does nothing and wait for the appointment with a surgeon 😢so sadthe preverbisl rotten apples ruined it for the whole bunch
This is a miserable situation. CDC and the DEA have failed to circulate the 11/4/2022 guidelines that return the authority to the doctor-patient relationship for prescribing based on evidence and need.
It is noteworthy that overdose deaths from opioids decreased in all age groups except those over age 65 where there was actually an increase! So, CDC advises MDs to use caution when prescribing to this group -- wrongo! If someone is over 65 and in constant severe pain, what do you think is driving up those numbers!?!
The medical profession as a group treats older people like they should hurry up and get out of the way, especially if they're women but men too.
UPDATE: The clinics where I have been receiving treatment for chronic pain (considered the worst type of pain rating 42/50 on the McGill Pain Scale) advised that their goal is to take all patients with chronic pain down to 20 mme/day 😱🤬🤯😲🫠. The AMA worked very hard with CDC and the DEA to get a revision written for their opioid guidelines specifically criticizing forced reductions of meds where chronic pain is still a problem and lives are compromised -- their focus was on doctors, clinics, and pharmacies asking them to stop mandatory reductions! I wonder if the AMA reviews for compliance!?!
Heartbreaking....Its unbelievable that we are forced to work our bodies 8-12hrs a day for 5-6 days a week to barely make a living wage....in the process causing all kinds of painful, debilitating conditions (knees/hips/shoulder replacements, arthritis of all kinds, spine/vertebrae worn out and nerves pinched, slipped disks...everything!) and now they want us all to take some tylenol and do the best you can!!! All the people born with debilitating illnesses and those who develop such, how can we just let them all suffer?
Compassion before judgement is required in the face of the opioid crisis.
I totally relate to Laura and the spasms she gets. I get them, too and the pain is excruciating. You can also see how being in chronic, debilitating pain can age someone. I thought she was in her late 70s, not mid 60s. I’m fortunate that I have a doctor who prescribes pain medication for me. I live in fear of the medication being taken away.
I'm happy for you that you have a doctor who cares about you! I'm realizing that I will die from this and it won't happen soon enough!
@@LauraJohnson-yw2xk - I’m so sorry. Is cannabis legal where you live?
66? omg she looks 86.
I have routinely rejected pain meds over my life. Natural childbirth, etc. Then I had two back fractures with unrelenting pain.. When I asked for pain meds, i was treated like a drug-seeking addict. It was bizarre. I was thinking, where did they (the ER docs) get their interview techniques?--from the police?
First, they hand the stuff out willy nilly, then they withhold pain killers from patients in terrible pain.
And by the way, I suppose we're luck to still have anesthesia available for surgery, BUT they overdue the anesthesia for us elderly folk, and fatal complications arise sometimes. This is unnecessary. However, administration of pain killers *does* need careful attention.
Actually they do get their interview techniques from the police, the DEA.
I cannot begin to describe the sadistic cruelty of massively undermedicating pain. Knowing that there’s a bottle of pills a few steps away that if I take one will let me sleep for a few hours but then I’ll come up short at the end of the month and they won’t give me a refill even the night before my prescription is due to be filled. So I suffer all day.
I have a form of spinal cord damage called cauda equina syndrome that causes agonizing nerve pain. It feels like I’m getting shocked with a cattle prod in my leg and it’ll go on for days. All I can do is lay in bed and cry as I’m literally being tortured by my own body. My doctors shrug and tell me to think away my pain and that it’s all just in my head. Stop being so hysterical, you’re making a big deal out of nothing, get over it already, they tell me with a look of disgust and contempt.
I’ve never done anything wrong but they still treat me like I’m nothing but garbage. I’ve had doctors tell me that I’m a worthless waste of everyone’s time and that nobody will ever care about me again. Another doctor told me to get some cats because no person will ever waste their time on me. My surgeon told me that I’m old and it’s not like I’d be able to be active for much longer anyway. I was 42 when he to.d me that. He told me that I’m not a woman anymore and that I have no business dating because I’d just be wasting a man’s time.
I no longer go to doctors. I’ll live as long as I live but asking for help from any of them is pointless. All they do is tell me that I’m fat and ugly and need to lose 150 pounds. I weigh less than 200. You do the math. I don’t know what’s happened to our healthcare system that so many providers are so incredibly cruel and hateful. I want nothing to do with any of them. They got what they wanted. They’ll never have to waste their precious time on me again. I just deal with everything on my own the best I can. And I cry. Everyday. Many times a day. And I wish I’d just die already.
While I appreciate the position the Doctors are now in, I feel more for the patients with legit medical problems and are not being helped. SHAME ON C.D.C.!!!!!
Thank you 20 billion for this article. As you say, there is a remedy for this much pain and it's inhumane not to prescribe it.
Yes the cdc said yes but dr are still acting like they said no so we have to write to cdc telling them drs won’t give it up chronic pain patients
@@magicalindigoadult3838 ok. Thank you!!
A big problem is also for people who are seriously injured and spend months in a hospital while being pumped full of opioids and then once they are released, they are on their own with no guidance especially if they don't have great insurance. Once someone is prescribed an opioid then managing to "get off" of them should be part of the care.
It is technically part of the care. That's basically the management part of pain management. Anyone taking a regular dose of opioid medication needs to be titrated off it; that's literally in the manual lol, & if they're not, that's technically malpractice. However, some people have a latent addiction triggered, or maybe even ptsd after an accident that an opioid helps manage consequentially, & they need to be looked over and monitored & given guidance, & I doubt that will ever happen because the insurance companies will say it's too expensive.
This part! And it’s never a taper down or titration always cold turkey. That can be lethal but do they care? No.
Doesn't take a rocket surgeon to realize that gradually reduced dosage and close monitoring can greatly reduce withdrawal symptoms and decrease the chances of a patients' need to visit urgent care, return to the hospital, or wind up as one of the statistics they've got their panties in a bunch about. There are even a few alternate medications available to help them. But, y'know. Opioids are the devil and all that jazz.
1:1000 has the misread on a gene that could bc addicted! So, we suffer 999 people for 1? No, we must do better. PROP advised wrongly.
(Physicians for Appropriate Opiate Prescribing.) Docs don't prescribe Heroin. We have an illicit Street drug posening crisis, and a pain patient refugee crisis. ( can't find docs to prescribe) All bc the CDC DIRECTOR Thomas Frieden said doctors caused opiate epidemic by over prescribing. Not the case bc scripts are down and overdoses n suicides are way, way up.
The Sackler family made all of this happen.
This is ridiculous enough that I, an opiod pain medicine taker who cannot function without it, has considered going to street drugs because I'm already treated like a dirty drug addict, so why not become one? Why shouldn't I turn to a life of crime to purchase street drugs if that is the only way to get relief? If you already treat me like trash, then why should I not become trash if it means I can function? The people dying from overdoses aren't filling prescriptions once a month. They are the people driven to trying all kinds of crazy, dangerous, impure stuff on the streets because they are being forced to do that. That's like all the gun nuts saying it's not our AR-15's killing kids in schools, it's because teachers need their own guns to prevent these shootings. Creating a bigger problem is not going to solve the current one. It's going to make things worse.
I have migraines, sometimes for weeks. I am really thankful that cannibis is legal in Canada for me to manage my pain and other neurological symptoms. I hope cannibis can help everyone who suffer from chronic pain too.
This is not freedom. You should be able to put whatever you want in your body without taking permission from the government.
Like of adequate pain relief has further reduced my quality of life, and I am already permanently disabled. Being even *less* mobile has made me even more sick.
I identify w/these people so much that I can hardly acknowledge it. I want to cry, but I can't even. I have multiple neuropathy, and my heart sank like a stone seeing the guy w/singular neuropathy. Any word ANY of them said is my experience. Yes, I will be showing this to my health team.
Always remember the distinction: nobody is saying opiod over proscription was "good." But people rarely OD'd on what was legal. People started dying when all these people were thrown off legal rx, and had to go to dangerous street skag.
The death phase of the crisis was induced by the government.
And the insurance industry.
100% agree. And a whole bunch of 3 letter organizations.
This is a tragedy.
Seeing is enraging. The fact that this poor woman could be helped, but ridiculous laws make it so that doctors are afraid to is insane, and cruel. How are these laws helping anything? People can't withstand that kind of pain forever, they'll either take their own life or look for painkillers from drug dealers, with the dramatical results we know. Either way they will die, from pain, from something that they could have had help with.
Broke my hand at work 5 weeks ago. They gave me 6 Vicodin then gave me naproxen when I called because I couldn’t sleep and felt nauseous from the pain.
I have 2 broken metacarpals and nerve damage.
The pain has been unbearable at times and I just don’t understand why the docs aren’t treating me.
It’s I bit infuriating… I just hope that the nerve damage simmers down!!
Same.
I've been toughing it out on Tylenol and Aleve for years now, but my quality of life is barely worth it. I only stay alive because I won't traumatize my children by making myself un-alive.
I've been legally disabled since I was 35, and will be 43 this year. I was born with a hereditary autoimmune disease which has caused: type 1 diabetes, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, spinal arachnoiditis, and more. I have had two spinal neurosurgeries and need a third. I can't stand or walk more than 3 minutes max before being in excruciating pain. I have to use a wheelchair whenever I'm out of the house.
Thank you for being brave enough to report for us pain patients. I'd bet my bottom dollar that none of the stuffed shirt politicians who made these restrictions have pain issues. Just remember, none of us pain patients planned for or wanted to live in pain. It can happen to anyone- and I hope when these politicians are in pain they get to live like we do.
It's true. We do need to face the epidemic and work towards getting people off drugs but it has to start with compassion and realism about the fact that some people might need them.
My brother, who has had occasional but debilitating migraines since he was a little kid and only goes to the hospital as an absolute last resort and does not get nor ask for prescriptions for opiates... went to one hospital where he was told that he was drug seeking, put in restraints, left to urinate in his pants, told to leave the city because we don't need more people like him here, and then sent home with wet pants in a cab while doubled over with a migraine all by a doctor who couldn't get his head out of his butt long enough to at least give my brother the kindness that the cab driver gave him.
Too bad litigation is so difficult. A doctor like that should be sued until his insurance premiums are as high as the national debt and your poor brother should own the hospital. I once suffered from migraines, used to loose vision, really scary and no one gets it. I'm glad the cabbie was kind.
I was shocked when she said she was 66😢
Yep. It messed life up for a lot of us. At 26/27 years old I had 3 brain surgeries and a failed back procedure. Resulting in two of the worse chronic pain conditions,
#crps #atypicaltrigeminalneuralgia
Lost good insurance and couldn't pay $500 a month to see Dr. Last September I was going to start using a needle for IV drugs. Or go cold turkey. I'm here a year later and it's been a very painful one.
Notice how few people have watched this video 😔 Nobody seems to care much about the completely innocent victims here & the national reflex has been to practically pamper the drug abusers, who are often suffering from emotional imbalances/disorders, & truly need treatment, but they make a deliberate & selfish choice when they scheme to get the pain medication they abuse, while absolutely nobody chooses the chronic pain that medication treats. Drug abusers like to say they have a disease, but that is not accurate. They have disorders that drive their abuse & need legitimate medical attention, but they still have free will, & can choose a meeting, or a church, or whatever helps them cope, instead of choosing to scheme, & contribute to the problem which hurts those that actually need to the medication most.
A neighbor of mine went to the hospital because she was suicidal. She had a horrible childhood and suffered from PTSD and depression. They kicked her out after just a few days. At the out processing they had no support groups or programs to refer her to. She told me at the same time across the room the addicts were being sent to this and that program. She had actually seen some of these addicts before and said they just came to the hospital when they ran out of money and did a rinse and repeat. She said a counselor told her they make lots of money off the addiction programs because they always wind up coming back.
As someone with both PTSD and chronic pain…both conditions can be agonizing. Addicts are not our enemies. The insurance companies that won’t cover actual treatment are.
Thank you for bring light to a problem that I was not aware of. Thank you.
I have to go to a methadone clinic just to help my pain just a little bit. I have almost all of my bowels removed within 2 years with 6 surgeries. Without it i was going to the bathroom over 40 times a day and was in so much pain. I wish i didn't have to do this, but when a methadone doctor is compassionate and is actively doing something that he shouldnt have to do, says so much about people in my situation.
Modern doctors are the worst with their opioid and benzodiazepine phobia.
So much unnecessary suffering!
Having one patient not get help and unnecessarily suffering when opioids or benzodiazepines would help is worse than giving it regularly to 100 people who don't need it.
In doubt you should decide in favor of the patient and prescribe it.
Never prescribe without warning about the potential risks, including misuse and addiction, but in doubt, prescribe it.
People are responsible for themselves.
We can't risk to let people in need suffer just because some choose to misuse these pharmaceuticals. That would be beyond cruel.
Yeah, it's real easy to get on that soapbox when it's not your name on that bottle. I've developed and run a Suboxone treatment program, and I also have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It's not a problem with an easy solution, and the threat of the federal government is ever-present.
The root of the problem is that physicians and nurses should he in charge of controlled substance regulation/enforcement. Instead, for several decades, the DEA, a law enforcement agency, calls the shots. The culture in the US is very paranoid. Patients labeled as addicts. Clinicians treated like drug dealers. It is all disgusting.
@@isocarboxazid Doctors spend a lot of time and money to get to be doctors so I get why they get scared off. But you are right about the DEA and the paranoia. What I would love to see and never will is a society where masses of people don't turn to drugs in the first place, doctors understand the potential for good and bad of what they prescribe and the system is not so fragmented and overburdened that those that do get hooked are not lost for years.
There IS a middle ground. The US often swings from one extreme to the other in policymaking.
I am a chronic pain patient with severe endometriosis… I have been prescribed every possible pain med. They never help, I always feel sick and itchy. Marijuana and alcohol are my only relief.
I was on 20mg oxycodone 8 times a day, then bam I got dropped cold turkey. Started using heroin my family disowned me, I lost literally everything I owned, became homeless. Eventually joined a methadone clinic. I'm not supposed to admit I'm using methadone for pain. I'm still the black sheep of my family, and am barely getting by. It's been so much bs
I had bladder surgery in the US last December. I can't take ibuprofen as it makes me vomit , so all I was given was paracetamol. They refused to give me any type of codeine. I'm from the UK so I had to come back to the UK for adequate pain relief.
I’ve seen the same thing here in South Carolina with pain management, not Primary Care pain management. They treat patients with no respect and they try to epidural a patient to death, so do you speak
If there is a steroid in that epidural, they just might literally epidural their patients to death, & what is the point of an epidural if there isn't a steroid amirite? They never did much for me anyway so I quit taking them early in the process.
There is a BLACK BOX WARNING on ESIs!! Straight from the FDA's mouth. Do NOT allow steps anywhere near your vertebrae - it will eat away the bone. Find an article and take THAT to your "doctor" for when they suggest a steroid injection!
All the emphasis is on people who choose to abuse these type of medications and those of us suffering are just ignored. To withhold medication from chronic pain patients is a violation of our civil rights by taking away our right to have any quality of life, at least until they find an alternative that is comparable. The difference between a real addict or abuser fo these type medications is that with them it causes a decrease in their quality of their life and with us it improves our quality of life. Big difference. Alcohol is freely available and legal and although the majority of people can drink alcohol without any issue there are always going to be a presentage who will abuse even die from abuse. This can imply to almost anything , including food.
Thank you for posting this and giving a voice to those of us who have been affected by this
Now we have people dying of pain. Their bodies simply break down, or they commit suicide. They certainly can't work or contribute to society in this condition. This is the danger of extending the length of life but not number of quality years. My back doctor told me the human spine isn't biologically designed to last more than 50 years and that 90% of people have spine damage. My colleague's son committed suicide in his 20s because of spinal cord injury. I think quite a few deaths of despair are in fact deaths from endless, unbearable pain. This country needs assisted suicide if we can't help people overcome their pain.
I agree; but why should the pain treatment tool box have DEATH as one of our treatment options? I'm sorry, but we ARE talking about the u.s., right, LOL.. they'll legalize marijuana, to make us all dumber, but NOT the very thing that would help us get back to work and be the "productive society member" (ahem, taxpayer) that the govt wants us to be.
I feel badly such a young person felt there was no other choice then death. I think we can do better. I had a bad car accident last year, I had one stable compression fracture and four fractures of transvers process. I was pushed across five lanes of highway traffic into a cement divider. Thankfully they did not feel the need for surgery. Because I was extremely disappointed in the protocols for my back treatment. I believe your doctor about the rate of spine damage. I started body building in my 20's and learned how to lift weight and move to protect my back and for 50 years I have watched people do things that could hurt their back. Anyway I was lucky to have no nerve damage but it was the surgeon who fixed my broken hip who commented on my lack of osteoporosis and strong muscles.
Straight up!!
My sister, who works as a doctor, has mentioned how marijuana overdose cases have gone up after the legalization of marijuana as a recreational drug in my state. However, she never blamed it on the legalization, rather bringing up concerns with how kids will inadvertently eat weed brownies thinking it's normal brownies. It's definitely important to not only broaden a patient's access to resources, but also inform them of the benefits and downsides, something I think this video helps explore.
So glad this came into my feed tonight. I am a pain patient, this woman's story is mine.
I work in healthcare, and a patient I was helping for breathing problems has chronic severe neck pain. He can’t get prescription opiates. So he gets small doses of fentanyl off the street- which of course is dangerous. Within two weeks, he was admitted twice because the fentanyl suppressed his respiratory drive too much and he needed help to breathe with BIPAP. Just one of the many things wrong with this country.
I don’t even consider this a country anymore.
It is the nature of opoids for the brain to become physically dependant on the drug even when taken properly but just because someone is physically dependant on it because of regular use does NOT make them an abuser of that drug. Because a person has taken oxycodone for 3 years, 4 times a day...sure, they are going to be very miserable if that is cut off abruptly. They will experience withdrawal sickness just like someone who has abused it for 3 years....that doesnt make them an abuser but some doctors will see the patient as such!!! Theres got to be a better set of guidelines and doctors need to be able to treat people in pain better than this!
Eye opening.
I feel for these folks. I don't have persistent back pain, but when I do, it's debilitating. So I completely understand. However, I see this as a bigger societal logistical issue, bear with me: outlaw pain medications and the only one's who can get them are addicts/criminals; much the same as outlaw guns and only bad actors/criminals will have them. I am not attempting to hijack the conversation to argue for pro gun. It simply exemplifies the situation of heavy-handed government and other "do-gooders" who may have good intentions but lack the foresight of cause and effect, and in these cases letting bad actors set the rules for all of us.
Can the USA even do something right?
I was doubtful at first but I bought myself a "Tens machine something similar to a " Dr. HO " and I swear by it. It keeps my pain away for hours.
Glad it works for you! I've gone through 4 tens units and never got any relief from the pain.
Needed this today.. was told few days ago have to cut my meds it’s terrifying and said. Like they said I’m not an addict I’m a patient
I have Fibromyalgia, Gastroparesis and Diabetes type 2. I also might have complications happening. Like Diabetic Amytrophy. I have spine problems also. I got nothing for my pain. I am in complete utter agony everyday of my life. At least give chronic pain patients the right to "Death with Dignity". I was on pain meds and was treated so badly. I just stopped getting them. No one care if I was out. The pharmacy couldn't get them. I would come across so many issues. They would constantly allow me to run out and the withdrawal was torture.
I'm in the same situation and it's impossible to find a Dr in the state of Maine that will prescribe the opiate pain medication needed to stop the pain so I can function. When the government cracked down on painkillers, they shafted us who need them the most! It's not fair!!
fighting the opioid crisis created the fentanyl crisis…and its way harder to get pain management now
The DEA went after doctors and some lost their right to practice medicine as a result, which scared so many others. Imagine having to tell a severely damaged patient that you can't help them
Thank you! I have been saying this for years!
They also deny estrogen for women. Lack of estrogen for menapausal women, plays a huge part in osteoporosis, heart attack and Alzheimers.
The doctors and the people need more power over drugs control.
More people die in a two-year time span from diabetes related deaths, then have died since the beginning of the opioid epidemic. Maybe it's not an epidemic. Maybe it was generated to increase the cost of opioids. Maybe it was generated to increase the number of DEA employees who don't have anything to do now that marijuana is so not illegal. Maybe they should put sugar manufacturers as an epidemic and ban them instead.
Torturing people who are in pain or telling them they're lucky to get some pain. Pills is ridiculous.
I'm in chronic pain from a war injurie, and a cancer diagnosis from chemicals used during the Gluf War and they want to lower my medication. They constantly talk about us being in depression and alway want to put on garbage just to tell those above them their patients are on them. I'm fine and willing to live with pain, I dont need anti depressant, I'm in pain ! But I can't live with pain as high as 8 & 9 on their ridiculous scale. I was on a stable amount of pain meds and doing OK, and then out of the blue they came up with new contracts stating they they reduce and taper my pain meds so we don't suffer any effects...why I fine, I've been on this dose for years. I have an idea... leave my level alone. I've already accommodated their decreases, but I can't let them take my life away by remover every medication that helps. I live in the mountains on an acre that needs attention, snow that needs to be shoveled, property the fire department wants me to keep clean, firewood i have get. I can go on and on. Without pain relief, who's going to do this for me, and my wife she can't do it. I'm a 100 % service condition veteran with cancer and my country won't help me with meds...I mean how long do I have to live anyway...gawd this is inhumane !!!
And why is you story so short !!!!
Use government to oversee NOT CRIMINALIZE physician practice. Balance!
IMHO the underlying problem is the healthcare system. Usually pain is the symptom, why not going after the cause? Too expensive? Insurance won't cover?