FDA Makes Label Changes for Opiod (ER/LA) Meds

Just saw this post in a FB group I'm in.... thought I would share here.

americannewsreport.com/nationalpainreport/fda-makes-labeling-changes-opioid-painkillers-8821614.html

Good thing.... bad thing.... thoughts?

--Tina

Thanks Tina for the post and the links, I have read both of them completely, I am not sure what to think??? I will admit I am a bit skeptical that this will actually help anything, but time will tell! I tend to think it will just muddy the water so to speak even more and make it more difficult for doctors to prescribe  ER opioid type pain medications to the chronic pain patient. I do hope I am wrong, but the way things are going now, it is getting more and more difficult for chronic pain suffers to be treated with pain medications. The comments made in the link about it, I feel are valid concerns! As I said time will tell!

Thanks for posting it Tina!

White Beard

Well Tina I dont know about this! My first thought back last year when PROP started the petition was how they could determine 90 days and under be long term treatment, since thank goodness the FDA had enough sense to reject that part of the petition I've not give the rest a lot of thought.

Now I will have to. Do I believe this isn't going to effect some CPers, no and especially see it doing more so for those who wont do regular injections, aren't in therapy anylonger, use b/t meds on a regular basis.

Some Drs are simply going to freak no matter what and others are not going to want to deal with the added charting and record keeping that this is going to generate and rightfully aren't going to want watchful eyes upon them. Especially after their Newfound ally in the AMA against the drug companies and pharmacys.

It could be very bad.

Consider Tramadol ER for example, by this legislation, there is no place for it -- if you have chronic moderate pain, no ER? What of the lowest doses of other meds? 10mg of oxycontin? Isn't that for moderate chronic pain? This could be extremely bad.

Now, what is one person's "moderate" is another person's "mild" is another person's "severe". I rank my daily pain around a 3-4, but every freaken day -- along with spikes to 6-8 a few times per day.

Hence, my chronic pain is "moderate" and so by this ruling, I am not allowed ER meds.

Eventually, when I can slow down from my current flurry of grant writing, I might write the FDA a letter.

If we dont have a group of Drs come forward to make up a group to advocate for us against PROP we may see many more changes like these coming.

Did anyone read all the responses on the first link? Some of them had very valid points. I totally could relate to those who said they would not, could not go back to living a life of chronic pain untreated.

I so could understand the poster that said at least with terminal pain there clearly was an end in sight, not so for us.

Has anyone actually been to PROP's website? I did and it's scary stuff for us.