Big Pharma's Lockdown On Legitimate Chronic Pain Patients (Page 74)
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Is narcotic pain medicine becoming a thing of the past?

Why are doctors across America phasing out the practice of prescribing effective pain medication?

Will big pharmaceutical companies ever truly understand what it's like to face the other side of the coin?

Lately there's been a musty scent in the air surrounding the use of prescribed narcotic pain medication. Many doctors appear to be running scared as the DEA scours through fields of medical records, inspecting prescribing pads like a mouse scavenges for food in a dimly lit cellar.

Should the day come when doctors recommend Ibuprofen to a feeble man who's been involved in a terrible car accident (breaking several bones / requiring extensive surgery), is this doctor at risk of malpractice when there are more effective options available that they choose not to pick, out of fear? Fear of what? Doing the right thing? No, I don't think this is the reason... Somewhere along the line, in the not too distant past, doctors were loosely prescribing narcotic pain medication as if it would never go out of style. Nowadays, the harsh penalty of potentially losing their license for writing any unknown number of opiate prescriptions over so many calendar days or some other form of strict criteria, has been enough to prevent many physicians from taking even subtle "risks" with patients who are expressing obvious signs of pain and discomfort.

The unfortunately unique problem with pain is that it's not a physical object and in order for others to detect it, they'd have to rely solely on the backbone of our body language using their intuition - something that's gone missing in western practice. If more doctors took the time and really got to know their patients front to back, then they will be their own best judge of deciding what the right thing to do is, regardless of what the DEA thinks about their decision or what their drug representative wants out of the deal. Sadly, until patients are put before profits, the foundation of America's healthcare system remains in jeopardy like an iceberg affected by global warming.

While I believe that the vast majority of human beings in their right mind would choose to do the right thing, we must all work together to become the change we wish to see within every aspect of our lives; and knowing that by doing so, it will shine light on those crossing our path that need it most.

In the meantime, some patients may have to find another way to manage their pain without putting their life or health at risk. Others are turning to natural alternatives such as kratom, cannabis, turmeric and/or implementing various lifestyle changes into their daily regime... But the key is to never give up hope.

What will you do?

Warm regards to all who face life's challenges head on.

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Re: Roro (# 86)

It's not that easy to just change your drugstore where I'm from. It takes an act of Congress to just go to another drugstore. They will turn you down and give you that look. Maybe where you live but not me. I've been taking Percocet 10mg generic for 8 months because of a neck injury from a car accident and when I got Rhodes Pharmaceuticals Percocet it was like taking nothing & also toxic. It's not even the strength of an Advil. I want what my doc prescribed me not what the drugstore wants me to take because they are making a bigger profit on Rhodes Medication. I'm not taking them for the euphoria -that's been long gone, I just can't stand the pain. Not everyone is out to feel high. I just take one when the pain returns. And if others are also getting sick too from this medication then what do we do? I pay for the doctor, drugstore etc and I get a toxic medicine that only makes me sick from Rhodes Pharmaceuticals. Pay to vomit with cramps & migraine? I don't think so! I'll keep on Rhodes until they tell me what's in their medication that's making me sick. Plus the FDA said they are going to send their medication to their lab because of all the complaints. So you're lucky if ur getting medication that doesn't make you sick. If your drugstore has Rhodes medicine think twice before you take it.

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Re: Joann from Portland Oregon (# 85)

you are not suposed to feel a euphoria if you do you took to much or the dr cripted the wrong medicine or dosage ..... i have been on pain meds since june of 2000 and before that i suffered and had to change occupations twice due to dehabilatating pain.....i have been on same meds for at least 3 years and have declined increases ....... am i still in pain yes i am but i can walk which according to my docter back in 2003 i shouldnt be able too according to my mri ... maybe if your drug store keeps switching brands on you you may have gotten good ones then the ones that dont work as well ... could been your issue but i do not accept other brands i change stores when they change brands......... so unless over take n meds you should not build up a major resistance to them ...... not taking them everyday does not mean that on otherdays that to many are not taken ..... you are not supposed to get a high (euphoria) that is a sign of taking to many ....... if someone has real dehabilating pain no amount of drugs will eliminate the pain completly ..... thats part of the problem ... the expectation of no pain is not realistic and increasing meds because of expecting no pain will lead to issues with your prescriber ..... and loss of service .... pain meds are too make you be able to function not pain free ...... may good things come your way

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I think the reason that pain meds are so hard to get is because first of all what most doctors and the DEA don't know is that pain meds are not a deterrent to pain. In other words, pain meds are strictly to get rid of current pain. Taking pain meds in order to keep the pain from happening doesn't work. If you take pain meds everyday 2 things will happen. 1. You will build up a tolerance for that med and 2. The euphoria will no longer be there. If in fact, you pay attention to your pain, you will find that the euphoria may not come but the pain will be decreased. If you are truly in pain even though the euphoria is gone, the pain med will work by addressing the pain. What most people think is that the euphoria has to be there for the pain med to work. This is not true. I have been on pain meds for 14 years -- I do not take them everyday. There is no euphoria to these meds for me anymore. I take them about 8 days a month, but the meds do address the pain. Pain meds by themselves will never prevent pain from happening. At least this has been the case for me. If I take the meds everyday then they become less effective. You have to get to the root of your pain -- inflammation, broken bones, in my case pyloric spasm. In my case, thoradol and promethazine help with everyday symptoms.

However with the new ideas about medication even these drugs which are not opioids have become a problem when it comes to getting a prescription. What I see happening is take the meds away and let the patient figure out how to deal with their medical situation by yourself. As we patients have not been trained in medicine and cannot write scripts, dealing with chronic pain is simply impossible. No one understands this better than those of you who visit this site. Doctors need to step up to the plate and figure out what they can prescribe to replace the opioids if that is not an option. And I am not talking about dangerous drugs such as Neurontin. Nerve killers such as these are not investigated to the extent that they should be. A doctor who prescribed this for me told me flat out that this drug kills nerves and when asked how does the drug know which nerve to kill -- he wasn't sure if the drug could identify which nerve was the problem. Needless to say, I quit taking it immediately. We need to form some type of group and approach the DEA and demand answers. I am not sure how to do this but I believe it is one way we might actually be heard. My email is {edited for privacy} if you have any ideas on this.

Editor's note: Per our privacy policy we do not allow individuals to post personal contact information on our discussion threads.

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Re: Joann from Portland Oregon (# 79)

We need a private institute malpractice legal suit against the drs and fda separately. Go for the medical board of each state for not making drs not do no harm..... They either harmed by overprescribing in the first place or when they stopped prescribing without proper weaning to prevent withdrawal, pushing patients to govt advertised illicit drugs.... Those who know what I mean and I am not telling those that dont... Be well.

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Re: Joann from Portland Oregon (# 79)

Joann, that's a very good idea if the ones who haven't been cut off weren't afraid to stand up. I guarantee if we all did that in each clinic and stopped using the pharmacies they would be forced to stop this! I'm thinking there's got to be a good lawyer who can maybe start legal suits for Drs failing to treat patients with pain and diagnosing them with chronic long-term pain. In my opinion, it would seem a Dr couldn't just diagnose you with that and keep you for years then cut you off. You're not cured! There's got to be a law! I've signed everything I've seen. This is our lives and we have a right to protest! Also, the ones who overdosed ...families sued Drs & if they told the truth over half of these people mixed and/or used ILLICIT drugs. I never dreamed we as Americans would be treated so inhumanely! If any of you have any more links you need to share just post it and maybe we can send them to everyone and also keep all social media going!

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Re: Paul (# 81)

Paul google FDA and then click on to the complaint link and fill the form out, it's pretty easy but takes a little time. I'm hoping more ppl see this that are having problems with their generic medicine and fill out these forms too. FDA said if we get enough complaints we have no choice but to start an investigation but being the government that might not be telling the truth but maybe they might get a batch of these toxic generics and get sick like the rest of us so fill those forms out

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Re: Tommy (# 80)

hi Tommy, I have a few of those U17 I refuse to take. If you can give me a link on the forms to fill out, I will donate my pills.

Paul

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Re: Natasha (# 78)

I talked to the FDA today and they said we are getting many complaints on generic medicine. They said be sure a fill the online form out which I said I did, twice. I offered my medication to be run through their lab to see what's in it. They said but what will you take? I said not this toxic medicine. They said we'll be back in contact with to find out what's going on. I refuse to let up

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Re: Paul (# 76)

First of all the DEA does not give a rats a** about the problems of chronic pain. And for that matter, neither do the primary care doctors. The absolute only way to seriously get attention is "hit them (the doctors) where it hurts". And where it hurts is in the pocketbook. If we all just refused to keep our appointments for a few months, that would get their attention. Can you imagine all patients refusing to be treated in a subhuman fashion? Many patients would have to commit to this but it would work. The DEA would see how horrible their decisions have impacted our lives. If there is one thing that all doctors care about -- it is the bottom line.

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Re: Tommy (# 62)

I also filed a complaint with the FDA for Mallinckrodt generic hydrocodone. It is ineffective and subpar. The inert ingredients cause rashes, headaches, lactose intolerance, and acne breakouts. I was switched to them with no prior warning. I'm titrating off this crap, because it is now the only vendor my healthcare provider uses... and I have to use their pharmacy.

Please file a complaint (you can do so online) with the FDA if you were switched to a generic, ineffective med. I swear the manufacturers like Mallinckrodt are putting something BAD into these generics that makes you o sick that you want to get off them. The side effects are really bad.

The generic hydrocodone that I'm currently titrating off of takes about 2 hours to start working at all, the little bit of pain relief lasts about 45 mins, and then you're thrown into w/d because you are only dosing every six hours. It's not right, something is definitely UP and ongoing, and I believe what is really going on with these extremely subpar generics WILL eventually come out in the open. It's got to. But we need to file complaints and get this on record. It can't just be a discussion on a website. We have to make formal complaints to the right agencies and officials who can actually DO something.

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Stay away from K**s** if you can. They are on the program to get all but cancer and post-surgical patients off all opioids. First they'll switch you to their new (and only) vendor Mallink***** which produces subpar and ineffective meds...they will do this without telling you, you'll just be surprised when you pick up your prescription. Then you'll have so many gross side effects, and so much new pain, that you'll decide to titrate off the dang stuff alltogether. Yes they won with me. They beat me down.

So sick of the bureaucracy surrounding scheduled medication, so sick of being treated like a drug addict. It is soul murder. And there's always a problem. They don't want any chronic pain patients on ANY opioid pain medication...even if it helps them actually have some measure of a life. That's not practicing good medicine, as far as I'm concerned. If I could switch insurance I would.

My docs are generally very good...but their boss, K**s** is on a power trip...so they can put their results, their percentages, and 'quotas met' in press releases and journal articles. Numbers matter, but actual patients do not. But I hope they're ready...hope the country's entire medical community is ready...for a suicide uptick. There will be a backlash to this, as people are faced with having to constantly deal with 100% of their pain 24x7. Not only is it inhumane, it goes against the patients' Bill of Rights. Yeah so, when did that get thrown out the window?

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Re: Joann from Portland Oregon (# 74)

I wish medschat would take all of these posts and send them to the DEA and/or any federal agency and maybe, just maybe, we might be heard. Hopefully someone there is doing their job and is a real person. I think that some cops would listen. But I think they would have to be high in rank to help....Is there any cop pro opiate?

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Re: Joann from Portland Oregon (# 74)

Torture is what restricting available medicine from those that need it is...... The govt has no problem torturing American citizens in chronic pain, but you soldiers better not torture the terrorist that is murdering and torturing innocent people around the world.

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It is nit just the pain medication that are i jeopardy. It is meds like thoradol and promethazine. What i dont understand and never will is if it os the DEA and not the doctors who are doing this to patients who are suffering from chronic pain then why dont docs just say the DEA is not allowing me to prescribe you this type of help. Why treat the patient as if he/she is some type of leopard who is asking for the world? I think that if we all came together and put this DEA in the same type of pain that we go through -- yes i am talking torture. Maybe all of a sudden pain meds would no longer a problem.
A little radical but when the quality of life has been compromised as mine has -- radical doesn't seem to be unnecessary.

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Re: Red (# 72)

You make the choice on what you get (mostly). The drug store's purchasing agent decides what the drug store will have in stock... But you can ask your drug store to order from specific manufacturers - some will, others may not..... But you can call and find out what each store carries till you find the product that works for you (not all products are created equal - bioequivalent is far from equal) and if you have a contract with the dr you should let them know if you change drug stores and that your previous drug store changed brands and that the brand they now carry does not work with your body chemistry.... (how you word things can make a big difference in how it is accepted or not).... Before you drop off your script ask who manufactures what you are picking up... Do not give them your script if you do not want that brand.... And confirm the manufacturer before you pay or sign for your meds.... I have had at least 3 drug stores change brands from the time I dropped off my script and went back to pick them up the next day.... Needless to say, they were not happy when I refused delivery and return of my scripts, but they did so after I reminded them that these are not the brand you advertised to me that they carried.... (for those that don't know there is a manufacturer name or code just after the strength of the medication). So when you find a med that works for you make a note of the manufacturer listed on that bottle and confirm future scripts will be that brand.... Be well and try to make your body alkaline rather than acidic as this will (supposedly) help fight all ailments.

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Re: Ktb (# 70)

As a matter of fact I did just that!! I also take Plavix & it has changed color,size & shape 3 time....it makes me wonder who make the choice as too what we get,is it real or what? It is all scary. Everyone pleas pay attention & ask questions!!

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Re: Tommy (# 66)

Hi Tommy, hope you get to feeling better. Let me know how it goes with the call if you do it. .
Thanks,
P.

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Re: Red (# 53)

Oh gosh ! It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to take a picture of your scripts and keep for your records . it seems we have to keep records of everything to protect ourselves .

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Re: Tommy (# 68)

Actually Tommy, you typed in FFA If i recall right...But I type in FAA then that might be a real problem thinking we are all Flying High.with the Federal Aviation Admin. lol.

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I meant to type FDA not FAA. I put FDA on the text to Trump

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