This note will introduce you to a free lance journalist, Bill Myers ( myers101@outlook.com ). Like Elizabeth Llorente — who did the excellent series on “Treating Pain In America” in December and January — Mr Myers is putting together a proposal for editors of mass media in which his work has appeared. To support a future series of articles, he wants to talk with patients or caregivers of patients
(a) whose doctors have told them that they must taper down on opioid therapy that has been effective in maintaining their quality of life, to meet “CDC Standards” or local State guidelines,
(b) whose doctors have left pain management practice citing fear for losing their medical license and livelihood if they continue to prescribe, or
(c) who have been denied or had delays in renewal of a prescription by pharmacist who felt “uncomfortable” with the dose prescribed by their doctors. If you’ve been denied renewal based on chain pharmacy “policy”, this may be particularly useful to share.
If you are in one of these categories and feel comfortable in talking with a journalist, then please feel free to correspond directly with Bill — whether or not you CC me personally. Send him your name, the area of the US where you live, and a contact email or phone number where you can be reached. Don’t send him your entire life story. Just contact data and maybe a few lines. We don’t want to drown the man.
Filed under: General Problems
My name is Vikki Evans I have been a chronic pain patient for over twenty years. I was living near Palm Springs and had great opioid pain care. I moved to Albuquerque and because my pain med was methadone, I was forced to go to a methadone clinic that was full of scary people. Now I am in northern California and I keep getting lectured and forced to decrease the amount of medicine because of this opioid problem.
My phone is 707 530 1866. I would love to tell my story.
E-mail vikki921@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Vikki Evans
My pain meds were cut off cold turkey. They gave me saboxone to try for pain. I had a bad reaction. The dr wrote slander and lies in my record. My RA dr. Simply called t see what coleseteral med I was on. They broke hippa and 2 pages were faxed to him. He’s known me a long time and was appalled at what she wrote.
many doctors are documenting outright lies,,literally changing medical records,diagnoses,,or failing to diagnose any painful condition that calls for opiate medicine..Hell I’ve had medical imagery changed, my name,,on someone elses ultrasound,,,but the idiots didn’t know I had already requested and received the original ultrasound,,Its bad out here,,some doctors have severely changed medical records of patient to cover there own ass,,,the hell w/their patient or truth,,Soo u r not thee only one a victim of this horrendous corruption,,,maryw
I am NOT an ADDICT. I live with chronic pain, I have a disease that has no cure. Without my pain mgmt plan, including opioid RX, my life gets very dark. I live in a horizontal position without my the opioid medicine. I have Trigeminial Neuralgia, physicians refer to it as “The Suicide Disease”. It is said it’s the most painful condition known to man. The opioid epidemic is not the result of chronic pain patients. It is associated to acute pain and street drugs. The CDC recognizes this yet the data has been twisted. The guidelines being implemented create great hardship for me. You are putting my care in the hands of pharmacists and insurers. They know nothing about me and my disease. How odd and unjust.
I would be happy to speak with you to share my “suicide disease” life. I need my pharmacist to help me, my insurer to help me and my physicians to treat me. I’m trying to live the best life I can with Atypical Tri-geminal Neuralgia. Thank you for the opportunity to share my story. Nancy M.
I’m living with chronic pain 24/7. I was on pain meds for 5 yrs. I started out with the Hope Clinic, which was by the DEA. It was shut down, I started going to another Dr. which was out of state and eventually had a hard time getting the prescriptions filled because it was out of state. I found a Brain/Spine specialist, went to him for almost 2 yrs. He informed me in March 2017 that he would no longer be doin pain mgmt due to DEA. My PCP will not write pain meds due to DEA. I have been suffering. I have 7 discs bulging with 2 pressing on my spinal cord. I have spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, arthritis. I am only 55, I spend 70% of my days in bed. I don’t sleep for more than 2 hrs at a time. Imagine the worst pain you have ever been in and you are constantly in that pain with no relief. The pain meds do not take the pain away it makes it tolerable. I am exhausted with pain daily. I can’t tolerate the smallest activities. My house is a mess. I have had injections in my bak with no help. All over the counter meds. I can’t take motrin because it messes with my kidney functions, it doesn’t help anyway. I think daily about ending my suffering. How can I live in this pain for the rest of my life? It is a suffering cycle. It never ends, it only gets worse. We the pain patients need help. I always took my meds as per the Drs. order. I did not abuse them, i did not get high on them. I am not an addict.
I don’t fit in your categories but wonder if you could add one. I have wonderful pain doctor but he can’t give me enough medicine to keep me from crying in pain all night . I do everything he asks. Take steroid shots against my better judgement. Physical Therapy. Pool therapy. Tylenol Muscle relaxers Anti Inflammatory
Now have battery in butt wires in spine spinal cord stimulator because my pain was so bad it drove my blood pressure from 110/60 to 200/90
All this could have been been avoided with long acting morphing added to my regular dose
joyce;
I’m in pretty much the same boat, tho I don’t have the stimulator.
Best wishes to you, & really hope your doc will see the light. Get a clue. Grow a spine. Whatever is necessary to get them to treat you adequately.
24 hour CBD oil patches may help you!
I am so sorry this happened to you. My doctor was trying to get me to use the spinal stimulator also saying that opioids will be gone in the next 2 years. I said there’s no way I’m going to put that spinal stimulator in my back and be in more pain than I am already and not be able to get pain medication. Curious does the spinal stimulator even help at all. I know they cost like $50,000. they get more money out of putting a spinal stimulator then prescribing you meds. Again so sorry .