https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/govt-move-opioid-abuse-backfires/
There has been much discussion in recent years about the crisis of opioid abuse, and while there is broad agreement that “something must be done,” there are innocent victims of a crackdown on opioid drugs that often go unnoticed.
According to the Cato Institute, those overlooked victims are hospitalized patients recovering from accidents or surgeries who are in serious pain, but are unable to receive necessary doses of powerful painkillers to ease their suffering.
Rather than being administered proper doses of opioid drugs, these patients are instead being treated with less effective drugs like acetaminophin, muscle relaxers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, similar to what one could obtain over the counter at a local drug store.
In other words, while these people are wracked with excruciating pain and legitimately require the powerful opioid drugs to ease their pain, they are instead left suffering in a literal “hell on earth” due to government intrusion into the pharmaceutical market.
The problem stems from a national quota set by the Drug Enforcement Administration that limits the amount of opioid drugs that can be manufactured and sold.
It was first announced in late 2016 that production of opioids would be reduced by at least 25 percent. The DEA then announced in 2017 that it would reduce 2018 production of opioid drugs by at least another 20 percent from earlier reductions.
The cuts have resulted in a shortage of powerful opioid drugs needed for the legitimate purpose of easing the pain of accident victims, cancer patients and those recovering from surgery, leaving them in a world of hurt.
Making matters worse, the DEA’s cuts are fairly misguided, as the real problem of the “opioid crisis” isn’t the drugs themselves, but the results of an addiction to opioids.
When patients who have been prescribed opioid painkillers can no longer receive those powerful drugs, they often turn to illegal drugs obtained on the street like heroin and fentanyl, which are totally unregulated and when not properly administered, can result in fatal overdoses.
The highly addictive nature of opioid drugs and a tendency for doctors and hospitals to over-prescribe the drugs as a sort of panacea for all health issues is a legitimate problem.
But that problem would likely be better addressed by more stringent oversight in regard to the prescribing of these powerful drugs, not in a blanket reduction of the overall production of the drug that has caused shortages and left legitimate patients in need.
It should also be noted that the DEA alone isn’t responsible for this terrible turn of events, as other factors are most certainly also at play, such as the ongoing consolidation of the pharmaceutical industry, the unfathomable length of time it takes the Food and Drug Administration to approve new drugs and, of course, the typical ebb-and-flow of supply and demand in a market economy.
But the mandated production cuts by the DEA has exacerbated the problems surrounding opioid abuse. Aside from leaving legitimate patients in pain, the move could also result in more patients turning to alternatives like heroin or fentanyl to deal with their incredible pain on their own, which raises the risk of overdose or running afoul of the laws against illicit drug use.
Many people have viewed the overarching “war on drugs” as largely being a failure — drug abuse rates have remained steady despite the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars to combat the problem — and this recent move to crackdown on the opioid crisis is simply the latest such misguided government effort to combat drug abuse and addiction.
The opioid abuse crisis deserves plenty of attention, but keep in mind there are legitimate purposes for such drugs and a blanket reduction in their availability does nothing to solve the underlying problem. In fact, it only makes things worse for those truly in need.
Let’s remember those hospital patients in severe pain as we continue to debate the best way to reduce addiction and dependence on powerful drugs.
What do you think? Scroll down to comment below!
Filed under: General Problems
A family member has been on opioids above guidlines for 6 years hes having his 3rd spine surgery next week ,his pharmacy sams club wont fill anymore scripts .im frantic looking for a new pharmacy.his doctor is not giving him anything but his usaal script to deal with major surgery.im freaking out .
My surgeon wouldn’t give me anything until a week before my surgery this time the first surgery i couldn’t get a daaaamn thing
Angel, the surgeon treats the pain for several days or weeks after surgery. How long the surgeon treats,the pain. Depends in the type of surgery, the doctor and patient. Your family member should be given a prescription for pain medication when they are discharged from the hospital.
If you look at the list of those who died you have to question what does intoxication realky mean. To mean that is someone who is basically someone taking more of the drug then what there body would be use to to. In this case my bet is that the drug is found in the system. I am amazed that someone who died of heatstoke would count of a opiate death. Also most of these people where taking multiple drugs. Finally there is no way to determine if the drugs were gotten legally or not or if the medication was street made or pharmaceutical grade. Basically making these number basically useless to determine the problem. But I know what the problem is why have always had people who got addicted to prescription pills of some types and rarely did the person end up dead because of it. However the illegial drugs have always been the biggest problem and one that the government could never really control. However by going after prescription drug the government say they aee doing something when in fact all they are doing is causing people who maybe addicted to prescription drugs to move to more deadly ones and those who have a medical need dont get them at all and left to suffer or get desperate to also go to the street for help. The reason why other countries in Europe dont have such a mess is because they have a better healthcare system along with better support systems so people better off mentally. Basically what this country really suffers from is huge depression issues! However because of American stupidity and belief that it is better to stuff it inside (until we die from junk food, stress, drinking and other means to deal with it all in our quick fix ways) instead of seeking help. Meanwhile we as chronic pain patient need to find our courage and speak out when we read misleading articles or not informed opinions. Our well being and lives depend on it. PS about 10% of those opiate deaths were suicides and I wonder if future cuts or cut to opiate medication had played some part in there death.
I had cervical spine 3 level acdf pn February 28, 2018 i woke up screaming and hallucinating because i was given ketamine yep ketamine the date rape drug i am still upset about that. In fact i’m not undergoing another spine surgery because of that and i need more spine surgeries. How is it ok to give that drug but not opioids? These are the end of time humanity is lost.
I am so scared, Im going to have a nervous breakdown.
Angel welcome to the club but instead of being scared be angry and use that anger to shed the light of what you’re reading here as a warning to others. My pcp recently said it best. “It’s a bad time to be in pain in this country. “
The entire problem could be ended with one known fact: Opioids don’t cause drug abuse or addiction. But this fact is not being dispersed. For 6 months now I’ve had this information available on a DVD on my website, http://www.doctorsofcourage, but no one bothers to get it. Until this information is spread, the attacks on doctors will increase and pain management will soon be completely gone.
I would want them to live like me for one day too. As long as we both been hurting they wouldn’t last a day without relief. It’s just despicable how we arw treated because SOME people abused theirs or have ended their life. I got my script at noon yesterday it was too bye filled Thursday but everyone but me fd up sp i was forced into withdrawal. I called my insurance thru Medicaid and i put in a complaint. This has been completely out of control. They are drunk on status and position that controls how we live. It’s sadistic.
Could not have been said better. Legitimate patients with both short-term acute pain and the millions living with incurable and intractable chronic pain conditions are now being betrayed by our healthcare community. I personally feel that doctors and medical institutions treating these now largely abandoned and neglected patients now living with unmercifully pain, BY DESIGN in the current medical community simply cannot speak for themselves. How are the elderly, disabled and weak supposed to fight back against the very doctors and institutions entrusted with the care for our American Chronic and now acute pain masses totaling in the 100’s of millions now. The unthinkable has now become a reality all across America. And the Doctors are remaining silent while the DOCTORS now inflict incedeous levels of pain into their patients pain management treatment protocols!
Where is THEIR voice in all of this deliberately prescribed opioid deprivation abuse against our sick, disabled and elderly? Is there even an attempt by the medical community to interject compassion and responsible treatment plans that include the absolutely necessary opioid treatment to reduce the intense and overwhelming suffering now being realized across the country? >>>>>Silence>. That is all I hear now from our doctors and caregivers. All of which pledge an oath, “I shall do no harm”.
“The highly addictive nature of opioid drugs and a tendency for doctors and hospitals to over-prescribe the drugs as a sort of panacea for all health issues is a legitimate problem.”
WTH!?! The number of written prescriptions has continued to decrease since 2011, when all of the Pill Mills were disbanded. The number of written opioid anesthetic prescriptions are at an All time low! Yet deaths still yearly increase to all time highs! Opioids have been used medicinally for thousands of years, safely and effectively, since before Ancient China. The only negative long term effect is constipation, and that can easily be fixed by diet or medication. The only time opioids were dangerous was when they added WAY too much acetaminophen into the opioid formulary. Since the decrease, opioid prescription deaths have decreased dramatically now that the Tylenol isn’t causing organs to fail from overdose of the Tylenol. Opioid prescriptions without Acetaminophen don’t damage organs. Pain patients have lower than 4% chance of becoming addicted because of the difference in metabolism in a healthy patient vs a patient in pain. Not only that, but addiction is a TREATABLE condition! Suicide, heart attacks, and strokes caused by the hypervigilant -autonomic stress response that destroys the physiological systems caused by the allpowerful stress that causes pain to decimate chronic pain patients’ bodies, are so detrimental that sudden spontaneous death is not treatable. Pain is infinitely more dangerous to pain patients than the tiny threat of treatable addiction! The risk for respiratory failure or hyperalgesia is so small that the rate of occurance is undocumented and tenuous anecdotal rumor. That’s besides the fact that these always occur when addicts are taking a cocktail of illegal and legal (alcoholic) lethal combinations. The risk just is not there for prescription-abiding Pain Patients and it is not fair to punish millions because of a few that take divergent actions – that is a criminal matter that takes place on the streets, where almost all of the overdoses occur.
Do not give these death squad idiots any more lip Service! Opioids are not dangerous when taken by legitimate chronic pain patients whose lives depend upon following the rules so that they can continue to be treated! I’d rather face <5% risks for addiction, respiratory failure, and hyperalgesia in order to live every day with hope and opportunity that pain medications provide, rather than be physically tortured by my own body because the fear of minute risks and the irresponsible abuse done by others. It isn’t right! This is how the DEA gets to cut production quotas – people cave to them by saying things like “Opioid analgesics are dangerous and pose a legitimate problem” and perpetuating the myth that overprescribing is still a problem!?! Where? I’ll move wherever you prove there is that problem. Shame on you! I normally don’t bad mouth other pain patients, but if we have CPPs who have a following, than they need to live by the truth.
when you go into the hospital with heart attack symptoms and you’ve already had to and all they’ll give you for pain is one morphine shot but you’ve already told them morphine doesn’t work and then the next thing they want to do is give you your 7th Nitro glycerin shot for pain and I could tell you many many more stories
Some of the shortages also stem from Maria hitting Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has,a number of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants.
The only shortage is supposedly with iv bags i had several iv bags pumping barely anything into me during and after my latest spine surgery that left me feeling tortured. The only thing that was wasted was the dilauded they threw away instead of giving me enough to treat my pain. Please don’t advocate the abuse inflicted on those of us really feeling the sting of neglect and abuse dealt to us by the government and those entrusted with our very lives by saying it’s a shortage of iv bags! That ludicrous. Not to mention the iv bags are coming from another source now so that not the problem.
There are pharmaceutical manufacturers in Puerto Rico that manufacture opiates.
They rank 5th we really don’t need drugs from Puerto Rico when there’s 4other countries ready to supply our country
The manufactures have contracts. It is not as easy as just going to other countries. The pharmaceutical companies go where they pay the cheapest prices.
There’s no demand on OPIOID drugs due to recent war on narcotics so thats really a mute point.
it doesn’t matter where they’re manufactured they’re going to find a reason not to give us opioids they’re going to leave me sitting here in my chair day after day with nothing but pain no reason to live just sit here pain pain pain I wish I could give it to them just for a few days I wish I could give it to them
On February 28th 2018 i had a 3 level acdf discs c3 thru c7 were removed and replaced with cadaver bone and a huge plate attached to my cervical spine to stabilize it. I woke up in post op screaming in pain and hallucinating then go back out wakeup in pain screaming and hallucinating and after several times of this i heard a voice plainly state to “dc the ketamine. Ketamine yeah that’s right i was given the date rape drug without my knowledge or permission! Next time i woke in my hospital room on the 6th floor. They wanted to at first give me a .5mg of valium then ristoril! I was begging for them to please do something by Friday. I was in such awful pain for several days i finally went to the hospital emergency room to see if they would help me . The first charge nurse on my floor was called she came and sult spoke to me and convinced me to go back toi my room that she’d see i was helped. That night i slept well and the next morning the pain team came to assess my pain. They added tizanidine which did nothing. When my pain pump was discontinued i noticed that i was only getting 000.01 of dilauded every 6minutes. Not even enough to help a fly. I have spent since then ‘in horrible pain. And still no help. There’s was over 15 units left in that pain pump that was discarded it held 30units. Because of that i am refusing any other spine surgeries which i need to replace the rest of my discs. That experience has attracte affected mentally and emotionally. I am also seriously disgusted regarding the care i have not received since opioid nightmare began. I will not go to stres street drugs noi’l end my suffering before that happens and it won’t be suicideit would be murder because i was forced to end my because of greed and fear. I’m nothing to them or anyone in this government but a casualty. To those that love me they are as helpless i am. I hope all of them rot in hell!