Opioid crisis could keep chronic pain sufferers from getting medicine
http://www.kmov.com/story/36620554/opioids-chronic-pain
KMOV.com –
A 60 Minutes investigation may have brought to light an unintended consequence of the growing concern over the opioid epidemic. The CBS news magazine’s story concluded Congress passed legislation that crippled the DEA’s ability to fight opioid abuse.
Chronic pain sufferer Carolyn Bailey told News 4 that doctors have become reluctant to prescribe opioid painkillers recently because of concern over overdose deaths.
“This pain could not be more real and my doctors know it but they’re so terrified because it’s such a big deal in the news and the government’s all involved,” said Bailey.
Bailey said she suffers from nerve damage caused by diabetes and without an opioid painkiller she lives in constant, crippling pain. But recently her primary care physician and pain management doctor informed her that they’d no longer be prescribing oral medications and she would only get spinal injections for pain. Bailey said the injections don’t work.
Dr. Alexander Garza, medical director for SSM Health acknowledged the natural reaction of physicians to the opioid crisis is to write fewer prescriptions for painkillers. But he said doctors have to be careful not to overreact.
“Somewhere in there has got to be the happy medium where people with legitimate chronic long-term pain do have access to things that help out their pain,” said Dr. Garza.
Bailey said without opioid painkillers she and others suffer unnecessarily.
“There are so many people in so much pain for so many reasons and if there’s medicine available why not let them have it,” said Bailey.
News 4 reached out to Bailey’s primary care doctor to ask him about the pressure on physicians to write fewer prescriptions for painkillers, but he didn’t get back to us.
Filed under: General Problems
I hope you that voted for the GOP scum bringing all this good news are proud of yourselves. We have just touched the tip of the iceberg with 3 more years of Fascism! And maybe a country will still exist that can elect a new leader.?
They don’t have a clue about the majority of people who have to use them. We didn’t ask for this nor the drugs being held up in the big Pharma pipeline which could change this nor chicken states that won’t approve Medical marijuana. Scare tactics, massaged information and big money lobbying. Shame on them! Threatening innocent competent doctors. SICK society we’ve created.
The DEA/DOJ/CDC Coplex has put the big chill on Healthcare Providers instead of doing their job and closing down on the influx of killing illicit drugs from across our borders. Not to let a crisis go to waste, they’re all willing to allow 25,000,000 to die so they can justify their jobs. Trump needs to abolish the DEA and have DOJ go after the real criminals, Obama, Holder, Lynch, Comey and Clinton.