Medicare Finalizes Opioid Restriction Plan That Will Massively Impact Pain Patients
On Monday, Medicare revealed a host of new policy changes for 2019 including a policy that will prevent the government insurance program from covering long-term, high-dose opioid prescriptions—a vast change for the program, which had one-third of beneficiaries prescribed opioids in 2016.
Here’s are a few of the final, updated policies:
- Medicaid plan sponsors will implement a hard safety edit to limit initial opioid prescription fills for the treatment of acute pain to no more than a 7-day supply for new opioid users.
- For chronic opioid users, Medicare plan sponsors will implement real-time safety alerts at the time of dispensing, as a proactive step to engage both patients and prescribers about overdose risk and prevention.
- Medicare plan sponsors will implement additional soft safety edits to alert the pharmacist about duplicative opioid therapy and concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines.
Doctors—even those well-versed in the dangers of opioids—say that the new policy to taper the drugs is a governmental overreach that could have negative health consequences for patients.
“The decision to taper opioids should be based on whether the benefits for pain and function outweigh the harm for that patient,” Dr. Joanna L. Starrels, an opioid researcher and associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told The New York Times. “That takes a lot of clinical judgment. It’s individualized and nuanced. We can’t codify it with an arbitrary threshold.”
Under the new policy, which will take effect in January 2019, Medicare would not cover opioid prescriptions that last for more than a week and are equal to 90 milligrams of morphine daily (the morphine equivalency is a standard way to measure the power of opioid prescriptions).
There would be exceptions for cancer patients and those in hospice. The change would affect an estimated 1.6 million of the 43.6 million Medicare recipients.
Two hundred and twenty experts in medicine, addiction treatment and pain management, as well as patient advocacy groups, have signed a letter opposing the policy change.
Dr. Stefan G. Kertesz, who teaches addiction medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said that he has had patients consider suicide when faced with the prospect of being weaned to a lower dose of their pain medication.
“A lot of the opioid dose escalation between 2006 and 2011 was terribly ill advised,” he said. “But every week I’m trying to mitigate the trauma that results when patients are taken off opioids by clinicians who feel scared. There are superb doctors who taper as part of a consensual process that involves setting up a true care plan. But this isn’t it.”
A recent study found that opioids are no more effective than over-the-counter and non-opioid alternatives for relieving chronic pain. However, Dr. Erin E. Krebs, the lead author of that study, signed the opposition letter to Medicare.
“My concern is that our results could be used to justify aggressive tapering or immediate discontinuation in patients, and that could harm people—even if opioids have no benefit for their pain,” she said. “Even if we walk away from using opioids for back and knee pain, we can’t walk away from patients who have been treated with opioids for years or even decades now. We have created a double tragedy for these people.”
Filed under: General Problems
It’s not capitalism- it’s socialism. This is why gov healthcare will always stink like in Canada, England…here. WHOEVER PAYS THE BILLS HAS THE POWER cause they are the customer. Also if the government giveth the gov can take it away. Methadone- which is the cheapest and best pain control ever- is only aprox $5 a month…just FYI. I would go back on it in a NYSecond but I have an underactive thyroid and it creates problems with those people.
Methadone did nothing for my pain. I spent months in torment when I decided to try it for my pain. My pain management doctor likes to change pain meds every 12-24 months in an attempt to help slow the need for larger dosages. So when it was time to try a change I decided to try methadone. Started at a comparative dosage to the med I had been on. After a week I was in agony, tried an increase, no help with my pain. The only good thing is I didn’t go have withdrawal symptoms. It then took months to get back onto a dosage of meds that did work. I absolutely refused to see the pain management practice’s nurse practitioner after this nightmare. She treated me horribly throughout this process. I was stunned because she had always seemed compassionate before this.
I’m now scheduled for a pain pump implant this month. I already have 2 stimulators implanted. My pain management doctor is terrified. He wasn’t worried when the CDC guidelines came out because they weren’t supposed to affect our pain management doctor’s ability to treat us.
[…] need to read more, but I am not surprised to learn they are going after the poor in ways they would never go after those better able to defend themselves. Our government is […]
We all need to March at the CDC OR IN DC. THEY NEED TO RESCIND THOSE HORRIFIC GUIDELINES THAT HAVE CAUSED TOTAL HELL ON EARTH FOR ANYONE IN AN OUNCE OF PAIN WHETHER ACUTE, / SURGICAL, CHRONIC / INTRACTABLE,,, WE NEED TO BUST THEIR DAM DOORS DOWN AND MAKE THEM ADMIT TO ALL THEIR LIES, CORRUPTION, PROPAGANDA AND LET’S START WITH DRUG TESTING ALL OF THEM! INCLUDING FAMILY MEMBERS!! They continue daily to attack us. and they know dam well exactly what they are doing!! I hope I hit a dam lottery cuz I’d donate it to the pain community to get legal representation to fight for our rights!!! $$$$$$$$ talks !!!
I took my state representative out for coffee for 2 hours. He had no idea what our lives are like. Call your local state representative . If enough people did this-and spoke directly to them-bring a report that states what you have.
That stupid report where they say over the counter is just as good as opiates…what a crock! I put a hole in my stomach on Advil and they think that is a good thing????
My sister and I went to visit Senator Bonacic on March 5, 2018. We were the first to contact them about the issue. It’s too late now to make a difference. When the lawsuits start in February from the families whose loved ones commited suicide in January, things may change. It’s all about money.
Totally unacceptable!
This is a horrible example of history repeating itself, with a glaring example of how the US politicians have become the disciples of Joseph Goebbels using media and negative propaganda to generate everything needed to support their actions that clearly devalue and violate a select group of people’s constitutional and human rights. They have also been incredibly successful at suppressing the other side from being heard. The human side, the people who live with debilitating chronic pain that have been successfully treated with opioids for years, have not become addicted but have been able to live productive lives. This is also another example of a select group of people being targeted because of convenience. The politicians have found a perfect way to generate votes at the expense of chronic pain patients. The majority of the population is saturated and supersaturated day in and day out with the propaganda that assures everyone that “the opioid addiction/overdose crisis chronic pain patients and overprescribing drs have been the primary cause and the real issue”. So what better way to show voters they are quickly identifying and “solving” the problem than to use a easy target. The majority of the general population do not have a realistic picture of what chronic pain is and how debilitating it can be so politicians know they will jump on the bandwagon. In the meantime, while they continue to relay this message, overdoses continue and suicides spike because the true problem(s) are not being addressed and resources and lives continue to be wasted.
Everyone better wake up and realize the illicit opiate/narcotics is almost a “UNSTOPABLE” illicit business. To assume, presume, or even think or suggest this “opiod epidemic/crises” has anything, anything at all, to do with the addiction crises in this country and every other country is more than naive, people need to open their eyes and really look at this logically. Not all the prescriptions combined in every medicine cabinet across the nation could never, never ever feed the addiction problem in this country or any other country. These “chemists”, and yes, they are university educated chemists that are really out there playing real life “Breaking Bad” making billions, with a capital “B” , billions of dollars daily selling their chemical goods to anyone who quite frankly is stupid enough to buy the illicit street narcotics in the first place that were once thaught to be safe?, “only” laced with heroin but oh no, the next Dealers “customers” needed something stonger, they just weren’t getting the “kick, the high” anymore. So good old goddamned the pusher man tells his/her supplier, “something stronger, add a ‘signature’ to the next billion counterfeit pills” and we’ll keep the whole east side market!!! And so it goes. Add some fentynal with or without the heroin and when that ceases to bring in the daily $ quota, add some carfentynil and when that doesn’t satisfy the daily increasing number of street users, and daily $ quota, goddamned the pusher man add some sufentanil !!!…THIS IS UNSTOPABLE! Wake UP! Government and Media propagating this into believing this crises comes from Doctors over prescribing and Pain Patients “abusing or diverting” prescriptions is a bizarre fantasy, actually a bizarre cruel, dark, unscrupulous fantasy that this could even be a possibility. Why is there never ever, on our weekly news do we hear someone has finally been busted for these illicit drugs that are the truthful causation of all the addicts walking around homeless, dazed and confused, ambulances and Narcan Kits out by the thousands and young people litteraly dying or dead in every part of the demographic/geographic, social/economic parts of every city in the nation? Can the government agencies not handle the real problem? Have they been of such an abismal failure trying to stop this forever “War on Drugs” since the 70’s they’ve had to go so low, low to scapegoat Doctors?, critically ill patients? Take thier prescription medications that are life saving away? These “Chemists and their goddamned pushermen/women” are they that difficult to catch? Jail the real problem for the rest of thier lives for killing mainly young people of this country and every other country too? They obviously must be alot smarter than the DEA, FBI, and way, way, way, smarter than the CDC and PROP. Once again people wake UP! Horrific Human Physical Pain did not just walk off the face of the earth and when human physical pain, chronic pain, intractable pain ceases to be treated accordingly by Doctors and not the government and “Addiction Specialists” who want to sell their “wares”, people are going to die, die for no other reason than government and government agencies have mishandled this whole deadly “War on Drugs”. To scapegoat valuable pain medications, doctors and their patients is the most unscrupulous and cowardly way to propagate the UNSTOPABLE illicit drugs by letting the illicit drugs keep flowing like a forever flowing river of death. Every person who has lost a loved one because of addiction and illicit counterfeit pills made by illicit pill presses should be up in arms at this horrible attempt to try and even stop one more death because of addiction. Addicts know where the drugs come from, and if honest, they will say,they are not coming from grammas or auntie or brothers or whomevers medicine cabinets, but sadly probably had to steal from someone in panic to go get their next fix from goddamned the PUSHERMAN!, because that is exactly what these illicit drugs are meant to do, get the user addicted! This is NOT caused by good people in chronic pain who need pain medications just to live a day that gives each of them a small bit of happiness. A pretty unthinkable cruel and unusual punishment to place upon anyone who needs physical pain management now or in the future because it’s very well known and medically established that undertreated and untreated pain kills. This is a “KILLING FIELD” no different than the GODDAMNED the PUSHERMANS KILLING FIELD! This can not stand.
This is addiction doctors and addicts KNOWINGLY CAUSING BODILY HARM AND SUFFERING upon thier fellow citizen.. Addicts need to tell the TRUTH. No prescription got them addiced, they loved the high and went out to the streets; to the black market chasing thier selfish high. Now millions of people who don’t get “high” from pain medications are going to suffer like run over dogs on the highways. Opiod pain medications have been used for human pain for centuries but thanks to crooked chemists and counterfeit pills made with illicit pill presses and the addicts who couldn’t resist there is going to be alot of grave digging so my suggestion to this intended human suffering is you all pick up a shovel and start digging because this is a killing field.
And here I thought all the damage caused by the CDC and Co., had caused total devastation to the pain community but this is 1000 times getting worse and when pain pts are dropping dead by the hundreds/thousands daily/weekly, maybe just maybe someone will step the hell up and put a stop to human suffering aka genocide!!
I heard that interview with Aaron Krebbs about OTC same as opioid. 100 people in his study! BULL SHIT. WE ARE SCREWED. I’ve been treated successfully with opioids since 2003 and don’t know WTF this means but no wonder there are 22 veteran suicides/day & if they don’t care about them, they certainly won’t care about us. Please read the letter I recently sent to the 10 Senators and WAPO and send your own letter along with the articles I shared. I don’t know why do I always feel like I’m the only one? I know I’m not but that’s what it feels like because no one answered, no one supported me and said they followed up with them. The letter is in Chronic Pain Rights, Chronic Pain Warriors, Fight for Florida Pain something
But the VA attributes those suicides to PTSD. We know better.
This is what is called Capitalism at its finest, capitalist Corporate Greed at its finest. A final showing just how ugly and cold these people are. Nothing but cold blooded snakes and lizards that will chomp into anything to make their money, line their dashboards with mohoganies, drape their necks with pearls and gold, god help them when it’s their turn for human suffering, god help them, with their pure and well knowing evil intent to have people suffer, all the Thou shall Nots, the Hypoctatic Oath, it will then be dicisions that won’t be given these people, it’s far out of the reach of something money can not buy. Wants with such ugly greed won’t be capable of shedding its own skin.
Sad thing is none of them will know what its like to suffer they have their private drs and pharmacies on speeddial. Do you think for a second Sen. McCain suffered horrific pain this past year battling his brain tumor?? DOUBTFUL I’m sure he was kept very comfortable to live out his life..and what about Steve Scalise when he was shot multiple times ..doubtful he was left in a torturous hell like We the People. I use to never wish my pain on anyone but not anymore. I hope they will know what it’s like to walk in the shoes of those battling painful conditions but $$$$$$ talks and they can buy anyone or anything….
I read an article yesterday and for the life of me I can’t remember where I saw it, may have been Medpage but not sure. A dr wrote about the opioid crisis and the burden chronic pain pts are . By the time I got halfway thru I was in tears, how this disgusting so called Dr degraded cpp’s and the burden we are on society, on our families, how we are a burden to drs who do treat us as they know we will probably require lifelong pain medication. He talked about how pain pts play up their pain in the drs office and how from the drs view he has fo determine if we really are in that much pain or just saying it for the pills. It all boiled down to not believing us burdensome pain pts. I have never felt so hopeless and filled with anxiety in my life due to this constant attack on legitimate ,innocent, law abiding chronically ill citizens and our vets. ..May they all reap what they have sown!
capitalism? this is govt run, rationed healthcare, not capitalism
WTF!?….aspirin for pain…aspirin makes my ears ring!! I am 70..l was born with a varus deformity..and my left leg is an inch longer than my right leg….l tried to be an athlete for a good part of my 70 years…l was a runner before it was popular…played tennis all thru high school..tap danced fof 15 years with my local community college….all the while doing damage to my neck and spine, unknowingly…so l been on opioids for about ten years…thank you doctors and dea for getting us on this stuff….just so you can get us to turn to heroin…and bump up the illegal drug trade…..YOU SONSABITCHES!!!!!!
its a money game with govt the only problem with opiates is not overdoses its money $. Think of how much the government saves by not issuing medication. There are other factors too .. but it has nothing to do with what the propaganda preaches economical Warfare basically.
YOU GOT IT RIGHT CATHY, I
SECOND THAT LAST STATEMENT!!
I have spinal stenosis, herniated discs, fibromialgia, and something called spondikisis (sp?) but there’s also something congential going on that I don’t understand that also could have been made worse when I was very active when I was young. The chiropractor who was treating me back when he wrote that report said there was nothing more he could do to help me. I’m glad I have the MM card but I’ve tried it and it doesn’t really help much. I thought it would help me cut back but I’m not having that experience. The main thing is that I can’t afford $600/month that it will cost which is what someone who was on opioids said is what he is paying for relief. I guess we are all fucked now.
Annette; hey, none of us are perfect, to say the least. But –you mean that there really is someone, somewhere (clearly Ark) that really IS doing this?? Honestly, please could you give us a reference, link, something? I cannot believe that a civil rights org would actually let this go without (finally!) getting out of their “ignore the pain patients” stance!
I know I don’t live in Arkansas, but what one state starts, the others are likely to jump onto –part of the reason I’ve been driving myself to collapse trying to fight the utterly insane proposition they’re trying to shove thru in Oregon (cutting off ALL pain meds for ALL pain patients, regardless of condition, for everybody on medicaid or the state low-income health plan…to start with). People have come to fight this from all over the country b/c they know that Oregon wants to hold it up as an example for other states to follow.
If Arkansas is doing this, the rest of us need info & data so we can fight it, even if we don’t live in your state. And I know that there’s been considerable unpleasant response (I’ve been vilified elsewhere for trying to get verification), but please don’t let the jerks get you down…some of us really, really want to be able to get verification so that we can get active to fight! At some point, there’s gotta be SOME civil rights attorney or group who’ll stop sucking the hysteria koolaid, & something this insane could be what gets that mythical entity off their buns.
I’m not sure why my comment did not post But, this is an Entirely FALSE depiction of the 2019 Medicare Drug Management Program. It is limited to those deemed at Risk for Substance Abuse. This is determined by use of multiple pharmacies and doctors… Please Read the Actual Medicare Drug Management Post. It is on Page 80 of the Medicare & You Handbook. Thank you.
Cathy; thanks for the input. I verified that no such thing existed in the Oregon version of the booklet or the generic version online. I was left with a teensy bit of curiosity if some other state(s) went off the deepend. Someone pointed out that there’s no way they could afford it, which I knew already, but at this point I wouldn’t be surprised by much of any proposal –& them getting around the “no funding” thing by making it another requirement for pain patients to pay for their own checks in order to receive their meds.
I have been ripped up one side & down another elsewhere for trying to get confirmation that this isn’t true, which seems a bit much: there certainly are already plenty of true unreasonable things in place, enough that it seems prudent to try & weed out the untrue unreasonable possibilities. I have a friend who was in prison many years ago & was utterly appalled to hear about the “come in right now or lose your meds” pill counts & UAs & other requirements, which ARE real. He was quite firm on the fact that we have to put up with more invasions of our civil & privacy rights than he did, even while in prison or on parole.
The level of national hysteria long ago shredded any pretense of rational response & have slammed the pedal to the metal on “absolutely anything that we do to combat the OPIOID EPIDEMIC is justified.” Just because I see something that seems insane does not mean it can’t be true vis a vis response to opioids; sanity is no part of the national agenda on this (or much of anything else, as far as I can see).
THIS IS NOT TRUE… HERE IS THE SECTION ON THE MEDICARE “DRUG MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.” AS YOU SEE THE PROGRAM IS FOR PEOPLE DEEMED AT RISK. SPECIFICALLY THOSE USING MULTIPLE DOCTOR’S OR PHARMACIES… Drug Management Programs
Medicare drug plans may also have Drug Management Programs to monitor the safe use of prescription drugs that are frequently abused. Medicare drug plans can limit drug coverage if you may be at risk of abusing certain drugs.
If you use opioid medications from several doctors and/or pharmacies, your plan may communicate with the doctors who prescribed these medications to make sure this use is appropriate and medically necessary. Your plan will give you a letter in advance if coverage of your opioid or benzodiazepine medications will be limited, or if you’ll be required to get your opioid or benzodiazepine prescriptions from certain doctors or pharmacies. If you disagree with the plan’s decision, you and your prescriber have the right to appeal the determination that you’re an at-risk beneficiary by contacting your plan. Also, you may be exempt from a Drug Management Program if, for example, you have cancer and/or you’re in hospice or long-term care facility.
The stipulation “that 90 milligrams of morphine daily (the morphine equivalency is a standard way to measure the power of opioid prescriptions).has been in effect in Florida already for a year or so as have many of the other things. Not the Home visit stuff. As for Urines, we already have them at the Pain Management Doctor’s Office regularly.
i take my meds as prescribed and do not use anything not prescribed. So, Urine testing is not an issue.
I can’t find anything like your talking about in my booklet. Please
supply references and links.
it’s not in the generic booklet (not state-specific) online, either. Or the Oregon version. looks like either Arkansas has really gone off the deep end or maybe it was a misreading? Unless she responds with page #, refs, links, or some such, we may never know.
I truly don’t believe the govt, Medicare or Medicaid will change all the above subjects. I’m not being negative but they have power that we dont. Am I wrong? I think the USA is slowly beginning to be communist!
what page is that on?
Page 80 of the Medicare and You Handbook…. However what she wrote is NOT TRUE. I tried to post the Actual Drug Management Program, but the site will not post my comments… Please READ the actual document. This situation is difficult enough. Then people go around writing totally FALSE things about it and we look stupid because we get all up in arms without knowing the actual information.
whoa…home visits??? Are you freaking serious? This is not even remotely legal. No WAY some attorney won’t check that out.
I don’t think I’ve thrown away that stupid booklet, so I guess I should actually read it for a change.
Why don’t they just move us all into prisons so they can control every single aspect of our lives?
My Dad is 88yrs old, he has been having more & more pain. He has many health problems, such as a rare disease called Porphyria, which can mimic other diseases, it is a blood disease. His ankles swell, has pain in his feet, legs & all over his body. He is perscibed only 3 10mgs of Norco a day. I can see & feel his pain every day. Without the Norcos he wouldn’t be able to function!! I believe he needs an increase in the Norcos or something stronger so he is able to live his life,better, instead of lying down dying!!!! I know roofers, iron workers & so many more, who couldn’t be able to work without an even stronger drug than Norcos! A friend who has had several back surgeries, & they want him to have more surgeries, sometimes has trouble getting a good pain med that can give relief & still function well at his job!! People can abuse most any drug, those who don’t should be able to get the relief they need. Anyone in sever pain will take anything & as much as they can to get relief. If the medical field realizes this, I truly believe there would be less O.D.’s. Just give a person in pain what they need, so they don’t have to go to the streets & not know what they’re getting, which could very well cause an O.D.!!! What if the Dr. was in pain or a family member, bet they’d be on the best pain med for a really long time. Many Drs. know, understand & trust their patients & aren’t afraid to help them no matter what, I believe they understand the patients knowledge of their own body & pain!!! It’s like WTF, go to the streets & get God only knows what & take any risk to be pain-free!!! I could say so much more, I’ll stop now. Really pissed people can’t legally get the help or the luv or trust, they deserve!!!!
See my comment above..so sorry for your Dad…
This is wrong. My back cant fix itself
Doctors wont do it. Not wven try
My shoulder also. Have a torn liggament. My hip gets really painful and swollen every once in a while making it difficult to walk. My orthopedic told me that the crack in my hip was cured. To long of a story there. I wish I didnt have any pain. I wish i could walk, run and dance like I did bwfore. But doctors gave me no hope of that .
:'(
All chronic pain patients need to attend the Don’t Punish Pain Rallies that are happening nationwide on Tuesday September 18, 2018 if at all possible. We need the numbers of us to be seen by the public and media. We need our legislators to know we are voters, and that they need to consider our needs as they create new legislation about opioids.
You can find the nearest rally to you at http://www.Don’tPunishPainRally.com or on Facebook Don’t Punish Pain Rally National, or on Facebook (your state) Don’t Punish Pain Rally.
Let your pain management doctors know that you are willing to fight for your needs, and for them to be able to treat us like they were trained to do.
Dont Punish Pain rallies are a JOKE. Why? They are being ADVERTISED (NOTE : not ORGANIZED as that is up to the individual person PLANNING ) by a narcissist who is using those who have lost hope in an attempt to seek fame and promote herself. SHE is a fraud and a pathological liar. She states there were 48 rallies in April of 2018. There were less than 30 with less than 100 people in attendance nationwide.
The website lists events that have been cancelled by the people doing the work planning the rally. The website lists the same name hosting multiple states at THE SAME TIME.
We drove 2 plus hours ONE WAY to the April rally to find NO ONE there except my wife and myself. A waste of my time, energy and my pain levels were thru the roof The leader, Claudia Mirandi’s OWN rally had 5 or 6 in attendence.
A protest at a CVS or a pharmacy I do not understand. A protest at a MUSEUM related to pain meds is ABSURD. Did the artists create this predicament?
Then again, Mrs Mirandi said find a venue, anywhere and we will promote it. Mrs. Mirandi should have asked others to please assist her in trying to find fame.
Carol I hope you do not suffer from pain if so ypu are wasting time energy and effort. Folks are looking to an ego centric woman who posts pics of herself holding toilet paper. Is this to clean up her mess?
Beware! When she instructed folks to wear a disguise if they were worried about losing access to their pain medicine and then stated that ALL patients were going to lose their medicine anyway that was beyond absurd. Absurd was taken to a new level when she stated she planned on calling media (news tip lines) and sayng “get here quick there is a massive fight about to go down and get here quick” …..this is the behavior of a sick woman. Beware who you associate yourself with Carol. We wish you the best
When Mrs. Mirandi talks about having a lot of people that hate her …..this is one of the reasons. FYI she had criminal stalking charges as well as a order to protect (stay away order) on another advocate who Mrs Mirandi said was stalking her.
Usually the VICTIM files charges (not her in thks case).
We noticed with her first rally the 3 other admins wotking with her 1 disappearred, ones almost inactive and one quit (Mrs. Mirandi said she quit then said she got rid of her,she was crazy etc and the woman posted proof of why she left……Mrs Mirandi being a fraud ).
BEWARE there is a DEA agent and a SSA investagator in the group. Why she woulf allow those folks in amazes me.
please count how many people that had rallies in April are holding them again……very few. Speak to some of them…..they will not steer you wrong.
Thanks for the info
I wrote a very long reply to you back when you made this comment. Unfortunately for some reason this site didn’t upload my response.
I’m the one that organized the rally at the Philadelphia Art Museum. I, in consultation with others that live in the city, chose that venue.
The picture of her holding toilet paper is from the cover of the book she wrote talking about her life, and she has Crohn’s disease so toilet paper is a pretty good visual in talking about that disease.
Has she said things in reaction to things happening, yes. But she has also backtracked and apologized for things she has said if they were wrong.
I’m sorry that the person that was supposed to be the organizer for your rally in April didn’t show up and do what they said they would. But who knows, maybe their pain was so intense that they couldn’t get out of bed that day. It’s a grass roots organization of volunteers. Trying to do something like the rallies nationwide is a huge undertaking.
There are too many people that are trying to make money from this tragedy, or are trying to make a name for themselves somehow.
There are too many people in the chronic pain community that just want to complain online, but go no farther by participating in anything.
I went to the April rally in Harrisburg. I have been commenting on all of the dockets that have come up. I’ve been in touch with my legislators. I went to the FDA meeting in July. I organized the September Philadelphia Rally, and will be doing it again for January.
I admin 2 chronic pain support groups. I help in many other pain support groups.
I don’t denigrate anyone, and I proudly give my name as a pain warrior. I’m fighting this fight not only for myself, but so that my doctor can do his job, and so that my children and granddaughter hopefully won’t have to worry about living a life of pain.
Thank you for the above statement. We are behind you all the way…Spread the word about the upcoming rally January 29TH 2019…
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do, Carol! I agree with everything you have said. If there is a rally close enough, I will do my best to attend. However, since my PM doctor has cut my pain medication to the point that I spend most of my time in bed, in pain, I may not be physically able to attend.
The trouble is most of these pain peeps, are in too much pain, arent ambulatory for same reason….so back off
We need more rallies!! Often wondered who makes these decisions!!
Anybody can have a rally. It’s getting people to get out of their homes and showing up to them that’s the problem.
We all have First Amendment Rights that we are free to exercise.
Amen, Carol…l was at West Hills, Kommiefornia. ….se my comment on this, sweetie, cathy bauer
The Krebs study was a farce. It didn’t study patients with complex pain issues. Like patients that have pain from genetic diseases/disorders. Or with spinal injuries. And they did give tramadol, which is a controlled substance, to some patients because the Tylenol and ibuprofen did not adequately treat their pain. There is a moral reason why formal drug studies do not go on for years at time.
If Dr. Krebs really wants to help chronic pain patients she, and any the other researchers on her flawed study need to come forward and admit that they have caused more harm than good. They have also left out how long term use of Tylenol (acetaminophen) can cause liver damage, liver failure. Or how long term use of ibuprofen can damage the lining of the stomach or cause kidney or liver damage.
Dr. Krebs study is just as damaging, if not more so than the horrible CDC guidelines and PROP.
How can you say you love the veterans but you take away their pain relief ? Lies !! This is going to have a back lash to the likes of which you have never seen. A PTSD veteran with chronic pain. You just better be glad that you are not the one who’s involved in a traffic stop at the wrong time. This was the biggest mistake that this president has made so far.
Obivioisly opiates DO help with people’s pain. When you take an OTC drug and it does nothing and then you take an opiate and your pain is decreased by a ten fold then yes they do help. This is getting severely out of hand. The sheeple are only listening to the masses of people who have had someone OD , they are not listening to the chronic pain community .
They NEED to look at the facts of how people overdose. It is not from prescription medication. It is BECAUSE they mix drugs , alcohol and illiscit drugs. I am so sick of insurance companies that think they know what is best for patient care and they do not. They need to stop practicing medicine without a license and get back to what thier job is which is making sure we have health coverage. That job does not include policing our meds because they think that we don’t need them. Nor, is it Medicaid’ s job to interfere with people’s care.
This is wrong
Totally agree
My doctor cut my meds today so this may explain why. I have been on large amounts of opiates in the past and reduce them at my request years ago and when on cannabis. I was not able to control my pain only with the cannabis and now I cannot afford the cannabis because it’s so expensive in the state of Illinois. I have extensive pain issues for the last 16 years and now they want to give me 5 pills a day of an instant acting pain med with Tylenol. Sometimes I wonder what’s the point anymore with the suffering. All the drug Seekers make the true people that are in pain suffer greatly! andI have diagnostic test to prove of the damages in in the body. Sometimes i consider stopping all my meds blood pressure,etc and l et me go
Funny, not funny, really but I am doing what you said…stopping my meds. Since they took away my benzo’s which helped me go through life and helped stop my brain from constant activity, I thought…why do I need antidepressants then? So I’ve stopped them also. Who cares what kind of life I had to lead? Not the government, not the insurance…nobody. Next will be my high blood pressure meds and thyroids. Those will certainly end the pain for good. I can not believe they have a right to tell someone what they can and can’t do with their own life. I know alcohol can stop some pain…and if they keep this shit up, so can cocaine. I’m sure heroin does too. And it’s my belief that this whole thing is based on chronic pain patients going to the streets for different meds. Perhaps they are doing business with the drug dealers and are getting a cutback?
I urge you all to please fight back! Please join the NATIONWIDE DON’T PUNISH PAIN RALLY ON SEPT. 18TH. EVERY STATE WILL BE HAVING A RALLY TO STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHT TO PAIN RELIEF!!
GO TO THE LINK AND IT WILL DIRECT YOU TO YOUR STATE PAGE WHERE ALL INFO IS LISTED. PLEASE SHARE EVERYWHERE! WE NEED THOUSANDS TO ATTEND IN EACH STATE! I BELIEVE THIS MAY BE OUR LAST CHANCE TO HOPEFULLY MAKE CHANGE, COME JANUARY THE DEA INTENDS TO CUT BACK ON PAIN MEDS ANOTHER 10%!!!
http://dontpunishpainrally.com/State-FB-Groups/
NSAIDS don’t work for fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition. I don’t know where that “study” came from.
WHY, WHY, WHY do they keep saying that opioids do not work any better than OTC analgesics?! If some study showed that result, then I dare say that study was enormously flawed because we CPPs all know how VASTLY different and more effective the pain relief from opioids is over OTC medications like Advil, which many patients CAN’T TAKE. My DNA showed that NSAIDS are not effective for me! Before pain mgmt with opioid therapy, I was having to take up to 24 Advil/day! Twenty-four! Do they know what that does to the stomach?! I now have chronic, hideously painful gastritis which, when not on my opioids, landed me in the ER several times in just five months with a blood pressure as high as 185/1xx because of the sheer pain! Plus, heart patients! Post-heart attack patients can’t take NSAIDS, and heart pts in general should avoid them. NSAIDS are dangerous and harmful medications, according to the FDA. The same goes for highly toxic Tylenol; its active ingredient is capable of doing irreversible, fatal harm to the liver in a matter of days! An ER doctor told me a few years ago that he’d treated a patient who had overdosed on Tylenol every day for just 3 days, and it had done so much damage to her liver in that short time that all he could do was make her comfortable until she died. Tylenol IS A KILLER!!! Faaaaar more toxic and more dangerous than opioids!!! I can quadruple my opioid dose, and I could do so daily for a month! And not only would it not kill me, it would not even damage my organs! (And when I say quadruple, I’m talking about taking four of my 30mg pills!! I’m talking 120mg all at once! I could even go higher to 150mg. I know because I’ve taken as many as four of my pills at once on 2 separate occasions. So I know by EXPERIENCE, not just guessing. To those who’d say that one isolated incidence is not the same as, and can’t be compared to taking a high dose for several days. That may be true, and perhaps I should do it for 3 days to prove my point. Maybe I’ll do that and get back to you! Meanwhile, the fact remains that acetaminophen is [still] highly toxic and highly dangerous. If doctors think patients can’t be trusted to dose themselves accurately and appropriately with opioids, then how is it that we should be left alone to dose ourselves appropriately with OTC medications??? Pain is a HUUUUGE motivator. If it wasn’t, it would not have been used as a torture method during warfare for centuries! Dragging and stretching, for example.What our government(/s, since this is happening throughout the Western world) is/are doing to us is barbaric and genocidal. And IT. MUST. STOP!!
Chronic Pain Patients band together! Speak up! Call and write your local legislators! Contact your Senators and Representatives! Demand that they take what you’re saying back to Washington, back to the Senate floor! WE MUST HELP OURSELVES IN THIS MATTER, because if we don’t speak up – to the point of being a nuisance! – WE. WILL. LOSE!! We’ll lose our meds, we’ll lose our ability to participate in our lives, and many of us may actually lose our LIVES altogether via pain-driven suicide.
TELL WASHINGTON: NO MORE CHRONIC PAIN PATIENT SUICIDES DUE TO UNTREATED AND UNDER-TREATED PAIN!!!!!!
…
#there_IS_NO_OPIOID_CRISIS
#thereisanOPIATEcrisis_heroinNOTpercocet
#OpiATESareNOTthesameasOpiOIDS
#heroinisNOTthesameaspercocet
#prescriptionopioidsareNOTtheproblem
#theCDCquietlyADMITTEDtheyskewedthenumbers
#theTRUEnumbersarepostedontheCDCwebsite
#ALCOHOL_KILLS_FIVE_TIMES_AS_MANY_PEOPLE_YEARLY
#opioidoverdosedeathsleveledofflastyear
#sowhyaretheystillattackingourmedications
I too had to take handfulls of advil at a time for pain. When i tell drs they get nasty telling me haw bad it is and i should know better. I just tell them because drs rather i damage my liver than take pain meds and stop the pain.
We are all suffering for people who overdose and for the people who became addicted after injury or surgery its the drs fault for continuing without following up with them. I have chronic pain and see my pain dr every few months. I told him he can do blood test or even test my hair if he has any doubt. He trusts me because i dont abuse it. The govt needs to care about us who suffer from pain at least as much as people who abuse it.
Good luck.
I told my pain management doctor last month I was now up to taking 5 800 mg’s of Ibuprofen along with the pain meds a day. He said ‘that’s way too much’. Seriously? You won’t do anything to help with the pain but tell me I’m taking too much ibuprofen??? What the living hell are we supposed to do???? Just an FYI, I take all those ibuprofen’s because I had hoped they worked! THEY DON’T!!!! Now, I just feel like throwing up all the time because of taking so many. Do they care? No….they don’t. It’s Population Control….without them saying it.
Advil put a hole in my stomach….btw check
outhttp://nationalpainreport.com/chronic-pain-advocates-in-oregon-protest-new-state-opioid-policy-8836794.html
You’re right; the study they’re using (abusing?) to ‘confirm’ the idea that OTCs work as well was not only deeply flawed, it didn’t even show what they keep saying it showed. Biggest problem is, turns out the “OTC” group was given….tramadol when the OTCs weren’t enough. No, it’s not an opioid, but it is a narcotic pain med that is far stronger than OTCs. so if anything, it proved that OTC pain relievers ARE NOT as effective as (big surprise) strong pain meds. But the entire media & the anti-opioid zealots either don’t know about that little wrinkle, or don’t care (& do take care not to mention it).
That’s far from the only problem with the Krebs study. I’ve read literally thousands –probably tens of thousands– of medical & scientific journal articles in my time (& did the actual laboratory research for many papers, for years), & that paper was one of the worst I ever ran across. And that is saying a lot, believe me. The only thing the Krebs study really proves is that JAMA is no longer a reputable medical journal. How the mighty have fallen.
Exactly correct and stated. We all have to become a a constant advocate for our chronic pain issues
Call State and federal reps… keep calling and calling.
We have to be our own best advocate during this insane ”OPIATE’ crisis…. It should be labeled as the “”ADDICTION CRISIS’. Our government is betraling us . This is NOT A GOVERNMENT problem AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN PATIENT / DOCTOR RELATIONSHIPS. Pain management is an essential part of Personized healthcare.
Stop this Insanity.
Agreed!!! I too have taken higher doses of pain meds with no problems whst so ever for 8 years same stable dose! There were many times Id be taking 240mgs of immediate release a day along with extended release 60mgs a day. and I NEVER once was high, stoned, incoherent, stagger, slur my words, NOTHING BUT RELIEF FROM THE AGONIZING PAIN! I am a rapid metabolizer that requires high doses in order for the MEDICATION to work, but according to the anti opiod zealots that amt of meds must mean I’m an addict. They dont take into acct that we are all INDIVIDUALS that tolerate pain and medication differently, We are NOT one size fits all ! I now get really bad anxiety attacks even thinking about going to a dr. due to being treated like a drug addict by drs and thier staff in the past. Shame on every person that mistreats, degrades , stigmatizes the chronically ill! WE ARE #PATIENTSNOTADDICTS !!
I am the same way I have been on high oxy and methadone for over 15 years. i am 54 years old I was in a fall from a roof when I was 39. I have been going to the same pain doctor for 10 years and she let me know yesterday my pain med will be cut to one fourth of my current prescription. I think I just could possibly end up at the methadone clinic. someone needs to stop this B.S.
I need pain medication, I have horrible pain..Who are these people who decided what I need.
I have nothing to do with the opioid crisis. ..this medicine is for me and me only…Don’t tell me what works and what doesn’t I’m the person who has to sit at home and cry not you..I’m tried of all of this crap..People who over take drugs will find something else to over dose on. .Stay out of my life and others who only take what helps that makes life liveable. .
I am right beside you girl. Who do they think they are?
While you pat yourselves on the back you are painting a target on it. You are cutting costs and nothing else. We all die. And it is VERY apparent that you are all idiots. You can throw away money at the war on drugs for the rest of our lives, the only way you will ever win. The 70 plus that used K2 in Central Park showed how many addicts just can come out of the woodwork at once yet you refuse to treat addiction. If you rounded up the Herion users before they all died I would understand. But you would rather use heroin and fentanyl as population control for the poor and mentally challenged. How much is heroin in the news vs opioids? How many papers, media outlets, news stations did you pay off to keep pestering Americans into believing opioids don’t work? Because we all know it is a lie. Many pain regimens take more than one type of pain reliever ssri or other drugs to work.
You come up with weapons against others, oh many dollars for that. You kill and kill and kill yet have screwed every American that is growing up so they have to work until they die. You only care about yourselves.
When we come for your rich asses and we will come, it may not be this year, this decade, this century, but we will remember the mercy you showed the rest of us. Because life isn’t worth living to scramble after every dollar only to see another get rewarded for good looks or being a jackass all their life. Enjoy your money while you can.
And if another conservative ever comes into power we will know the vote is rigged. Much like it was this last Presidency.
Well said!!!!! Thank you Brett!h
How is his comment “well said”??? Because it was mostly babble that made little sense. His post is NOT the way to approach our legislators. Letters need to be articulate and well thought out. They need to include factual statements and statistics. They DON’T need sarcastic, angry, threatening, or nonsensical babble. That just makes the author sound like a drug addict.
Very well said, AJ! Thank you!
Agree AJ
I wish the people in the CDC, DEA and the government would get what we have then they wouldn’t be so quick to judge us but they don’t give a shit about us, if we live or die. That’s one less person they will have to deal with. They should let the real doctors prescribe whatever they think will be helpful for us
They need to stop citing that stupid study like it meant what they say it did. It’s disingenuous
Medicare is for the aged and disabled- this will have disastrous consequences for both groups and it feels so much like we are powerless to stop this. If the lead investigator of this completely bullshit study, with decades of scientific evidence to the contrary, disagrees, she’s basically disavowing the results which I’m sure are invalid. Prohibition of alcohol, which kills half a million Americans a year, didn’t work. And we’re talking about healthcare with doctors and prescriptions and prudence built in, who in our government is stupid, naive and feckless enough to pursue this – and what is the real underlying reason? Save addicts from themselves? They’ll have plenty of illicit fentanyl. I never believed that this was an intentional culling genocide, until now.
The above information IS NOT The Medicare Drug Management Program.. Please read it on Page 80 of Medicare and You
This is cruelty beyond any words or justification. I don’t know who came up with the study about over the counter pain products working as well as opioids, but these are flat out lies – I KNOW – because i tried them – up to their highest prescription levels – and they didn’t touch my pain. If you break your leg or have severe chronic pain from illnesses or one of many other things – opioids are often the only thing that reduces the pain. I am horrified , disgusted and terrified with these new laws. many people have already committed suicide, and the CDC has made it CLEAR that they don’t care – let me say that again – the CDC has made it clear that they don’t care that people are committing suicide as a result of their “guide-lines”.
Who the hell says only cancer hurts the multiple diseases I have including 1 causing massed wrapped around spine liver and brainstem CAN’T be removed there is no cure n9 chemo no NOTHING this is or abandonment at its worst at least cancer has a chance to b cured this is abuse in every way shape and form im reasy to leave this world guess its gonna b escalated now animals r treated w more care and,dignity at least they get put down when pain us to much how is that ok i pray every human thats taking away our right to live at least comfortable gets stricken w the most painful diseases known to man and than gets tokd to suck it up i cant take NSAIDS i literly died 5x due to them so what the hell am i supposed to do screw it guess i will just end my suffering
There’s gonna be a whole lotta people committing SUICIDE. And can blame the president and federal goverment..
This is INHUMANE, BARBARIC AND IT SURE AS HELL IS GENOCIDE!! OPIODS ALLOWED ME TO SUSTAIN A QUALITY OF LIFE ! How dare these anti opiod scumbags sit behind a desk with thier so called studies that claim opiods are no better than effin tylnol when I am sure MILLIONS of us pain pts who actually DEPEND ON AND HAVE TAKEN THE SAME STABLE DOSE FOR YEARS, SOME FOR DECADES WITH SUCCESS! I have had it with all the bs lies by ppl who have no clue what its like to exist with a body that rages pure burning crushing torture thruout every inch of my body. I want these assholes to feel my pain, breath my pain, I want them to know and feel not only tbe physical toll these scum are inflicting on pain pts, but the mental and emotional toll that is causing many to go into deep depression, panic and anxiety attacks leaving us hopeless . WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY ARE WE LIVING IN THAT FINDS IT ACCEPTABLE TO ALLOW PEOPLE WITH DEBILITATING PAIN TO SUFFER UNTIL THEY PUT BULLETS IN THIER HEADS TO END THE PAIN!! The suicide rate is going to dramatically increase and with Medicare doing this, watch how fast insurance companies follow suit and totally deny all opiods unless end of life. I beg God to take me daily to end the pain!! I waa abandoned by my dr a year and a half ago. Ive been treated like shit by every drs office i called as if im trying to score , ive been degraded td to go to detox, treated like an addict, ER turmed me away after treating me like shit and its happening every day nationwide!!
I URGE U ALL TO JOIN THE NATIONWIDE RALLY SEPT 18TH IN EVERY STATE! GOOGLE : DON’T PUNISH PAIN RALLY 2018. THE LINK WILL DIRECT YOU TO YOUR STATE PAGE AND ALL INFO! SPREAD THE WORD WE MUST NOT BE #SILENTNOMORE #SPEAKUP #PAINPATIENTS #SUICIDEDUE2PAIN #CORRUPT #OPIODCRISIS #GENOCIDE #INHUMANE #PAINKILLS #DPP #ONEVOICE360 #OPIODHYSTERIA
http://dontpunishpainrally.com/States/States.php
Pam, it’s spelled opi-OID. Two i’s. Folks, it’s important that we watch our spelling and grammar when we contact legislators. Letters with poor spelling and poor sentence structure are not taken seriously. It’s just a known fact. Maybe the posts we make here won’t be seen by anyone who matters but if they are any indication about the types of letters that might be written, there may be a problem. In business, letters like this, with misspelling after misspelling, and curse words throughout, would be thrown in the trash and ignored. So let’s try to clean them up and have them edited, if not by someone who’s a good writer, then at least by Spellcheck. Let’s make every effort to be given the credibility we deserve.
Thank you for your opinion. I forget to check for spelling at times cuz my phone puts in what it wants n my fingers kill me to type. that being said im not replying to any reps here and will curse as i wish . I have written reps many times and know how I should write. Twenty years of this shit. Thank you for being the spelling police. Some just have nothing better to do then go around correcting others as if the all superior ones never make a dam typo. FFS SMDFH
AJ very true
No one will ever accuse you of being well spoken.
I have force weaned down to 15 mgs of Oxycodone per day, & there is no way anyone could “OD” on that tiny dose. If they took the time to ready my MRI’s they would back the hell off. I have turned in to pill-drop-bins higher post surgery doses. when in hindsight, I wish I had saved the (3) FULL bottles, of 180, 30 mg Oxycontin. I have a lock box for my Oxycodone, and today I found (1) I must have dropped. This afternoon I felt NORMAL for the first time in over 2 years. I made dinner without stopping and applying ice packs or duct taping ice packs to my spine. Being able to FUNCTION no longer matters.
wonder how long it will take ‘them’ to notice the radical increase in the suicide rate? And when they do, they will bury that news.
They don’t care about suicides. It puts more money in the social security bank account..who they trying to kid.
Let’s take away ALL HOPE! I am a chronic pain patient and my opioid DO HELP! THEY TAKE THE EDGE OFF OF EXTREME NERVE PAIN, SI joint pain, Fibromyalgia pain, and degenerative disc disease and arthritis. I have been given all the Lyrcia, Cymbalta, and Gabapentin and many other drugs and NOTHING but problems with SERIOUS side effects from these drugs. More serious than opioids. Gralise does NOT work, the doctor said anything over 1800 mg. Is toxic to the brain. I have tried Aleves times 2, a therapeutic dose and it does nothing. My GI doctor wants me to discontinue this drug due to serious issues with my esophagus, which now has to be botoxed so I can stop having symptoms of a heart attack from a nutcracker esophagus! My cardiologist is alarmed that I am not receiving enough pain relief as my blood pressure is so high. My heart is fine, he said, it’s all due to pain levels. 190 over 154 is way too high and I am on two beta blockers, but my pressure is still too high. He tells me the pain management doctors need to get pain under control!! I have had 3 rhizotomies, all failed. Not a candidate for surgery because I have osteopenia. I had bradycardia and received Trmatic brain injury and have dizziness and vision issues that Medicare will not pay for. I have a pacemaker and can not receive a lot of Physical therapy treatments due to the pacemaker. I have a disc compressing S1 nerve that makes my left leg and foot feel like it’s on FIRE! I have tried 2 SCS for this that have failed. In fact, made nerve pain worse!! I have been in the pool and dealt with choline eating my skin until raw. I have used heat and ice in vain. Sat in my own tub day and endless nights. Tried every over the counter supplements and creams on the market and so far nothing works!! I am suffering worse than my dog that I put to sleep. I pray to my Savior daily to take me home. I have done 7 weeks of TMS therapy for depression for pain and NO, it did nothing to stop pain. I tried COGNITIVE therapy and no, it did nothing to stop my feelings of hopelessness as pain levels are at 10 seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I never get a break. The Belsomra that would help me sleep, TriCare will NOT pay for it, no matter how many times my PCP has appealed. 6 times so far!! We give up with Washington and the military care that’s SO terrible now!! I have one surgeon willing to try a laminectomy for the S1 nerve/disc, but if it doesn’t worked, I am so screwed. I average maybe 2 hours of sleep every 3 night. My own Government is KILLING ME!! I Live in Texas where taking medical Marijuana is illegal. My Husband is Retired Air Force Officer and I am the wife who followed him thru Vietnam and Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This is the way Our Country gives back to us! It is a form of Genoside!! No One CARES ABOUT CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS! I AM NOT AN ADDICT. When I fell due to Bradycardia and hurt and Injured myself I was NOT having a party. I am 65, so my Government is throwing me away. I do not live in a nursing home, but had a reasonable life with a new grandchild on the way and my youngest daughter getting married. I worked a majority of my life starting at 14 years old raising cattle with my Dad. I have raised two responsible adults children. And, worked in numerous jobs!! My last as a mortgage loan officer!
But, I get to end my life in suffering worse than my 90 year old Mother who is in a nursing facility because I can’t take care of her and me. I get to lay in bed and scream and cry in pain and call this my life because my own Government decided to become my DOCTOR and take away the only thing that half way helps. And, I get to have conversations with SO MANY like myself in the same boat. We do NOT NEED OUR GOVERNMENT TO BE OUR DOCTORS JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE MEDICARE NOW!! SO, I NEED TO LEAVE MY COUNTRY AND LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY WHERE THEY ACTUALLY CARE??
LEAVE MY CHILDREN BEHIND OR WE ALL GO!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY THAT OUR GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN MY FREEDOMS TO HAVE PROPER HEALTH CARE WHERE I DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER!! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR ME, THAT’S BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY DOCTOR. I HAVE AN EDUCATION AND I AM AN INFORMED ADULT WHO CAN MAKE ADULT DECISIONS FOR MYSELF. I DO NOT HAVE DEMISHED BRAIN DAMAGE THAT I CAN NO LONGER RINDER DECISIONS FOR MYSELF. AND, IF SO, I HAVE TWO ADULTS CHILDREN WITH COLLEGE EDUCATIONS, ONE IN THE MEDICAL FIELD WHO CAN!! I HAVE NOT SIGNED OVER MY CARE TO THE UNITED STATES IN ANY SHAPE FORM OR FASHION. YES, I’D LIKE YOU TO PAY FOR HEALTH CARE BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY DOCTORS AND THAT’S IT! BUT, YOU SHOULD NOT DICTATE HOW, WHAT OR WHEN I TAKE OR DO. I AM NOT RECEIVING A DRUG ILLEGALLY OR GETTING IT FROM SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISPENSE!! THE NEW LAWS YOU ARE FORCING ARE NOT FOR OUR BENEFITS BUT FOR GREED! FOR THE SAKE OF THIS GOVERNMENT TO SAVE MONEY! TO NOT STAND BEHIND THE LIES YOU TELL. WE ALL KNOW ITS FOR GREED. STREET DRUGS KILL FROM CARTELS AND DEALERS NOT ALL FROM DOCTORS! WE WERE NOT BORN YESTERDAY AND NO WE DO NOT BELIEVE YOU MR. GOVERNMENT!!
You taken away the medication is the reason overdosed are happening. If a doctor give pain meds to a chronic pain patient their shouldn’t be a problem leave us alone. Telling us that are lives doesn’t matter sucks.
I have chronic adhesive arachnoiditis from those damn esi’s, I’m destined to live a life of suicidal pain if they take away the medication to give me some quality of life. I don’t abuse it, I do urine tests, I go to one doctor, one pharmacy. The damn medical field did this to me and you think it’s alright just to say fuck you and live with it!!!!!!! Since when did the insurance companies get doctor diplomas?????
This country has goes to crap!! Run by compete idiots who could care less about 98% rest of the country!!! The drug and overdose problem will continue to rise, an get soo much worse!!! The real drug problem is illegal FENTANYL!!!!! Smuggled into the country by the cartels, and even ordered online right to their door from China by drug dealers!!! They lace heroin, cocaine, and make counterfeit pills that look absolutely identical to the real things!! All the while people in legitimate pain, with legitimate diagnosis are left to suffer!! I guess our government would rather torture its citizens!! I bet drug dealers, an the cartels are extremely happy about all this!! They will be making even more money!!! This isnt a war on drugs, it’s a war on disabled and sick!!!!!
If over the counter meds worked, I’d be taking Tylenol instead of Oxycodone. These people need to walk a day in our shoes, then let’s see how they feel about all this nonsense.
And no matter what we as sick and severely pain,ed patients say, nor how many cannot tolerate the Hell we live in and kill ourselves, it won’t matter. The decision makers aren’t suffering, so it’s easy and black and white for them to pass judgement.
I really hate this. I don’t know who came up with this plan, but whoever did so has never experienced or encountered significant pain. I have been in chronic pain for nearly twenty years and treating pain allows me to function. I’m sorry but I do not think it is acceptable for a government agency to dictate doseage or medical treatment. This is why we have doctors
Why the Hell be sorry? I guess people build tolerances that require more of something like glucose, water, food etc. Absolutelyfuckinginsanity.
I read all this but I have one question and maybe I missed or don’t nderstand but does this apply to chronic pain patients? Will they only b able to receive a weeks worth or if they r already on opiates they will continue to get what they have been getting? Thank u!
It isn’t what the law/rule/guideline says.. it is what the prescriber believes/thinks what it said and implements their own interpretation as their own office/practice policy.
It’s the insurance company’s that will refuse to pay for our prescriptions isn’t it? I have a wonderful Dr that fights with Medicaid monthly on my behalf. But if they pass these ‘policys’ it won’t matter what the doctors say. At least thats how I’m understanding it so far unless I’m wrong. God help us all…
We need a class action lawsuit against Medicare/Medicaid before these policys go into effect Jan. 2019. Its going to be awfully hard to go backwards once they pass all of these laws they’ve put before congress. It is terrifying….
I Agree
I’d love to hear any ideas that would work for getting a lawsuit going…God knows, a very large number of pain patients have tried many avenues. Starting at the ACLU (won’t touch us) & going on down. Know any multi-millionaire pain people?
this is a good point! when the CDC came up with the guidelines everyone flew into a frenzy, myself included- however, when I questioned my doctor and nurse I was told I would not have to worry about my meds being cut. were they lying, I sincerely hope not, but I do believe there are other doctors who will continue caring for their patients. if I’m wrong I’ll be getting on the suicide train, but until then…It seems to be that we are all so disorganized, so many groups, I feel if we could all smehow come together and address this before the rug has completely been pulled out, any possible legal recourse? P Steve, I am an advid follower of you and have gleaned so much info from your posts, there must be some way to attack them before we are even more crippled than we are now?!?
This is getting crazy. I am one who needs pain meds to dull some of the pain. I have been on them for over 10 years and not once have i had any problems with taking to much. So now it’s still okay for the drug dealers they can now charge a lot of MONEY for a simple 5 mg pain med. We are being forced to buy them from them hoping that we don’t get caught and go to jail. This is getting crazy. It sucks that we have to suffer with pain trying to sleep, or get thru the day in pain, and trying to get be able to get up out of bed. Yes pain meds do not get rid of the pain but they do help to lightin it some where it’s tolerable. Why do we have to suffer? And the drug dealers are still out there selling the stuff. What I see is gonna happen is people are going to be buying harder drugs like coke or meth just to be able to kind of feel a little better. And then there will be more deaths and more Over doseing.
I just recently learned about a site called Silk Road. It’s worth checking out, at least to rule it out as an online source for opioid medication.
Doesn’t this qualify for a class action law suit against Medicare as they further torture chronic pain patients and restrict medically necessary pain medications for non-cancer pain diseases which have been proven effective for generations?
DPP; good luck finding an attorney who’ll do anything for chronic pain patients…we seem to be the one class of people that it’s not only okay to discriminate against & torture, but it’s downright cheered; the more pols & bureaucrats attack us, the more they can trumpet how tough they are against THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC. Facts & reality have had nothing to do with public discourse for quite a while now.
Ditto that Mr/Ms canarensis,,,,,I /along w/several 100 other good folk have tried aclu’s,,civili rights attorneys,,,,,1 had the honesty to say we are collateral damage,,a acceptable loss,,didn’t I know we have epidemic going on here,,and he was a doctor and attorney!!!We have researched the why,,these civil rights attorneys are blowing us off,, to discoveer,,,many have been financially compensated by big wig organizations,health insurance companies,politicians,,in their PRIVATE NAMES,,addiction specialist like the kolodnys’ have given millions to thee civil rights lawyers/aclu…anotherward,,,all thee attorneys have been literally bought off,,,,,sickening aint it..I believe thee only legal help we need will be gotten from International organization outside of the U.S..now this American commission for human rights is a great place to try,,for they are fully connected to the Inter-American Commission on Human rights..These guy got the dea thrown out of Bolivia/Peru and a couple of other South American countries,,Now to get the dea thrown out of a country after 40 years,,is a big deal,,,it means they have the clout and the smart enough attorneries to GET IT DONE,, I fully believe this will not strop,,,,until they are legally stopped,,,We have written over 14 different constitutional laws our government has broken,,,over 30 different human rights laws they have broken,and well over 20 code of ethics violation they have broken,,soo we do have the laws,doctrines already figured out as to what the USA Government has violated,,enough to throw them all in prison for life..and rightfully soo,,,
Humanity knocked on the White House Doors,,and Humanity was told America no longer recognizes Humanity for its own citizens…
Anotherwards folks our government has failed to rize up to the standards of humanity EVERY OTHER COUNTRY has recognized,,,that pain relief is a human right,and to deny us that right is to torture and genocide of the medically ill w/pre-existing chronically painful medical conditions..This was all about money and honoring the bigots w/money and the bogits archaic ideology of prejudice.That if I take a medicine from the poppy flower,you are no more then an addict,,,not even a human being,,but a low life addict,,,in their minds,,thus justifying in their little minds w/money,,,killing us off…It was/is about money/archaic prejudice from those w/money..thats it,,its nooo deep secret as to why,,How they did is secretive,because this was all done illegally,,but we are exposing more each day of their corruptions,,But we have to change the mind’s of the public w/the truth,,,for all wars,,,are won with.what is in mankinds hearts,,,and what is in the hearts of mankind right now,,is greed,prejudice,,,not humanity,,and we have to change that public opinion of us,,jmo,,maryw
MEDICARE patients need to CONTACT THEIR Senators and raise hell!! VOTE THEM ALL OUT WHO voted for this BS.
Dammit, that frigging Krebs study did NOT find that opioids are no more effective than over-the-counter and non-opioid alternatives for relieving chronic pain.” their “OTC” group was given a NARCOTIC PAIN RELIEVER when the OTCs failed to adequately relieve pain!
“would not cover opioid prescriptions that last for more than a week and are equal to 90 milligrams of morphine daily”
I don’t understand this wording: does this mean that NO opioids will be covered for more than a week, or that doses less than 90mmd would be covered for more than a week, or that only a week of less than 90 mmd are covered & no pain meds for chronic conditions, period?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out
the idea is to leave everybody confused. chronic pain patients that exceed the limits will need an override and prior authorization.
That’s right it states 7 days. Chronic pain patient are the one suffering not the drug users on the street
it means that for Medicaid patients who just broke their arm who receives a rx for hydrocodone 5 mg take 1 every 6 houurs quantity 28..This rx WILL be filled.
hydrocodone 5 mg 1 to 2 pills every 6 hours quantity 70.this will be REJECTED…Why? Because it is a 8.5 day supply.
So any prescriptions beyond 7 days are out? i.e. all chronic conditions are not going to be treated? That’s what I’m having trouble pinning down. I get that acute conditions are limited to 7 days, but what about prescriptions for chronic/permanent conditions?
How much worse can it get before people finally accept the fact that drugs don’t cause abuse. The truth is available but no one seems to care to learn. Oh well, without it, the future does not look good.
Corrupted government have no use for the truth..
maryw
You said it, mary. The brainwashed sheeple don’t either.