Very concerned about attack on pain medicines. Is there any group trying to protect those that would

I would like to know if their is any group in government fighting for the rights of people that could not live with their chronic pain if pain meds with opiates are removed.

I really don't believe cutting out life saving pain medication from chronic patients will keep drugs out of the hands of those determined to use them. Control from drs. and pharmacists are the way. A dr should decide what a patient needs. And patients should lock their medicines away. Don't tell anyone you take them.

I just wish there was some public advocacy for those that need them to keep on functioning. We only hear how everyone that needs them is an addict.

From what I have read and heard you have very serious detox problems from many medicines used for nerve pain, or mental illness. You can't just get off of them without a long period of time and some have been found to leave permanent damage behind, yet no one warns you until it's your turn to find out. In this instance so many medications for pain are more dangerous to us.. And having tried them , make it hard to wake up and function .

Post Edited (Sanibel) : 8/9/2017 5:17:13 AM (GMT-6)

I don't believe there are any groups within the government, if that was your question. There are some privately funded advocacy groups, but even those are few & far between. Not only has the CDC put out its recommended guidelines for PCP's to stop prescribing opioids to non-cancer/hospice patients, but the CMS (Medicare) also began putting pressure on all doctors to start pulling existing non-cancer patients off opioids beginning in January 2017 over a period of 7 months. Those that are on opioids are supposed to be on a dose that is no more than 90mg morphine equivalent per day. Any doctor in violation of this policy for his/her Medicare patients is supposed to be reported to the CMS. And we all know that whatever Medicare starts -- if it saves money by denying care -- the private insurers are likely to soon follow.

I suppose at some point the government will remember that American productivity tends to increase when access to pain medication is less difficult ... but this all seems to run in cycles and history is quickly forgotten by those in power. Yes, there is a very real addiction problem in our country & it needs to be addressed, but taking away the one thing that allows many Americans to get up and go to work each day is not going to solve anything. Addicts have a long history of finding creative ways to fuel their addiction and, I agree, that even if we outlawed every opioid in the country, they would just turn to other legal, addictive substances or else would resort to illegal substances. As it is, a fair amount of what's causing overdoses seems to be from versions of prescription drugs that were created in some dude's basement or garage. It would seem a good start to me if the FDA would at least start separating out the number of OD's from actual prescription medications vs. the number from homemade versions of those drugs, instead of lumping those 2 categories together. That has been proposed for at least the last couple years, but so far the FDA has resisted. Every so often, they ask for public feedback. That is one place you can make your voice heard.