Ban on long term & large quantity opioid prescriptions

Health
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It seems illogical to be able to walk into a grocery/convenient store and buy 15 Dr Peppers…

I am sorry, I do not agree with this; and this “idea” is the main stigma that pain patients are facing. And when I say pain patients, these are NOT people addicted to the medication, and take them responsibly. Years and years of history showing it as well.

There is a huge difference between “addiction and pain management”. One seeks a “high”, the other seeks the ability not hurt along with trying to do the best possible for themselves in life. Pain Management takes a person with severe pain and allows them to improve upon there lives. Addiction takes away from the person, and destroys their lives.

DJW

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Your request should be removed from this forum. You are not educated enough t to place a post on here about safe and effective pain medication for 52 million chronic pain patients. You should be banned ! Pain patients have been punished enough and large quantities of any medication was already banned , street drugs are what’s killing people NOT safe effective gold standard of science based evidence based medicine.
Glad no one is voting on your ridiculous post.
You are only one car accident , or cancer diagnosis , or injury away from needing these meds yourself. And I hope you only get Tylenol

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Its blatanly obvious you have no clue in regard to the current state of the prescribing of opioids for acute pain. Many hospitals are opioid-free, meaning their ED does not prescribe opioids, in addition to most surgical procedures being performed (and subsequent post-op treatement) being opioid free. Additionally, many states have inacted laws and guidelines for the prescrbing of opioids for acute conditions- 3-7 days is how the vast majority of laws are written. In regard to you uneducated theory on long-term opioid use for vhronic conditions, studies do not support your theory. Patients taking RX opioids as prescribed have increased QoL and the addiction rate is less than 1%. There are countless, rare diseases and illnessez that cause chronic, intractable pain. People woth these consitions need long-term opioid therapy in order to simply participate in simply daily life. And its because of people like you who have been misinformed and poorly educated on this subject, these people are suffering needlessly. The opioid crisis has nothing to do with RX opioids. Its illicit drugs that are killimg people. Opioid production has been cut drastically and those who do have prescriptions are going days, weeks and somettimes months without these life-saving medications. Furthermore , bevause of laws and the overstepping of state attorneys generals, the FDA, DEA, and CDC, patients have been cut off meds, fired from medical care and sent home to suffer, seek illicit drugs for relief or commit suicide. Additionally, good doctors are being arrested for helping patients in need because the DEA sees them as low hanging fruit, instead of going after the cartels flooding our streets with deadly drugs. You are absolutely CLUELESS as to whats really going on, as you are a healthy person whos needed opioids once and couldnt control yourself. You are literally one accident or illness away from being someone like me, suffering every day. I have a horrifically painful genetic disease for which there is no cure. And without the help of opioids pain medications, I wouldnt be sitting here writing this to you now. Please educate yourself.

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You have no idea what you’re talking about. Completely ignorant. You do realize people are being sent home after major surgery with nothing more than Tylenol for pain because of the current restrictions on opioids? There doesn’t need to be more restrictions on opioids. People are suffering and there hasn’t been a decrease in opioid deaths since the policies of reducing opioid prescriptions started. Deaths have actually increased! It did nothing but hurt people who were getting prescriptions legally. Don’t be an ignorant fool maybe do some research before making stupid claims.

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If you look at addicts, how long do they use with no increased need to take more? 3yrs? 5yrs, 10? People with chronic pain do not chase a high. They just want the pain to be manageable.
We know that it will never go away completely. But a person can not stay alive with pain at a level 10 that never stops. Can you even wrap your mind around having pain at a level 5 that is there day and night, minute by minute , second by second, that never ends? We, the chronic pain community, arent looking for shangri-la, we just want to be able to read an article, talk on the phone, and be able to work at our jobs for as long as possible.
Someone with chronic pain will not abuse their only hope of functioing. Pain medicine, in this population, is not abused because being without it is real, tangible, torture.
I have had to take pain medication for 40yrs. I am now 58yrs old. I have a Masters degree, and was able to work much lomger than I would have, if not for medical intervenntion and being able to take the appropriare medication therapy.
I am the face of a chronic pain sufferer. Was it the face you expected to see?

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Correct! If you look at addicts, how long do they use with no increased need to take more? 3yrs? 5yrs, 10? People with chronic pain do not chase a high. They just want the pain to be manageable.
We know that it will never go away completely. But a person can not stay alive with pain at a level 10 that never stops. Can you even wrap your mind around having pain at a level 5 that is there day and night, minute by minute , second by second, that never ends? We, the chronic pain community, arent looking for shangri-la, we just want to be able to read an article, talk on the phone, and be able to work at our jobs for as long as possible.
Someone with chronic pain will not abuse their only hope of functioing. Pain medicine, in this population, is not abused because being without it is real, tangible, torture.
I have had to take pain medication for 40yrs. I am now 58yrs old. I have a Masters degree, and was able to work much lomger than I would have, if not for medical intervenntion and being able to take the appropriare medication therapy.
I am the face of a chronic pain sufferer. Was it the face you expected to see?

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Your “solution” would cause the death of thousands of people by suicide. Opioids are suicide prevention. If you don’t want pain medication, tell your doctor that, and leave the rest of us alone.

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I am disturbed with what is going on in our state and country regarding Opoid Hysteria

Since the DEA PROP and CDC have illegally began Opoid Prohibitions,’In The Chronic Pain Community suicides have risen dramatically some say 400% (disturbingly, many among our Veterans). #MedicalTyranny

Gary Mendell, Chad Brummett, Andrew Kolondy and Dr Tom Frieden have been paid over 20 million dollars for speaking out against opioids. Since they have been given a platform, deadly od’s & suicides have gone up dramatically. ABJECT FAILURE!!
#SuicideDue2Pain

The Doctor Patient Forum and some brave doctors are fighting for our Constitutional Rights to be prescribed FDA approved safe Opiates under our doctors care.

Legitimate Drs who adhere to their hippocratic Oath are being persecuted Many have lost their licenses hence their livelihood. Some have lost their homes and families. Some have been imprisoned. They are precisely targeted if they treat patients who suffer from chronic intractable pain with opioids especially if they are also prescribed benzodiazepines. These compassionate doctors are paying the price while the real criminals walk across our border uninhibited SMH.

The Government Alphabet Agencies are waging war and blitzkrieging across the US and I am informing you that they are persecuting the wrong group of people.

I am a senior citizen and my background is clean as a whistle and yet I am treated like a criminal or a toddler.
Why would I wait til I am a senior citizen and all of a sudden decide to become and addict or a criminal??? I personally insist on freedom to chose how I will be medically treated for the remainder of my life. It’s no one’s darn business what I need so I don’t suffer My other option is, according to my back surgeon, multilevel fusion in my neck and lumbar (look it up) and knee and hip replacement. I have other age related issues too many to list I just want to be able to hang out with my grandchildren I have missed so much already because of this unrealistic reaction to medication that actually improves my quality of life and affords me the ability to get up and go. I’ll never get those volleyball games and football games back.

I know there are people with way worse chronic illnesses than me and they are needlessly suffering, Why??? The government needs to stay OUT OF MY DOCTORS OFFICE!!! That privacy is confidential and my Constitutional Right for Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

OPIATES DO NOT KILL they are inanimate objects just like our guns.

I am hoping you will check into this most urgent crisis. People are suffering needlessly.
I heard that RFK is advocating for Medical Freedom. I’m checking into that next.

Thank you for making this a priority

Sincerely
Diane Rittenberry
Grandma from Texas.

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Thank you for your response. Spot on, @djwilliamsnc

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Interesting how poster put so much thought into their “policy” yet has no clue what the landscape currently is like on this topic. You’ll be happy to know that now people cant get opioids even after surgery. Way to go!!! Idiot.

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Your solution will lead to mass harm and death.

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This is the worst idea on this site. People are suffering due to a fake dreamt up opioid epidemic and you want to make it worse. Do some research.

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We need to seek change wherever possible. Kennedy has already expressed an interest in looking at the issue. How in the world could a petition urging this can hurt? Let’s be positive.

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I think it’s clear this person is not a medical professional and extremely ignorant about the subject of people with severe debilitating untreatable degenerative chronic pain who only are helped by the legitimate need to use safe, legal, FDA approved opioids prescribed by a licensed educated physician.

These drugs are perfectly safe when used as directed and allow patients to have a halfway decent quality of life or, in some cases, just help enough to take away some of the intense suffering that someone like this judgemental person who’s making this outrageous proposal who seems to think they know what’s best for all of us. Someday, he could easily be in our shoes. Then he might understand. In the meantime, my heart breaks for his poor mother. I hate to think what she might be going through.

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So let me get this straight, can ANYONE just come on here and type some garbage in a futile attempt to make it a policy? It has to be because I am literally dumber having read it. You post for a change with NO statistical data, no expert documents, NOTHING? Do you honestly think people would take this serious? Don’t try and blame the fact that you were given a short supply of opioids to treat an acute issue on you feeling as if you were going to be an addict after only a few days! If that medication made you feel euphoric and created a feeling of wanting to feel good YOU had the responsibility to notify your doctor so you could get some less strong. YOU chose not too! Instead you decided to come on here and say well it did this to me so that must be the way it is for everyone! You then refer to your mom and her neck pain and how you had to get her off opioids. IF SHE DIDN’T HAVE PAIN WHEN OFF THEM SHE DIDN’T NEED THEM TO BEGIN WITH! Again, another persons irresponsible behavior should be cause for punishment to everyone else? Some of us have conditions that WE ARE DYING FROM! I’m not going to allow anyone to tell me how that’s going to look for me! I have the right to die with dignity and to be free from pain while doing so! This isn’t the place to push your personal bias about life saving medication to some just bcuz you weren’t going to be able to control yourself! Have the day you deserve, I’ll pray you NEVER hear the words, I’m sorry but there’s nothing more we can do!

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California is medical board is finally admitting “opioid crisis” was caused by ILLICIT fentanyl POISONING; not legitimate licit prescription opioids. They also are dropping MME, as it’s based on zero science. This might all sound hopeful, like good news, page turning, but, until and unless the DOJ stop arresting, threatening, raiding, arresting legitimate Drs, medical boards changes are meaningless. DOJ is practicing medicine without a license, issuing directives and “guidelines” to physicians and pharmacies sending threatening letters, directing the dispensing and filling of prescriptions which is far outside their scope of practice. It’s an agency that has been caught with their pants down multiple times with agents taking seized opioids for personal use; which is where most diversion occurs. Data shows full agonist opioid prescription is lowest rate in 50 years, while for the each of the last 9 years, DOJ has seen fit to decrease legitimate opioid production as death due to fentanyl poisoning continued to skyrocket. Consequently, decreasing legit opioid production has made disabling intractable pain patients, forcibly tapered and cut off working stable opioids, turn to the streets, increasing fentanyl poisoning. The pain care crisis can be attributed to CDC, addiction medicine representatives & DOJ, agencies not qualified to treat nor dictate how pain medicine is practiced. As a retired surgical nurse, I have never seen one medical specialty (addiction medicine) hijack another medical specialty (anesthesia) claiming to be “experts” of the specialty they hijacked. These “experts”, mired in COIs, never treated pain patients, are paid millions to speak to something they know nothing about. CDC, DOJ/DEA should be abolished for the blatant fraud and deaths they have caused. DOJ has doubled down on failure for 9 years. Their reductions in licit full agonist opioids has caused suicides, pushed legitimate patients to the streets, caused disability, joblessness, divorce, foreclosure, illegal search and seizure of assets, foreclosure and homelessness; given our battle wounded vets a second chance to die for country (or because of it). CDC, DOJ, DEA have weaponized against the very citizens of those they are charged to protect. They have betrayed the American people. As a mother to 3 active duty military members, it terrifies me. Who wants to join an organization just to be treated as subhuman. These agencies have lost the trust of US citizens, therefore, should be shuttered.

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Thank you for standing up for the disabled. How do i downvote this ignorant proposal? I see how to like but not downvote

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I am sick and tired of people trying to ban my medication just because addicts CHOOSE TO ABUSE our QOL saving meds. I have lost almost all empathy because of politicians and people like this who push this anti opioid agenda.

I hope every single person pushing this, causing millions of the disabled to suffer every month, experiencing anxiety over refills and manufactured shortages…i hope you all NEED these medicines one day and cannot get them. You deserve to suffer like we have ever since this WAR ON PATIENTS AND DOCTORS started. WE ARE THE ONES THAT PAY because of addicts selfishly choosing our MEDICATIONS to abuse! Less than 2% of patients become addicted, BTW. Because addiction is a MENTAL ILLNESS. People who think like the OP must also think everyone who experiences a death in the family all suffer from major depressive disorder (rolling my eyes hard).

And another thing DEPENDENCE IS NOT ADDICTION. Period.
Stop conflating the two to push your abusive, harmful agenda. You were maybe a week away from dependence not addiction! Dependence happens with ANY CHEMICAL OVER TIME - non - opioids like benzodiazipines, sleeping meds, heck even SUGAR AND CAFFEINE. But you aren’t going to exhibit behaviors of addiction. Addiction is NOT PHYSICAL dependency IS PHYSICAL. Its like the SATs…Dependency happens to both pain patients and those suffering from addiction. But dependency does NOT EQUAL ADDICTION! SERIOUSLY STOP PERPETUATING THAT LIE!

WHERE IS THE HELP FOR US!? Right now, because of nationwide shortages, i now live in bed 99% of everyday instead of 90%. That may not sound like a huge difference to you but it is to ME. I can’t do anything except lay in this bed crying from pain and praying i can sleep. You are destroying lives because addiction (which again was a CHOICE) touched your llife…well i didn’t CHOOSE CANCER. I didnt CHOOSE the back problems and nervous system disorder that causes widespread, unrelenting nerve pain. I DID NOT CHOOSE THIS AND ILL BE DA$&ED IF I AM GOING TO LET HEALTHY PEOPLE DICTATE MY QUALITY OF LIFE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY HAD AN ADDICT IN THEIR LIFE.

There is no discussion. Banning opioids is A MILLION PERCENT WRONG. And if I weren’t confined to this bed, id be running for office to reverse every damaging law put in place. Id be marching to washington to fight for US and you know what? There are so many of us that i would win in a landslide!

You silence us by calling us addicts for asking questions, for expecting decency and respect from the medical community, for being honest with our doctors so we say nothing and take the abuse! NOT ANYMORE WE ARE DONE. You want a war on ILLEGAL drugs, COUNTERFEIT drugs…im with you 100%. But trying to take away MEDICATION THAT WORKS after i have tried every NSAID and BS designer med that only caused horrible side effects oh and the NSAIDs gave me an ulcer which wasn’t fun either…NO. SO SORRY to burst your bubble that millions rely on these medicines to have any quality of life and NOT be actively in a hospital. There are conditions that doctors have no medicine for, that they do nit understand and do not know how to treat. There are tens of thousands of rare painful disorders that do not need hospitalization. Your reasoning is NOT SOUND its BIASED AND INCORRECT.

This whole thread should be banned. And what you did to your mom is disgraceful. ONLY PAIN PATIENTS SHOULD HAVE A SAY if people like this op represents how healthy people think. And surgeries still mean you are healthy…unless you have to live in bed too? Probably not because every disabled person i showed this to was disgusted and horrified that someone would even have the narcissism to think they knew what was best for every patient in america with diseases and conditions they probably never heard of!

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This is the most uneducated post there is on this page. You need a psychiatrist if you believe and experienced this behavior because it’s not normal and you obviously need help

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Are you a doctor? How do you come to arrive at a 3-day limit for opioid medications post-surgery, particularly with regard to say, bone pain/surgery/trauma, which can last up to nine months…
Please advise–