A Strong Response to the Opioid Scourge

[nightflight]

In 2014, overdoses of opioids, like oxycodone and hydrocodone, and related drugs like heroin were responsible for28,647 deaths, up 14 percent from the year before. About one in 550 people who received opioids for chronic pain not linked to cancer died from an opioid-related overdose a median of 2.6 years after their first prescription. “We know of no other medication routinely used for a nonfatal condition that kills patients so frequently,” Dr. Thomas Frieden and Dr. Debra Houry of the C.D.C. wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday.

To reduce this high toll, the C.D.C. is advising doctors not to prescribe opioids for chronic pain in most situations. Studies have found no evidence that the long-term use of opioids is beneficial, and in fact, exercise, physical therapy and over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen can be more effective. The guidelines do not apply to cancer treatment, palliative care and end-of-life care, situations in which opioids are often the only way to reduce pain.

The guidelines also advise doctors prescribing opioids to start with low doses, prescribed for three days or less and rarely for more than seven days. Doctors should also clearly warn patients that the drugs are highly addictive and check prescription-monitoring programs to see if people are getting drugs from multiple physicians. Most states have such programs, but manydo not require that doctors use them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/a-strong-response-to-the-opioid-scourge.html?_r=0

So we'll have a higher death toll from suicides.

 

[Rick Otto]

Thank you, sunshine!

 

[AirPo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/a-strong-response-to-the-opioid-scourge.html?_r=0

So we'll have a higher death toll from suicides.

Are you implying that opioids prevent suicide?

 

[iluvatar5150]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/opinion/a-strong-response-to-the-opioid-scourge.html?_r=0

So we'll have a higher death toll from suicides.

With numbers like this:

About one in 550 people who received opioids for chronic pain not linked to cancer died from an opioid-related overdose a median of 2.6 years after their first prescription.

we're probably better off taking that chance.

 

[iluvatar5150]

A psychologist friend of mine just pointed out that the "1/550 doesn't even include the % that are addicted -- a non-fatal condition that destroys quality of life of patient and their families."

 

[nightflight]

Are you implying that opioids prevent suicide?

I'm implying chronic pain is worse than addiction. But thankfully, the government will look out for our interests.

 

[nightflight]

Thank you, sunshine!

No problem, muffin.

 

[AirPo]

I'm implying chronic pain is worse than addiction. But thankfully, the government will look out for our interests.

From the article, quoted in the OP,

Studies have found no evidence that the long-term use of opioids is beneficial, and in fact, exercise, physical therapy and over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen can be more effective.

Seems there are alternatives. I guess you are right then, the government will look out for our interests.

 

[cow451]

From the article, quoted in the OP,
Seems there are alternatives. I guess you are right then, the government will look out for our interests.

Now that the "government" and public opinion are causing the "pill mills' to get shut down and doctors to prescribe fewer opioids.....

Drug abuse tends to be somewhat cyclical. It should come as no surprise, then, that street heroin is making a comeback in America. Actually, heroin use never left. It just faded from prominence for a bit with the rapid rise in the use of opioids or painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Percodan and Percocet. And, make no mistake about it — painkillers are still a huge problem in this country. But the supply is getting harder to come by, and prices are going up — $60-$80 dollars per pill is not unheard of. That’s a lot of green for someone with a nasty pill habit.

The law of supply and demand. As has always been the case the US will increase law enforcement efforts (supply) and do very little to improve access to treatment programs (demand). Typical "War on Drugs/Just say No" mentality.

 

[nightflight]

physical therapy and over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen can be more effective.
Seems there are alternatives. I guess you are right then, the government will look out for our interests.

Why not throw in transcendental meditation? But sell that to someone who was ripped up in a car accident. smh

 

[cow451]

Why not throw in transcendental meditation? But sell that to someone who was ripped up in a car accident. smh

Long-term use of acetaminophen can destroy your liver. Meditation won't hurt your liver.

 

[nightflight]

So we now have a politician directly dictating medical policy to doctors at city hospitals. Some of us have been raising red flags about Bloomberg’s ban on smoking in privately-owned bars and restaurants, his ban on trans-fats, the farcical ban on large soda sizes, and his other paternalistic policies for years now. This is what happens when government decides it should have the power to protect us from ourselves. Let’s be clear, here. This policy is going to cause needless suffering. People who genuinely, legitimately need pain medication aren’t going to be able to get it. And guess what? Addicts and thrill-seeking teenagers will find other ways to get high.

Since the announcement, I’ve seen some reaction on the Internet expressing hope that Blooomberg is afflicted with some chronic pain condition, so he’ll be able to feel firsthand the suffering he’s causing with this policy. I wouldn’t go that far, though I understand the sentiment. But that also misses an important component of this policy: It only applies to the city’s public hospitals. Which means it will largely be poor people who are forced to suffer pain that can easily be treated. If Bloomberg’s ever afflicted with long-term, chronic pain, he’ll certainly get all the medication he needs to be comfortable.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/new-victims-in-the-war-on_n_2455917.html

Yay for government!

 

[nightflight]

Long-term use of acetaminophen can destroy your liver. Meditation won't hurt your liver.

Yet the article touts the use of acetaminophen as an alternative to opiates.

 

[Desk trauma]

I await the DEA ramping persecution of Drs for proscribing medications in amounts they disagree with again.

 

[cow451]

Yet the article touts the use of acetaminophen as an alternative to opiates.

The alternatives have to be myriad and include non-drug strategies. There are nerve blocks, site-specific steroid injections, nerve stimulators available now.

Americans have been conditioned to believe we should live life without physical or emotional discomfort. That belief is part of the problem.

 

[cow451]

I await the DEA ramping persecution of Drs for proscribing medications in amounts they disagree with again.

It is happening. Primary care docs are getting lots of scrutiny when they prescribe outside their specialty.

 

[nightflight]

The alternatives have to be myriad and include non-drug strategies. There are nerve blocks, site-specific steroid injections, nerve stimulators available now.

Americans have been conditioned to believe we should live life without physical or emotional discomfort. That belief is part of the problem.

Easy to say when you are not writhing in excruciating and/or chronic pain. "Just hang in there, grandpa; you have an appointment with the physical therapist next week. Until then here's some extra-strength acetaminophen."

The nerve, huh? Thinking people have the right to alleviate pain! Do you also object to pain control to women during childbirth?

 

[nightflight]

http://www.lynnwebstermd.com/dea-inflicts-harm-on-chronic-pain-patients/

Read the comments; the experiences of people who live with horrible pain.

 

[Desk trauma]

It is happening. Primary care docs are getting lots of scrutiny when they prescribe outside their specialty.

I am always brought back to a comment from the Drug War Rant blog when the DEA seeks to practice medicine:

DEA agents who investigate doctors for prescribing pain medication must have other DEA agents perform any medical procedures (like heart transplants and brain surgery) that are needed by the agents.

 

[nightflight]

Those who take the government's side in this may find themselves one day thinking otherwise. An onset of a debilitating condition, a car accident, a fall, may thrust them into a nightmare existence of tortuous pain. Perhaps karma will provide a voice at that point to tell them that they've been conditioned to believe that life should be free of physical pain. One can hope.