“The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick and the needy, and the handicapped.” – Hubert Humphrey
passionate pachyderms
Pharmacist Steve steve@steveariens.com 502.938.2414
There are “advocates” in the chronic pain community that are working so hard to make you believe t(hat the CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain have nothing to do with the National Pain Strategy because they are working with Stanford to help implement the National Pain Strategy. Here is Dr. David Tauben (a member of PROP who is also at University of Washington) and you can hear the words from his own mouth telling those who are at this meeting that the NPS needed the guidelines. Those detractors who have worked so hard to destroy my reputation, call me a liar, say that I am wrong….you can’t deny video/audio. Here it is. The National Pain Strategy is a huge part of the reason that the chronic pain community of patients have lost access to opioid pain medication for their painful illnesses. It was not the CDC Guidelines. As I have said, “the CDC Guidelines is what happened to us”. Now, for all the supposed “advocates” who have worked so hard to hide this fact…they need to be held accountable and asked why. Why are they lying? Why are they hiding this truth from you? Fact of the matter is, they are not advocates for us, they are here to help implement the strategy, the very reason you lost access to your care. They are advocates for the people who have done this to you.
This could be interesting, it is not clear if a FENCE has been put up around the capital or there is just talks of doing it. – Apparently Congress believes that fences can be important… of course, the White House already has a fence around it. It will be interesting if Biden, Nancy & Chuckie use Canada’s PM Trudeau”s actions over the Truckers’ 3 week protest over mandatory vaccination – confiscating their trucks, confiscating their bank accounts and filing criminal charges against most/all involved. Even sending cops around to “talk to” anyone in the country who had contributed money to help the truckers. Apparently there are 10 Providences in Canada and FOUR have rescinded the vaccine mandates https://www.westernjournal.com/truckers-win-trudeau-loses-4-canadian-provinces-roll-back-covid-mandates-freedom-convoy/ What has yet to be seen, is this administration going to use Trudeau’s actions as a template as to how we respond to a similar protest?
The chronic pain community needs to pay attention, of all the protests over the last couple of years, as I remember, the largest showing was some 80 odd people… Did any of those protests produce any positive change?
BREAKING: 38,000+ TRUCKERS HEADING TO DC FOR BIDEN’S SOTU ADDRESS
A massive Freedom Convoy of truckers is heading from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital in time for President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, Breitbart reports.
Kyle Sefcik, the organizer of the Freedom Convoy USA 2022, said they want to send a message to the president.
“We want to be there for that and tell the president we’re here,” Sefcik told WUSA.
“This doesn’t even need to happen,” he added. “If the president said, ‘Mandates are over and the state of emergency is over. Let’s get back to the world and let’s do our thing,’ then we’re not even coming.”
So far, around 38,000 people have signed up fro the convoy.
And, despite authorities in Washington, D.C. putting a fence up around the Capitol, the organizer said they aren’t planning to go there.
“The United States Capitol Police and the United States Secret Service have been closely working together to plan for the upcoming State of the Union,” the Capitol Police said in a statement. “The temporary inner-perimeter fence is part of those ongoing discussions and remains an option, however at this time no decision has been made.”
Instead, he said trucks and motorcycles will head to the White House near the National Mall while Christian bands and pastors speak near the Washington Monument.
“We have to get the attention in the most peaceful way and this is our way of doing it,” Sefcik explained. “Do we want to stop businesses from being able to be open and people being able to get to work and school? No. We don’t want to cause this at all which is why we’re telling the president ahead of time to end this now. We don’t even have to come.”
Bob Bolus, a trucking company owner in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is also organizing a convoy headed to D.C.
“We will be along the Beltway where the Beltway will be shut down,” Bob Bolus told Fox 5 DC. “I’ll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor. That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that’s what we’re going to do to D.C.”
He added, “There will be a lane open for emergency vehicles, they’ll be able to get in and out and all that. We will not compromise anybody’s safety or health, one way or the other. As far as if they can’t get to work, geez that’s too bad.”
Note: This person works for one of the major chains.
Would you please post this anonymously? Thank you!
Some pharmacists from my company have been told to run the free Covid tests for separate rxs – example, if you are giving the patient 4 tests, you run 4 rxs for 1 test each instead of 1 rx for 4 tests.
Wouldn’t that be fraud? If there is a dispensing fee per rx, we would get 4 dispensing fees.
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier told “America Reports” Tuesday a full investigation is needed into allegations the CDC withheld large portions of critical COVID-19 data from the public.
NICOLE SAPHIER: If you look across the globe, there is a reason why it is not so black and white in other countries because they’re looking at the big picture, especially when it comes to natural immunity — the true risk of COVID-19 in children, as well as boosters for young, healthy adults and children. Unfortunately, the CDC has done a disservice, in my opinion, to the American people. I think a full investigation should be launched into this, and at this point, we need to make sure that there is full transparency so that the private sector can accurately and adequately analyze the data, because the CDC is not a leader when it comes to public health.
As more and more evidence comes to light that the CDC is the keeper of TRUTHS and the spreader of LIES … Last night I made this postCDC: SOP of misrepresenting the facts that they publish/release Notice that the FDA is pushing the two mRNA versions of the COVID-19 vaccine, J&J has stopped the production of their vaccine, but has millions of doses sitting on their shelves and could start production back up. I find it curious as to why “they” are pushing the two mRNA versions of the vaccines… the mRNA process that is so NEW and so UNTESTED that if that had been the only option, I would have passed on getting a COVID-19 vaccination. At least the J&J vaccine was produced using the same process that we have used for decades for making our flu vaccines. The USA population has been involved in the LARGEST CLINICAL TRIAL with little/no control group and reportedly many/most/all of the serious adverse reactions – some of them lethal – have been not disclosed and/or buried.
Don’t forget all those who have claimed that those CLOTH MASKS do not work – like using a chain link fence to keep mosquitoes out… and yet many state/federal politician/bureaucrats mandate that masks be worn, even those over TWO YEARS OLD. If you notice, many states are now dropping mandatory masks because the mid-term primary will be starting next month. There will be more of our LIBERTIES that they will start GIVING BACK in the near term.
(Reuters) -U.S. health regulators are looking at authorizing a potential fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Food and Drug Administration has been reviewing data to authorize a second booster dose of the messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE and vaccines from Moderna Inc, the report added.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The agency last month cut the interval to get a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech as well as from Moderna, in a bid to provide better protection sooner against the Omicron variant.
The planning is still in early stages, and authorization would depend on determinations as to whether the second booster should be authorized for all adults or particular age groups, and whether it should target the Omicron variant or be formulated differently, the report said.
It added that no decision was final and that it could be necessary to make booster shots available earlier if a new variant appears.
The United States reported 2,323 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, bringing the total count to 936,523.
The New York Times made an eye-popping admission on Sunday regarding data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Covid-19 vaccines.
In an article titled, “The C.D.C. Isn’t Publishing Large Portions of the Covid Data It Collects,” reporter Apoorva Mandavilli writes: “For more than a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data on hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States and broken it down by age, race and vaccination status. But it has not made most of the information public.”
Mandavilli, who covers science and global health for the Times, reported that the agency has published “only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected” since the pandemic began, including data on booster efficacy for 18 – 49 year-olds, a tremendous chunk of the U.S. population.
Reasons listed include bureaucracy, sample size, and not being “ready for prime time,” but one that’s definitely set to raise lots of eyebrows is the claim that the data could be “misinterpreted” by Covid vaccine skeptics.
Last year, the agency repeatedly came under fire for not tracking so-called breakthrough infections in vaccinated Americans, and focusing only on individuals who became ill enough to be hospitalized or die. The agency presented that information as risk comparisons with unvaccinated adults, rather than provide timely snapshots of hospitalized patients stratified by age, sex, race and vaccination status.
But the C.D.C. has been routinely collecting information since the Covid vaccines were first rolled out last year, according to a federal official familiar with the effort. The agency has been reluctant to make those figures public, the official said, because they might be misinterpreted as the vaccines being ineffective.
Instead, health experts have been forced to rely on data from Israel and elsewhere to make decisions, the Times reported.
Once again, the CDC has been caught not telling/sharing all the facts that they are required to collect and make some seen as all of that raw data. We have seen it with various drug OD and mislead that often suggests that ALL DRUG OD’s have involved opiates and suggest that they are pharma Rx opiates… This article seems that the data regarding the impact on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines … apparently reporting most of the “good” and little of the “bad” Does this suggest that CDC has a propensity to misstate the truth… it is ONCE A LIAR…. ALWAYS A LIAR.
All the alphabetic federal entities that are coming after the chronic pain community… Backin the mid-80s – thru mid90’s our community pharmacy did a fair number of opiate IV on end stage cancer pts at home. What is now known as MME’s were around, but I don’t remember them being referred to a MME, but everyone knew that they were not workable – black & white conversions. Back then, there was no computer to calculate them for you…
‘back in the day” the rule of thumb rotating a pt from one opiate to another… was take the mgs using the opiate conversion answer and CUT IT IN HALF and then titrate the pts meds up or down to optimize their pain management..
The entire CDC guidelines and just about anything dealing with pain management is built on the FOUNDATION OF MME’s.
To the best of my knowledge, the MME’s were determined by naive people with mechanically induced pain (heat or cold) and given a SINGLE DOSE of a particular opiate. This was before our DNA had been mapped and years before the liver CYP-450 was even “discovered” and no one could even believe to create a accurate MME’s without knowing the pt’s CYP-450 liver enzyme metabolism rate and those didn’t come around until the late 90’s or early 2000’s.
Published equianalgesic ratios are considered crude estimates at best and therefore it is imperative that careful consideration is given to individualizing the dose of the selected opioid. Dosage titration of the new opioid should be completed slowly and with frequent monitoring.
Conversion ratios in many equianalgesic dosing tables do not apply to repeated doses of opioids.
The amount of residual drug in the patient’s system must be accounted for. Example: fentanyl will continue to be released from the skin 12 to 36 hours after removal of the patch. Residual effects from discontinued long-acting formulations should also be assessed before converting a patient to a new opioid.
Review the concept of incomplete cross-tolerance: D. McAuley: “Incomplete cross-tolerance relates to tolerance to a currently administered opiate that does not extend completely to other opioids. This will tend to lower the required dose of the second opioid. This incomplete cross-tolerance exists between all of the opioids and the estimated difference between any two opiates could vary widely. This points out the inherent dangers of using an equianalgesic table and the importance of viewing the tabulated data as approximations. Many experts recommend – depending on age and prior side effects – reducing the dose of the new opiate by 33 to 50 percent to account for this incomplete cross-tolerance. (Example: a patient is receiving 200mg of oral morphine daily (chronic dosing), however, because of side effects a switch is made to oral hydromorphone 25 – 35mg daily – (this represents a 33 to 50 percent reduction in dose compared to the calculated 50mg conversion dose produced via the equianalgesic calculator). This new regimen can then be re-titrated to patient response. In all cases, repeated comprehensive assessments of pain are necessary in order to successfully control the pain while minimizing side-effects.”
5. The use of high but ineffective doses of a previous opioid may result in overestimation of the converted opioid.
6. Ideally, methadone conversions (especially patients who were previously receiving high doses of an opioid) should only be attempted in cooperation with a pain specialist or a specialist in palliative medicine.
The authors make no claims of the accuracy of the information contained herein; and these suggested doses and/or guidelines are not a substitute for clinical judgment. Neither GlobalRPh Inc. nor any other party involved in the preparation of this document shall be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting in whole or part from any user’s use of or reliance upon this material. PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING THIS SITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THIS SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE DISCLAIMER.
I have tried to find some information about the person(s) or studies behind the MME’s concept, but have come up empty handed. What would happen if the community could raise some money and challenge the CDC in court to produce the documentation of the studies behind the MME conversion ratios? Might be able to get it with a simple FOIA ( Freedom of Information Act) request.
What would happen if the CDC could not produce a quality study to support the conversion ratios in all of opiates that they have used in the 2016 guidelines and the proposed 2022 guidelines. Could the validity of those very guidelines be put in jeopardy. Could the CDC be forced to rescind those guidelines.. Could that also mean that any other rules/regulations/policies and procedures would have to be made null & void.. until someone did a good quality study to develop workable MME conversions.
Could all those docs who have been put in prison for prescribing above a certain MME that the DEA considers above a certain limit and considers being without valid medical necessity be appealed and most likely overturned and they could be set free?
I am only posting this here on my blog, feel free to share…. just don’t try to share a hyperlink to anywhere on FAKE BOOK… they have labeled my blog as a SPAMMER.
Hi Pharmacist Steve, We have reviewed your appeal for the following content: Video: Prescriber induced SUICIDE We reviewed your content carefully, and have confirmed that it violates our Community Guidelines. We know this is probably disappointing news, but it’s our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all. How this affects your channel We won’t be putting your content back up on YouTube. Our goal is to help you succeed on YouTube. Please take a look at our Community Guidelines, and keep them in mind when posting content in the future. Sincerely, The YouTube Team
It took them 5 weeks to find my video… and only took them TWELVE HOURS to come to their FINAL REVIEW/OPINION.
I am getting tired of all these dip-shits on these website and within many of the groups… I just discovered a group that I am one of the ADMINISTRATORS on where TWO OF THE MEMBERS ON THE PAGE – BLOCKED ME… that is against the page’s rules. They are no longer members of that group.
I feel sorry for those in the chronic pain community… the entire community – IMO – is pretty much circling the drain.
It would seem that I am becoming part of a group of very highly visible people… being banned from FAKE BOOK, now having a YOU TUBE video banned… being banned from Twitter can’t be far behind, President Donald Trump’s new social website is suppose to start up tomorrow (02/21/2022)https://www.truthsocial.com/ I am perplexed and sadden that both the chronic pain community and our entire society as a whole, has divided into so many “tribes”, and even within the tribes there is sniping and back stabbing. Even within the chronic pain community certain tribes appears to be willing to do anything necessary, if they perceive that another tribe is on a “higher hill” or under a “brighter spotlight”.
I am going to keep posting on my blog for the time being, other venues not so much or any at all. OR am I just wasting my time, trying to assist the chronic pain community ?
About 5 weeks ago I posted this video , and I even included links to the two financial settlements in the post… I also shared this post on you tube. In watching the video I created, I stated that I did not support or encourage suicide and I did make reference to the two settlements back to my blog. I filed a response to their removing my video – at least – unlike FAKE BOOK … there was actually a place to type in up to 800 words. I doubt that I will get a response, nor the video restored..
I also went to http://www.google.comand did a search on the word SUICIDE and got 20+ pages with 10 entries on each page… I don’t normally use google for a search engine, I usehttp://www.duckduckgo.com because they are suppose to keep your searches private. This is just a little more from those “little boys” in/around Silicon Valley… that all too many of us have given them this power to decide what we can see and what we can’t see and what/how we are suppose to think.
Two days ago I got this email from YOU TUBE:
Hi Pharmacist Steve, We have reviewed your content and determined that it may not be suitable for viewers under the age of 18, per our Community Guidelines. As a result, we’ve age-restricted the following content: Video: Prescriber induced SUICIDE We haven’t applied a strike to your channel, and your content is still live for some users on YouTube. Keep reading for more details on what this means and steps you can take if you’d like to appeal this decision.
Today I got this email from YOU TUBE
Hi Pharmacist Steve,
We wanted to let you know our team reviewed your content, and we think it violates our Community Guidelines. We know you may not have realized this was a violation of our policies, so we’re not applying a strike to your channel. However, we have removed the following content from YouTube: Video: Prescriber induced SUICIDE We realize this may be disappointing news, but it’s our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all. If you think we’ve made a mistake, you can appeal this decision – you’ll find more details below. What our policy says YouTube does not allow content that contains mature or violent themes where there is a clear intent to target younger minors and families. Family content must not contain adult and age-inappropriate themes such as violence, sex, death, drugs etc
So I did a search on YOU TUBE for just the word SUICIDE, and countless number of videos came up – if you don’t believe me – go check for yourself – here is two in particular that I found Interesting. A “machine” that someone can use to commit suicide and then the enclosure can be used as a COFFIN !
https://youtu.be/vGAYsZPRJhc
I guess that producing a video that involves someone in the medical profession and the pt committing suicide if UNACCEPTABLE to YOU TUBE… but selling equipment for sale that will help a pt commit suicide …. it JUST FINE WITH THEM…. as a side issue… YOU TUBE is OWNED by GOOGLE
FDA Executive Officer Exposes Close Ties Between Agency and Pharmaceutical Companies: ‘Almost a Billion Dollars a Year Going into FDA’s Budget from the People we Regulate’ • FDA Executive Officer Chris Cole: “The drug companies, the food companies, the vaccine companies. So, they pay us hundreds of millions of dollars a year to hire and keep the reviewers to approve their products.” • Cole on FDA fees: “Congress approved user fees for [the] FDA. Basically, we charge the industry millions of dollars in order to hire more drug reviewers and vaccine reviewers which will speed up the approval process. So, they [pharmaceutical companies] make more money.” • Cole: “They [FDA] tone down the impact of the user fees on their operations because they know they’re dependent on the drug companies, and the vaccine companies, and these other companies for their agency to operate.” • Cole on blowing the whistle: “There’s not an incentive to speak out in government, surprisingly. You would think there would be, but there’s not. It’s better just to just not say anything and just ignore it.” • Cole on retaliation in government: “You’ll be marked from getting other jobs because another office is not going to want to hire you if you’ve spoken out about something, right or wrong. They don’t look at what you’ve spoken out about. They’re just not willing to- government’s about rocking the boat and they don’t want to- which is the problem I have with- one of the problems I have with government is, like, they don’t like people rocking the boat, for right or wrong, at all costs. They want to hire a safe person that can do the job but doesn’t necessarily- is a great hire.” [WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 16, 2022] Project Veritas published Part Two of its series on the FDA on Wednesday night which featured FDA Executive Officer, Christopher Cole, speaking about the inner workings of the agency including the FDA’s conflicts of interest, overspending, and why it’s hard for those within the agency to speak out on such abuses. In the footage, Cole talks about the impact that pharmaceutical companies have on the agency including the process for approving drugs. “A long time ago, Congress approved user fees for [the] FDA. Basically, we charge the industry millions of dollars in order to hire more drug reviewers and vaccine reviewers, which will speed up the approval process, so they make more money,” Cole says in the hidden camera footage. He then reveals that the FDA tones down the impact that these user fees have on the agency’s operations because, “they’re dependent on the drug companies, and the vaccine companies and these other companies for their agency to operate.” The incendiary footage, which features Cole talking about how the additional money the FDA brings in “gets banked” to be spent on “whatever you can, whether it’s right or wrong,’’ also features Cole discussing reasons why it’s difficult for anyone in government to speak out about practices he sees as “probably excessive.” “I don’t think there’s enough people saying — they’re, like, ‘Look, that’s fine, but that’s not right. So, we’re not going to charge that.’ You don’t want to be that person. You’re not going to have a long shelf life in the agency if you’re always that person,” Cole said. “There’s not an incentive to speak out in government, surprisingly. You would think there would be, but there’s not. It’s better just to just not say anything and just ignore it. The whistleblower, well, it’s high-profile whistleblower statutes and everything, that’s kind of ridiculous,” Cole said before adding “it’s better to just stay quiet and accept.” Cole’s LinkedIn page lists him as an Executive Officer within the agency’s Countermeasures Initiatives, which plays a critical role in ensuring that drugs, vaccines, and other measures to counter infectious diseases and viruses are safe. He made these revelations on a hidden camera to an undercover Project Veritas reporter. A spokesperson for FDA issued a statement yesterday saying, “The person purportedly in the video does not work on vaccine matters and does not represent the views of the FDA.” This statement appears to contradict a phone call released Wednesday afternoon by Project Veritas wherein Cole reiterated, during the conversation with Project Veritas Founder and CEO, James O’Keefe, that he is “a manager in the office that helps oversee the approval of the COVID vaccines for emergency approval.”
