OPEN LETTER TO ELECTED OFFICIALS & POLICY MAKERS:
TO: All State and Federal Elected Officials & Government Agencies
RE: An Open Letter From a Severe Intractable Pain Patient Regarding The Unintended Consequences Harming Legitimate Pain Patients in the Wake of the Illicit Drug Overdose Epidemic
Greetings,
Do our leaders have the mental capacity to comprehend the gravity of what people living with constant, unrelenting pain have to endure on a daily basis? Aside from the physical symptoms, the emotional and mental repercussions are unfathomable to most.
Our bodies are riddled with physical intractable pain and insurmountable limitations, but does anyone consider the mental aspect of living in a constant state of anxiety, depression, and fear of losing our doctors and our medications?
I’ve had the unfortunate reality of living with several horrendously painful, incurable diseases and illnesses for over 25 years. I’ve undergone close to 20 surgeries and tried every last modality, treatment, and non opioid medication under the sun to no avail. I made an informed decision to begin a strict opioid pain medication management regime approximately 20 years ago which had been a Godsend for me and afforded significant pain control & a moderately functional quality of life.
However, as a result of our government’s attempt to combat the nation’s OVERDOSE crisis, my nightmare began in February 2018 when my doctor was forced to reduce my pain medications by more than HALF, and has decreased it every month since then. This drastic measure has ripped away the only relief I was able to achieve, which has left me mostly bed ridden and home bound.
Every week, we hear our Government Agencies boast about the DOJ/DEA raiding, shutting down, or sanctioning several reputable doctors across our country leaving thousands of patients scrambling to find another doctor to take over their pain management which is next to impossible.
Unfortunately, my doctor of 10 years was among the growing list of targets and was shut down in August, leaving his patients including myself with no meds and no doctor. This inhumane practice is happening to countless prescribers and pain patients across the country. We are being discounted and overlooked for no justifiable reason and through no fault of our own. Why are we being continuously ignored and left out of the conversation?
My Questions:
Does anyone at the State or Federal Level realize the amount of damage and needless suffering these draconian, inhumane policies are causing and forcing upon millions of chronically ill Americans?
Where’s your OUTRAGE & FERVOR over protecting our rights?
Why is no one standing up and mobilizing, protesting, shouting, chanting, or speaking out about the atrocities being inflicted upon those of us in the pain community who are suffering in silence?
Pain does not discriminate. It affects people from ALL walks of life and can strike any one at any time. I wouldn’t wish this agony and torture on my worst enemy.
So, why is it that not ONE single elected official is willing to CHAMPION our cause and fight for the lives of cancer patients, chronic intractable pain patients, disabled veterans & wounded warriors, post surgical, trauma & accident patients, or palliative care & hospice patients?
Our government does NOT belong in our Doctors office and shouldn’t meddle with our health care decisions or treatment period.
Let’s make one thing clear…pain patients and prescribers are NOT the problem!
The overdose crisis is being fueled by ILLEGAL drugs including heroin laced with deadly (IMF) illicitly manufactured Fentanyl, Carfentanil (aka elephant tranquilizer), its analogs, and black market counterfeit look alike pills — NOT by legitimate doctors or pain patients diverting our opiate pain medication.
We have no CHOICE, unlike so many others who CHOOSE to abuse whatever substance is available to them. If we want pain relief, we must follow a maze of invasive procedures and excessive rules every month and jump through voluminous hoops just to obtain our legally prescribed pain medications in order to have a somewhat normal, bearable quality of life.
We take our pain medications responsibly as prescribed & directed without issue. However, there is no proverbial box that each and every one of us fit into, and our doctors should not be limited to prescribe a maximum, arbitrary dosage because every patient has various illnesses and different, complex needs.
Yet, after going through this seemingly endless merry go round each month, our choices are narrowing and our rights dwindling with every new regulation, restriction, and arbitrary attack on our doctors’ ability to prescribe our life saving, necessary pain medication.
Please leave our doctors alone and allow them to prescribe opioid pain medications for chronically ill patients as they see fit. Anything beyond that is a blatant infringement on the sacred doctor patient relationship.
Government/Law Enforcement Agencies should pursue ILLEGAL drug dealers, traffickers, producers, suppliers, and cartels. They should not be wrongfully and deceitfully targeting, surveilling, sanctioning & prosecuting physicians and prescribers for doing their job which they’ve been thoroughly trained and schooled to do.
If this cruel and INHUMANE behavior is allowed to continue, it will go down in history as the darkest, most flagrant violation of the rights of MILLIONS of Americans who are among the weakest, most vulnerable segment of our society!
We are terrified, our lives have been turned upside down because our government is instilling this unjustified fear in legitimate doctors and pain patients like myself. We are already suffering from unimaginable pain, and now we’re being looked down upon by society and instantaneously judged by our families and friends because of preconceived notions about weakness, inability to “fight through” the pain, and of course, subjected to the irresponsible myth and stigma being perpetuated by the mainstream media who refuse to acknowledge the difference between “addiction” vs. “dependence” on opiate pain medication to have a decent quality of life.
How much longer do we have to suffer the consequences and prove ourselves to the entire chain of command until we are taken seriously and afforded the same rights and respect given to the miniscule faction of our population who suffer from addiction? Are our lives not just as important and deserving?
Why should we be punished because of people who make a CHOICE to abuse legal and illicit/illegal substances for non medical purposes?
We have no CHOICE in the matter.
We were never given a CHOICE to begin with.
We comply with the OUTLANDISH rules & regulations created by government entities in order to receive our pain medication.
However, we are growing weary because of the exhaustive and inhumane conditions we are forced to suffer through just to survive another hour, another day, another week, another month….
How many more innocent lives need be lost until our government decides that enough is enough?
We are being thrown to the wolves and feel expendable and worthless leaving many to make drastic choices out of desperation to escape the debilitating pain.
I’ll admit that the thought of suicide has crossed my mind like thousands of others, and I’m terrified that I too will become a statistic of collateral damage. But our fight here is too important, so I continue to push myself each and every day to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. However, I’m not sure how much longer I can stay in this fight. My body is getting weaker and is beginning to shut down.
We need a true HERO to sponsor and introduce a Pain Patients & Physicians Protection Policy and Bill of Rights. Will you be that HERO?
Or will you continue to sit on your hands, bow your head, and follow the herd by choosing to ignore the plight of millions of law abiding American citizens and beloved veterans?
Our time is running out….But YOU can be responsible for saving MILLIONS of innocent lives during this terrifying time of uncertainty. I respectfully request a meeting with you to discuss this matter further and offer some common sense solutions to this dreadful, yet preventable situation.
Will you please help us?
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Patti
Pain Warrior & Patient Advocate
War on Pain Patients: https://www.facebook.com/waronpainpatients/
Filed under: General Problems
Bravo! Although my reps have yet to respond (other than a canned copy/paste response), I’ll be sending this to them. (Sue, 100% agree with you. They’re a godsend to us!)
Very well written and from the heart. You’ve said how I feel better than I could have said it. But I’ve become very pessimistic about the idea that anyone in congress will rise to the occasion and be able to effect significant change. I don’t know anyone more dedicated and hardworking than RED LAWHERN and all the testifying in the world doesn’t seem to have any effect. I understand the doctors are afraid but none of this could have gotten so out of hand if the doctors had taken a stand early on. Only now some are beginning to speak out but it’s too little too late.
P.S. Just for the record, RED LAWHERN, STEVE ARIENS and Dr. THOMAS KLINE are MY HEROES and I’m so grateful that they’re doing what I’m physically unable to do and for saying what I’m not articulate enough to say. We need more heroes like them, especially in the medical profession.