Oppose the DEA's Proposal on Reduced Opioid Production

People with chronic illness do not deserve to be treated like addicts. They need their medicine! Please understand that some people need these meds to have a glimpse of hope in life. Do the right thing and go after doctors that are prescribing powerful pain killers to people that don't need them.

Reducing the nation's total amount of opioids is not going to solve the "War On Drugs," it will only negatively impact the chronic pain patient at the pharmacy counter next year, when we hear the same old song, "Sorry, we don't have enough of your prescribed narcotic on-hand in order to fill your prescription." And thus, starts "the pharmacy crawl" once again! Delaying the delivery of our much needed pain medication. Do NOT penalize chronic patients by reducing the amount of opioids; penalize (and offer appropriate medical help to) the opioid addicts.

I have fibromyalgia and Scoliosis. I will mostly likely require pain meds the rest of my life!

RSD/CRPS: we are patients, not addicts. We need our meds to function the best we can.

This reduced mg opiates for chronic pain patients like myself with rsd is bs on sooo many levels

I'm person with CRPS that is no longer on opiates and I'm also a pharmacist. Opitaes have a definite and integral part in treating patients with chronic pain. Even when better treatments are available, they are often not attainable by a large majority of patients. I was personally given no other option for many years but to take opiates as other treatments were not paid for by the insurance or comp. Why is this not a huge, or any focus? In addition, the only thing reducing production of opiates will do is force patients that are legimately in pain too get relief from other sources. It will create a larger problem with illegal drug use and will increase the incidence of suicide. As a medical community, the experts in pain realize the areas we need to improve and it's not by literally affecting the supply of medication. Let's be smarter than that.

Please do not cut availability of opioids

Opiates should not be over diagnosed and used accordingly for people suffering from pain. I believe that the DEA should not treat this like a one size solutions fits all.

Please consider the misery you will cause chronic pain patients struggling every day just to function. The problem is not those of us following all proper procedures and protocols and jumping through every hoop just to get some minimal relief from unbearable pain, but the ones who will obtain the drugs illegally regardless of any new law.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is the highest known form of chronic pain. In fact, it used to be called 'Suicide Disease' before a criteria was created for proper diagnosis. The challenges of living with disease daily are beyond words. I gave up attempting to explain it to people because the pain is UNFATHOMABLE until you yourself have suffered through it. It is difficult to find competent physicians who are willing to treat and understand this disease. Although there is an epidemic of opioid abuse in this country, these restrictions are not preventing addicts from getting the drugs they want. It is making people who responsibly use medication for pain management, who need it to get through the day and function, suffer. It is taking away physicians' abilities to appropriately treat patients who are in so much pain that it's difficult to even breathe without hurting.

Oxycodone is Not a recreational drug for me or any other of my RSD/CRPS and other chronic pain patients. It's a way to function and to lower pain levels. To try to achieve some quality of life without being in pain 24/7. Reducing the production of opiates is Not going to reduce the overdose deaths by Abusers and Addicts. It's going to put the Burden on me and other chronic pain patients when we can't get our proper quantities of medication.

Some people with chronic medical conditions need to take certain opioids to maintain an acceptable quality of life. Those meds need to be available to them, as "other pain medications" do not work the same way.

I have multiple severe chronic pain everyday and need the meds I'm on. Go after the people who abuse these meds instead of using a blanket policy that literally hurts those of whom nee

To arbitrarily reduce production of medication that makes the difference of being able to lead a relatively normal life or be incapacitated is wrong. Work to stop illegal use, don't punish people who are abiding by the law!

Cutting off our supply of medication and setting rules for physicians is NOT the answer to drug addiction. The drugs will continue to land in the hands of those who abuse them, regardless of how many restrictions are made to the physicians and patients. https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/08/16/heads-sand-%E2%80%94-real-cause-todays-opioid-deaths-11681 Clearly, illegal drugs, like heroin and fentanyl, need to be cut off. Addiction arises from recreational, not therapeutic use of the drugs.

I have RSD and cannot stress the importance of using opiods intelligently. Without these medicines I would not be able to walk. Please help us with this situation.

I have CRPS and without pain control meds I have NO quality of life. To take away medication with a disease like CRPS (aka The Suicide Disease), you've just signed my death warrant. I dont abuse my meds nor do others with horrific diseases like CRPS--Dont punish those of us who need pain meds.

I don't have crps but have a friend that does. However we both suffer from chronic pain due to genetic connective tissue disorders. I wouldn't be able to function like a normal person without my medication. Please stop trying to take it away from those of us that need it.

As a chronic pain person (Crohn's, Psoriatic Arthritis & Interstitial Cystitis), there is no escape from the overwhelming symptoms that occurs when one, two, or all of those diseases start to act up. When that happens, I have used pain meds to combat the pain rather than curling up in my bed crying. Most of the time, I don't use pain meds because I need to have a clear head to go about the day. The daily pain I feel would drop another person in their tracks. I have to go to the emergency department of hospitals at times for a myriad of reasons and I recently thought I had an obstruction of my intestines (Crohn's). I felt a nagging pain in my abdomen waking up that day but ignored it to fulfill my daily duties as a mom and wife. The pain got progressively worse throughout the day and by evening I was doubled up crying in pain. When admitted to the ER I could do nothing but moan. Waiting for the opening in radiology, I had a member of the ER staff come in to my cubicle and said, "Shut up, you're bothering the others around you. There is nothing wrong with you. We know that you are just here looking for pain meds and you're not going to get any." Needless to say, after having the X-ray, she came in as I was getting ready to go to the OR and apologized. My intestines had ruptured. This is a prime example of what most of chronic pain sufferers deal with and it is getting progressively worse. There are people whose doctors are worried about losing their licenses that are having their meds reduced to a mere fraction of what they were using and some cut off completely. Many patients rather than being without their meds are turning to alternate methods. Illegal drugs (rather ironic), alcohol, and yes, suicide. So, I hope you see that there will be even more deaths due to this so called war on opiates. We, the ones that need pain meds, are the collateral damages.

My daughter has RSD and I have painful fibromyalgia.