Almost every morning is the same for Lauri Nickel — the pain may fluctuate, but it is always there.
“Some days are better than others,” said Nickel.
A staunch advocate for people with chronic pain, Nickel is upset with her leaders and elected officials.
She believes their effort to combat opioid abuse is having a negative effect on people who desperately need the drugs.
“You are sentencing people to an early death,” she said.
She is convinced the extreme focus has scared doctors from prescribing opioids to longtime patients who desperately need pain medication.
The result, according to Nickel, is that many patients will simply give up and take their own life.
Barby Ingle has not given up but it has been a difficult and often gut-wrenching journey.
The former college cheerleader and coach has battled chronic pain more than 20 years.
“Chronic pain devastated my life,” Ingle said. “It took everything away.”
At one point the pain was so bad and the prospects ahead so dire she contemplated suicide.
“I did think about it,” she said.
For the millions of people like Ingle and Nickel, opioids serve a critical role in their lives.
“It’s about quality of life, about surviving day to day, minute to minute, second to second,” said Ingle.
The two women say they know of several friends who have been denied access to opioids by doctors afraid to continue to prescribe the medication.
“They don’t want the DEA to come knocking on their door,” said Ingle.
“The people suffering from chronic pain should be mad at the people abusing the system,” said Doug Coleman, the Special Agent in Charge of the Arizona DEA office.
The longtime DEA agent says his office doesn’t target doctors who are prescribing opioids to legitimate patients.
Ingle and Nickel are not blind to the opioid problem but are worried this intense focus to curb the unlawful distribution of opioids could end up with many of their friends suffering in silence.
Do you know someone suffering from chronic pain who is being denied medicine or is worried about not getting the medicine they need? Email us at eyewitnessnews@13wmaz.com
Filed under: General Problems
I hope,,,
Hey Nicole,,,,,,I tried the state level here in Wisco,,,stated they did not have the money basically,,,try NATIONAL,, aclu,,,thus capable of sueing at the federal level,,,just fyi,,,,,,,maryw
the phone lines are busy…
Contact your aclu via email.
Whether they have refused you or not, just keep em coming until someone thinks about it enough and becomes interested and finds a way…
I just left the web site and Washington state got a temporary restraining order against TRUMP.
For what… I have to finish reading the very long documents first.
What would a temporary restraining order do for chronic pain patients against the CDC,DEA, trump…
Could it be start to give us time to do what needs to be done. I don’t want to die but I can’t live while my muscle feels as if its turning to stone.
I’m willing to go to the kids 20+ of age who are living in the streets and in tents in different wooded areas and talk to them about their heroin addiction and when and how it began.
They will talk to me.
A documentary of the REAL OPIATE ADDICTION would be a perfect start to fight back in showing the lies of the CDC DEA.
Out of the dozens upon dozens of these kids I’d be willing to bet that most of them started with heroin, prefer heroin to pills and don’t see a doctor or know a pain patient that sells pills.
Blurring their faces would ensure they have no reason to lie about knowing or buying opiates from a chronic pain patient and risk being labeled a snitch.
If anyone in Washington state is interested in this and has any idea on how to start this i have the access to these people who I provide bottles of water to in the summer heat, blankets in the cold… Whatever I could do I have done including a few physical altercation that ended badly for them.
My point being… They know who I am, they know I won’t be intimidated and I know where they are and they aren’t concerned about me calling the cops or anything to cause them grief.
This can go national.
Being rapidly tapered and cut off by end of month and after interview of other pain management doctors I’ve been told to sue my internist who is a PhD and treated criminally by another pain specialist who demanded I hand over my current prescription medications… I hadn’t even agreed to become his patient.
Should have known I was in the lobby of a Nazi doctor when before the receptionist gave me paperwork to fill out I was sent to a specific restroom for an immediate tox screen and was left waiting for the actual physician to see me but not until after my urine analysis came back with the exact medication I had reported I was being treated with.
The medical assistant was sent to the exam room to occupy my time I supposed… What other reason would there be for sharing his use of chewing tobacco, age, how long he’d been in this state, why he moved, his relationship status…
It is ILLEGAL for a prescriber to take control meds from a pt. If a prescriber does this and the DEA find out about it.. they will RIP THEM A NEW ONE !
Any change in meds wouldn’t happen until I turned in previous remaining scripts to my pain Mgt doctor. Frustrating if it was a temporary change and had to pay for the taken script all over again!!
It is ILLEGAL for a prescriber to ask for and/or accept unused controlled meds from a pt. Even if a prescriber’s practice dispenses controlled meds.. they have no legal right to take back control meds from pts. This prescriber needs to be reported to the state’s Medical licensing board and/or the DEA.
This war on “opioids” is actually a war on chronic incurable diseases. A war on chronic pain disease patients who benefit from opioid medications. Medications that enable millions of Americans relief of chronic debilitating pain associated with these diseases.
100 million Americans have one or more chronic incurable pain Disease. As the CDC, DEA, FDA, Medicaid and Medicare, and numerous other government agencies, are blaming Doctors for the over prescribing of opioid medication. NOBODY, is looking at or reading the statistics from chronic pain disease patients. How about NOT addressing these drugs as dangerous and addictive. When all else fails: physical therapy, exercise, over the counter medications and numerous injections etc, we chronic pain disease patients, are left with one option to help us cope, opioid pain medication. Lets address this medication as lifesaving and medically necessary for the million of Americans with chronic diseases. Chronic pain is a disease. Chronic pain disease patients are now the epidemic. The addiction rate of chronic pain disease patients is .02-.6 %. We do not misuse or abuse our medications.
No other disease medication is scrutinized. We, as patients, are being denied, dismissed, overlooked and discriminated against, by our physicians, due to all the scrutiny associated with treating chronic pain disease with opioid medications. Our Dr’s are afraid to treat us humanely and adequately. We have a disease that medication is readily accessible and beneficial to us and we are being denied. We, pain patients, are being discriminated against, due to people who abuse illegal heroin and illegal fentanyl. This is a direct hunt for Doctors who prescribe life saving medication, for pain disease patients, that benefit from them. We have our privacy invaded, we no longer are able to have doctor/patient confidentiality. We now have insurance agencies, pharmacists, and other government agencies in our physicians offices. Monitoring and policing our physicians.
Though the statistics show a reduction in, opioid medications distributed, due to the CDC guidelines, but death rates of overdoses from illegal opioids is rising.
The specific causes of deaths also needs to be closely investigated. The opioid in the person’s system needs to be specified. Was it an illegal opioid, was it opioid medication specifically for that person, was there other drugs or alcohol involved? These Government agencies do not want that information out, due to the fact that this “opioid epidemic”, would then be debunked.
We have a chronic disease. We want to be able to take care of our homes, our children, our selves, as much as possible, but without access to these life saving medications, we are unable to do so. We want to live, not just exist in pain 24/7.
We need the government agencies to look at the real statistics, not the hand picked. These agencies are not physicians. They are trying to doctor us, patients, without a medical license. They are also trying to police our physicians. This is a war on a disease, medications, physicians and patients.
The statistics do not differentiate what opioid drug attribute to a fatal overdose or misuse of medication. Was is an illegal drug, heroin, illegal fentanyl, carfentynal, was that person’s legitimate medication? All these questions need answers. The information needs to be addressed.
We chronic pain disease patients need help. All the headlines, topics and stories on how opioids are bad and how people are abusing, misusing, overdosing, becoming addicted or dying from them. We need to look at the good they do and how they help our disease of chronic pain and the million of Americans who use them for some relief.
The government needs to put the focus on illegal drugs coming into, being manufactured and distributed in this country, illegal fentanyl, illegal heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and all other ILLEGAL DRUGS. Not the legally prescribed and medically necessary medications we patients need. We chronic pain disease patients need help, but we are helpless due to the government and government agencies. There is stigma, scrutiny and discrimination against us due to a category of medications we desperately need and benefit from, opioid medications.
What about Ky HB 333 that caused my doctor to have to drop me from his care after 4 years of some sort of quality of life ? Plus a Walgreens pharamist who refused to fill my meds stated I couldn’t die from severe pain. I have Adhesive Arachnoiditis and other disorders. I provided the details in hard copy of my disorders to the pharmacy. Only to find out I have no doctor now after repeated calls to verify the same medications I had filled there for several years with interference from my insurance company too.
Find local independent pharmacy
Can You Please Post a FULL Version of “Harmfull Effects of Unrelieved Pain “,words are missing ! Thank You !
I clicked on the image and can’t see any words missing ??
Trumps obvious weeding the land along with his supposed swamp draining.
He may be president but he’s still just one man.
He, alone, does not run the country and with the backing of pharmacist Steve, Forrest Tennant, and people like them we may see change.
I fear not before my time but perhaps in time to save others from the monster and his minions in the white house.
I love that point,,”we jail those who abuse animals,,” but not those who torture/genocide humans!!!!!!maryw
We even have television series that are devoted to the inhumane treatment of animals and everyone cheers as the neglectful person who had no business owning any animals are thrown jail.
So should the man in Utah who burned his doctors house to the ground, took his wife hostage before taking his own life be mourned, or criminalized?
Suffering effects the mind as well as the body, something not even the CDC or Nazi doctors can deny.
Amen Nichole,,,,if I had the money,,,I would do a u-tube video,,,clip in images of torture onto the jews,,the blacks,,the ,”witches,” of salem…mixed into that,,my night in forced pancreatic pain,,or any one of us chronic pain person in physical pain,,,,they are very ,”similier,” just like klondyns,,useing ,”similier,” when compareing our MEDICINE to heroin,,,but if I had the f-ing money,,,a u tube video,,,,showing our forced suffering right next to ,”flogging,” of the 1700’s,,a women burning at the stake in 1678,,a false witch,” or thee horrendous treatment of the jews being torture and PUT IT ON U-TUBE,,,TITLED,,,,THE TORTURE/GENOCIDE OF THE MEDICALLY ILL IN AMERICA,2017,BY ANDREW KLONDYN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!,, but I can’t afford even a video camera to do soo,,,,,,maryw
10+ years on same dosage, when tolerance goes up we did a drug holiday for a week that brought tolerance back. Never asked for early refil, always passed tox screens, never failed an appointment and always did exactly what my doctor asked, MRI, contrast scans ect…
Now what?
45 to 50 years in bed, depressed, wasting oxygen?
No.
We jail those who neglect an animals suffering.
We hold the suffering animal blameless for aggression when suffering.
Seems pretty clear this is simply a weeding out of disposable Americans who may apply for social security benefits.
I refuse to live life in misery for the satisfaction of anyone or their political and financial agenda.
In not a criminal, I don’t deserve to exist in poverty and pain.
Criminally inpain, excellent post that I 100% agree with. The DEA has also allowed heroin (and illicitly-produced fentanyl) to flow into our streets by the boat loads. While they’ve been “busy” monitoring their little prescription databases, playing doctor without a license, harassing doctors who are simply trying to do what they’re supposed to do (#1 Relieve pain and suffering), they’ve ignored all the illicit crap that’s flowed into this country.
Heroin is extremely cheap. This tells me that the supply is great, along with demand. We must think logically – why is heroin in such great demand? Why has the use among age groups of 45 to 60 (and older) skyrocketed? Perhaps it’s because of all substances, heroin has the greatest pain-relieving properties of all. Within the past few years, people in constant pain have been abandoned by the medical community and can only suffer so much for so long before they become desperate.
Desperation can cause them to do things they would NEVER do if their pain was adequately controlled through the use of legal, safe, government-approved medications. It is NOT “normal” for those in older Suicide rates have increased (though I’m wondering why it is taking so long for the CDC to post the rates for 2015 and 2016), along with the rates for accidents and overdoses involving alcohol. The answer is right in front of their faces! The more they restrict, the more the profits increase for drug cartels.
(For the record, the ones in pain who are forced to use heroin, alcohol or other illicit substances with pain-relieving properties are not addicts. They’re desperate humans in severe pain, searching for anything to relieve their pain because the restrictions for pain-relieving prescription opioids have become too excessive. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that one out. Too many families and lives have become broken because of this war on drugs that has extended to a war on those in severe pain).
Thank you, well said!
Agreed! Well stated. And it doesn’t get any plainer than that. You’d think they could put two and two together, but NO! The rouge DEA and government are making things worse.
God help us all.
What happens to the emails we send? Will this news station be putting together our horror stories and do a big expose exposing these lying, murdering good for nothing sobs? If so does this news channel have the ability to make a big enough difference to get the truth out could the story have the potential to make it to the world news? We need big exposure. I’m not a fan of channels like CNN it’s gotten to sensational tabloidish tho they are affective in swaying certain demographics.Even tho i said a few days ago here i gave up i am willing to submit my story. Any chance of possibly getting a list of questions we should answer, what about where we are from and phone numbers etc should we write about what caused our injuries/ diseases that necessitate opioids can we name the medical professionals that have lied and talk about how i was black listed and a note in my medical record has made it so ill never get help for the rest of my life anywhere? I have no problem naming names of those that profiled me and denied me care. I would love nothing more than to ruin their lives like they’ve ruined mine. In fact it’s my duty to society to protect them from doctors like that. Let’s do thos. I will be getting friends from all over to do this also. Hell we got nothing to lose.
At this point,,,ill take any ,”for our cause,truth”’ media,,,,,,maryw
i cant get any meds either the–i cvs pharmacist keeps saying oh it is the druggy etc–lately i took a prescription to her and she said it was up to her if i ge4t the meds and how much for my own good-it was for codeine 3—– she partially filled the prescription that day and then called a new primary and said i was there trying to get more meds-no—there was 30 pills she refused to fill–so my brother got a lawyer and had it out with them.now i am on the list of drug people even after surgury
i throw up pass out and cry mostly the pain is so severe i cant deal with nothing else-no sleep no doing anything without cryingfrom the pain then passing out-
i am not a drug person i just need what works and nothing more-not drugged——–why does the cvs pharmacist job is to decide if i need the meds and how much if a dr wrote the prescription-this is woodriver il cvs——i cannot get any help now and have given up i cant do anything nothing—so why try–the service dogs help though
i am told by the new primary i am faking etc-
i have no life-none—-i have to be here for my dogs other wise i would consider anything too–but it is a sin is what i was taught
still i dont understand any of this none-i just want someone to believe me-to help me have a life
ineed someone to believe me and help meget the pain undercontrol—my brother needs my helpwith mom and sister i cant even do that
i threw up in walmart from the pain even-since they harrasse me with the service dog–my brother goes with me to keep them f rom hurting my dog and watch me not get hurt too from them.
if y ou know of any one who can help pleasee do—6184338149 in illinois
DEA still passing the buck! While there is plenty of blame to go around, the so called opioid “epidemic” is mainly due to the DEA NOT doing their job!
Why did they allow pain clinics to pop up EVERYWHERE & paid little to no attention for 10 YEARS; even though they were well aware that many were just pill mills?
Before the opioid crisis, people were starting to wake up & strongly question the whole war on drugs & what the true purpose of the DEA even was!
We, the people were told that the DEA was here to protect us & put these big, murdering, life destroying drug cartels out of business & behind bars, so that our children could grow up happy, healthy, & successful!
However, that was just fantasy! The reality is that we are spending BILLIONS on a war that CANNOT & will NEVER be won & has only caused death and destruction!! The DEA can’t or won’t bring down the big cartels, focus solely on the poor and/or minorities and are filling for profit prisons w/ NON VIOLENT drug offenders (while letting violent offenders go!) faster than the prisons can be built!!
So how do you justify a need for the DEA & drug war? You create a crisis/epidemic that will not only continue to victimize the poor; but will also cross over into & affect those w/ the money & power to make sure things get done & highly funded!
So now the crisis is made & the propaganda & lies are huge!
Whether you are the DEA needing to justify a cruel war, a so called ” drug expert” w/ a HUGE conflict of interest as you run the largest rehab chain & tries to declare that ALL opioid users are addicts by putting out misleading & right down WRONG info!! A for profit prison that wants to fill up their prisons w/ as many non violent drug offenders as possible(as they make a much bigger profit than those convicted of violent crimes!) Or maybe just an elite world power that wants to reduce the population by getting rid of as many as the “useless entitlement driven poor” as possible; well then, the LAST thing you want is to let the TRUTH get out that there is a whole OTHER side to opioids other than ADDICTION!
Where many lives have been SAVED by these “awful” & “scary” opioids!!
FACT: There are more people DYING due to LACK of RX opioids than those that abuse them!!
I do agree w/ the DEA statement, that we should be” mad at those that abuse the system”! YEP, but it is NOT the ADDICTS!!!
I agree,,the dea is nothing more then a cancer on the system,,,and like a cancer,,,they bring nothing other than sufferring and death to all who need the MEDICINE opiates to LIVE,,,LIFE,,, not just exist,,,,,but live life,,,maryw
AGREED!!! Thank you Steve for the i fo aswell, I emailed my story to them. !!!
PART OF IT WAS ALSO ,”COMPUTERS,”,, medicare and Medicaid soo the numbers ,,,and freaked,,w/out seeing the human being behind the numbers,,jmo,,maryw
Thank u,,,maryw
pss,,I believe NOTHING,, the dea will ever say,,,there liars,,,,,maryw
Just putting this out here,1- 212-549-2500,,,Now,,this is the number to the National ACLU,, the branch capable of sueing the federal government,,,Now,a couple month back,,I was told by my state,,they did not have enough resources at the state level aclu to sue the federal government try this 1,,Thinking out loud here,,I will/can call too,,,but I am only 1,,perhaps,,,if they get enough of us calling for legal help??Like someone said,,,”It can’t hurt,”
Now this is NOT a guarantee of legal representation,,,this is a shot,,a try,,,to get the ACLU,, to hear us,,,to hopefully awake the sleeping giant,,,If anyone is up to making a call,,I encourage u too,,,maybe the more the aclu see’s/HEARS how many are being forced to endure physical pain,,that was once treatable,,via ”denial of effective medical care,”’,,,,,,,,,,maybe,,,,,MAYBE,,,,,, they’ll help us??,,,maryw
I have tried to find as well as contacted several Federal law firms to take it on ! But they all say there are too many angles out to succeed in a suit and drop trying to find one.
ME TOOO,, just tried in wisco, a private attorney,,was told to find a ”Constitutional Lawyer,” I am just thinking,,,if the ,”National,” ACLU,, hears from enough of us,,,,,maybe???or at least tell us,,,what do we have to do to get help,,,legally?!My state aclu told me,,,we have to prove harm,,,,,ie video/pic,,,,I have pic’s,,,and short phone video’s,,,,but not a actual video camera,,,but that is 1 angle I was told we have to prove,,”harm,”,,,,,maryw
Washington state phone is 2066242180
Phone hours from 10am to 3pm Tue through Thurs.
Calling now and I’ll keep you posted.
Getting a slow start this morning so phone lines aren’t open yet? !
I’ll keep trying and let everyone know what, if anything Washington state ACLU is or will do…