Help Protect Chronic Pain Patients

Please don’t hurt patients who are already in excruciating pain

I am also a pain management patient and my meds have been reduced. The state has no business practicing medicine, let the drs. do the job they are trained to do.

It’s saddens me that people with degrees not in medicine and have never suffered pain can make a decision regarding those of us who suffer with chronic pain. You say you’re concerned for those with addiction yet you do nothing to make it affordable for them to get help. Rather you have created one bucket and class all pain and addiction persons in that one bucket. Your education has taught you nothing. Instead you have created power for yourselves to control everyone rather than to do your job. You are shameful!

limiting treatment to chronic pain patients is reckless, dangerous, and deadly! medical treatment decisions must be done on a patient to patient basis. blanket policies won't work for them any better than they will work for any other medical issues. people are dying from this!

I live in NC and the same thing is happening here. This has been a 20 year journey and I have tried all of the "alternative therapies" and countless other medications. I want off of the "Medical Merry-go-round". Just let me have what was proven the most effective in the past and don't label me a "drug seeker". Stop Punishing Pain!

Stop punishing pain patients! I have used ever alternative prescription medications and every therapy to treat my pain. I still use a few but STILL have to take opiates to have quality of life. The things you take for granted...showering, walking my dog, cooking, housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping. And on a good day visit my Daughter. Without managed opiate therapy, I am stuck in bed, day after day, with a pain level of 8. Please don't violate my human and civil rights!!

I have been injured for 18 years; disabled and living with horrific constant chronic pain.My conditions are degenerative and my pain continues to get worse as time goes by.I had the same pain doctor for 17 years and he prescribed me opiods that reduced my pain enough so I could have some kind of life. My wife and I have spent our life savings and more trying all the so called alternative pain relievers all of them more than once ; none worked at all.I have had 96 spinal injections, tried stem cell wasted hard earned money to find that like most chronic pain patients opiods are the only thing that helps me.Now our doctors have reduced our meds so we we can barely function on the edge of humanity. I only leave my home for medical purposes; I crawl like an animal up and down our steps and my pain is unbearable most of the time.My wife cries daily as she hears my moans and watches me suffer unable to help me reduce my pain.What human being would do this to patients who were already suffering ? We are not addicts but a great effort has been put forth to convince American citizens we are.Someone is getting extremely wealthy at our expense caring only about the all mighty dollar.Nazi Germany circa 1937 -1945 would be very proud of the extreme pain and degradation you have heaped chronic pain patients. For those of you causing our suffering I can only hope that you or a loved can experience our pain and then let's see what you think about opiod pain medication.

I live in TN but I urge you to lead the way in allowing pain patients to get the medicines in the amounts that allow them to lead a decent life.

People who live in chronic moderate to severe daily pain are entitled to the dignity of pain relief that enables them to live closer to normal lives. Substance abusers have an illness , it's just fate that determines which drug they choose - illegal drgs, opioid prescription meds - or alcohol or tobacco. We don't deserve to be penalized for the illness of others and for their abuse of the medications we use honestly. Alcohol and tobacco use accounts for the largest number of lost work hours in the country. Has anybody ever attempted to collate the number of lives that are lost due to alcohol or tobacco use? Are you going to require people to give up their drugs of choice? Drugs have NO therapeutic value at all? I think not. Please reconsider this decision. Talk to the chronic Pa n community not just to people who are lobbying to do away with opioids because they lost someone to addiction. We need some reason injected into this conversation.

Please don't punish Chronic pain patient

As a chronic pain sufferer I have had every treatment possible. Not once or twice but some up to 5 times before beginning treatment with narcotics. And when given the medications that worked I lived a much more functional life. I had to have pill counts, urine tests to continue. I never had a single problem in 10 years. Now, I am labeled an addict and made to feel I am guilty of some crime. No tolerance is extended to the pain patient. It's not right and must stop.

I was born with scoliosis, I now have multiple health issues mostly 24/7 chronic pain. Four bulging discs,tarlov cyst plus multiple other cysts all in my lumbar region. Arthritis in spine started in my twenties it's now throughout my entire body. I need both hips replaced my first HIP implant is defective and has dislocated four times. Spinal degeneration is agonizing but,the tarlov cyst in my screwed up Spine has been flaring up so bad I had to get a walker. Now I know I'm headed for a wheel chair and assisted living. I'm only 61yrs.old and I'm trying so hard to remain independent but,I'm losing the battle because I can't even find a pain CLINIC that takes Medicare or if they do they're not taking new patients. I've been prescribed pain meds for over 10yrs.now I've nothing I can take that I'm not allergic to or can't handle side effects from. My arthritis is destroying my life it flares up so bad during the winter I have to force myself to get out of bed because of how painful it is. Surgeons can't do anything for scoliosis or spinal degeneration or even bulging discs so I'm basically stuck in 24/7 excruciating everyday pain which not one of this panels people know anything about CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS WHO SUFFER FROM ALL KINDS OF DEBILITATING CONDITIONS WHOSE ONLY OPTION ARE THEIR PAIN MEDICATION. PLEASE STOP PERSECUTING CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS WHO RELY ON THESE NEEDED HELPFUL MEDICATIONS JUST TO GET THROUGH ONE MORE DAY. I'M A 61YR.OLD DISABLED WOMAN WHO'S BEEN SO DISCRIMINATED AND LABELLED AS A WORTHLESS ADDICT SEEKING DRUGS TO GET HIGH. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WHOLE FAKED DATA AGENDA IS OUT OF THE GREEDY INS.CO.S AND STATE OF OREGON NOT WANTING TO PAY FOR PAIN MEDS. IF ALL C.C.PAIN PATIENTS WERE FORCED TO TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES TO ESCAPE THEIR PAIN(MEDICAID PATIENTS ON LOW INCOME CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET SO NO PAIN RELIEF) THAT WOULD SAVE MILLIONS FROM DISABILITY BENEFITS NOT HAVING TO BE PAID AND INS.SAVES MILLIONS TOO. THAT'S JUST IN OREGON. THE ENTIRE

Stop the assault on the most vulnerable among us. People in pain deserve to be treated with respect and humanity. OPIATE based medicines are SAFE and EFFECTIVE when used responsibly; which MOST people do.

Help chronic pain patients

It's not fair to be punished for just trying to live with chronic pain.

Please don't make suicide ky only option for relief. Don't you think I have tried exercise and the options you propose? I hope you don't have to go through this but if you do, I promise that if you don't have some relief from 24 pain and the exhaustion that ensues from dealing with it you will see suicide as the only way out. I ask you, are we worth throwing away?

Pain patients need to stick together ... today they are wanting to restrict medication to Medicaid patients and tomorrow it will be Medicare patients! If you don't care about this it should not care or complain when they come after you and want to restrict access to your medication! Just for the record I am not Medicaid but I care!

I've been suffering from chronic back/hip pain for over 20 years. My dr cut off my pain meds so now Im taking subutex for chronic pain. It isnt even for chronic pain I have no quality of life. The last cpl years I was forced to tapper they even put me on a drug holiday. I've thoughts of suicide often. Im not an addict but Im dependent on pain meds just for a normal life. I can't believe I am made to suffer this way. Living on my couch for the last 5 months. I see no way out Im begging for help I see no end besides taking my own life. Im only 44 years old living like a 90 year old. I pray the laws change soon plus being on medicade has made it even worse.

There is so much mis-information - and folks who live with constan/chronic pain are once again being treated as if they are criminally oriented street users. Coping is made even more difficult b/c politicians are using the issue for personal gain without concern for real people.

As an opioid user it does not make me proud. I've had chronic pain for the last 8 years in my lower back I've been diagnosed with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, in my lower back of the L4 and L5 and trust me when I say everyday I hurt just getting up out of bed has been a chore as well as sleeping and my back for more than 8 hours the struggle it takes to get out of bed. The arthritis is throughout my body I have had knee surgery for a torn meniscus and my knee has never been the same I am in daily pain. There are times when my knee gives out from under me and I could just cry , the pain medications I take help but do not subside the pain this is all I have, all I have to help soothe any pain that I have on a daily base and that is the medication my doctor has prescribed as he does not believe in writing a prescription for CBD oil which I have disgust with my doctor but refuses because he does not believe in it my only choice is for my pain medication to help me get through a normal daily routine. I have gone through the back injections exercising whatever it took to try to make this better there is nothing that can be done once the back has started to deteriorate you've been given a life-long sentence of pain. In my State I am required to do 3 drug/urine test a year or I do not get my pain medications. My doctor is very strict on this cuz he is very paranoid that he will get in trouble because the Government has cracked down so severely on the opioids. He actually wanted to take me off of them so he does not get in trouble this makes no sense to me when the evidence is there that I had these issues. I got very frantic because it is the only thing that eases my pain it does not take away it just helps me get through the day. Please I beseech you to not do this to us come have a day in my shoes and you would change your mind. Enough is enough I'm tired of other people making a decision on my behalf until you walk in my shoes you don't have the right.