First Do No Harm: The DEA targets Physicians who treat their patients pain.
Public Comments (15,444)
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Jan 17th, 2015Someone from Altamonte Springs, FL writes:
I had back surgery in 2011 after 16 years of my back going out. Surgery didn't work so I had another surgery 2 months afterward. That surgery didn't work and I was told that while they were fixing issues I had, that a large portion of my spinal nerve sheath had worn away and would not regenerate. They also call it failed back syndrome. My nerve pain begins in my lower back, hip, entire leg, groin, foot and toes. The pain feels different with many symptoms but I would say the worst is when it feels like someone is cutting slowly into my bones and flesh. I say slowly because it doesn't go away. Not to mention I am also sensitive to touch, so if something or someone touches me it about kills me. I'm trying to give some idea of some of the pain but even with this, it's difficult to articulate perfectly enough so that someone like Congress, DEA or a President can understand. If you did understand, you certainly wouldn't punish chronic pain patients. I also had surgery and had a neuro-stimulator implanted, to try to avoid having to take drugs and have a normal life. The implant does help, but the pain is so outrageous that it didn't work the way the doctor had hoped. Please let the doctor's do their job! They went to Medical School so they can take care of their patients and do not go to Washington DC and write new Bills to make your job harder! Stop punishing us for the crimes of other people!!! Or, Legalize Medical Marijuana so we can cut back on our medication! -
Jan 17th, 2015Someone from Montague, CA writes:
a felon has more medical rights as well as advocates to speak for them then I do. I also believe it is unhealthy to carry hatred toward any other person, to think that a Supreme court ruling carries no weight in regards to disbursement of pain medication to disabled persons.REPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 17th, 2015Someone from Sarasota, FL writes:
Recently medically discharge Veteran. (100% P&T from VA & waiting on SSDI with lawyers on retainer.) I'm Located in Southwest Florida, & I have a great Pain Management Doctor. (I never use the VA here in Florida because it is a joke! It was wonderful in California though.) My Pain management physician prescribes me exactly what he wants me on, & really listens to me! I'm probably one of the most proactive persons out there in regards to my treatment. I do my pool therapy daily, use my inversion table daily & my EMPI IF3WAVE unit extensively.... However my problem is getting my legit necessary prescriptions filled at any pharmacy. (all the excuses you can imagine.) It's just appalling! So I fought, got stabbed, blow up & shot at just to come home and not be able to receive the prescribed medications that I'm needed to function on a daily basis.... This is the most disgusting & disrespectful thing I've ever had to deal with. This is unconstitutional & something needs to be done! I'm searching for class actions lawsuits, but am having a difficult time finding a legal team to start this process. (Just imagine the millions of dollars these lawyers could stand to make from this issue! When people start dying & shooting up pharmacies maybe then in will sink in. I however doubt it!) Sincerely, Pharmacies biggest fanREPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 17th, 2015Someone from Port Aransas, TX writes:
I have been unable to care for myself because I can't get medicine I need to be somewhat out of pain. Because of this my biggest fear is coming true. I will lose my job and be on disability and someone will have to take care of me. I have worked all my life and just want to be a productive member of society. This is in humane and I will advocate and fight for others!REPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 17th, 2015Someone from Thonotosassa, FL writes:
Something needs to be done...And quickly.REPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 16th, 2015Someone from Dearborn Heights, MI writes:
I should'nt even mention the pain and situation i have because it doesn't even matter to the communist like govenment we have but i will anyways,so here it is.....to make a long story short, 6 yrs. ago i went to my dr. and complained to him that i had severe pain in my groin area.. i told him that i basically had the pain ever since i was a kid but as i got older the pain became much worse. i told him where it hurt and how painful it was getting to walk let alone work so he took xrays of my hip..xrays showed that my right hip was bone on bone..he gave me a referral to see an ortho and a prescription of 750/500 to help relieve the pain and what a difference it made.. i finally had pain relief after all those years of suffering! at my ortho appointment the dr. told me that i was born with hip dysplasia and need a hip replacement..but he added that since i was only 36yrs old, insurance companies rarely cover it since im considered too young and will out live it and would need two on the right hip..now im 42 and both hips are hurting and the new "pain management" dr. tells me there's nothing wrong with my hip and is cutting me off meds.. these pain meds restrictions are not about the addictions or abuse they claim..they could care less about you.. its all about the billions of dollars they're losing when illegal drug users and dealers are turning to prescription drugs for a high or a profit...they aren't seizing all of the illegal drugs, money, bank accounts, property deeds etc from those drug dealers in those lucrative drug busts like they were before this so called "epidemic" ...that disgusting stinky drug called marijuana finally became legal because the government couldnt stop the growers from keeping all that money to themselves so they made it legal.. now chemists can grow better stuff and steal the money from the dealers...how come beer, wine etc is legal but moonshine is not...its not because of the dangers its associated with by making it wrong and maybe poisening you...its because the government isnt getting penny of the money.. if they really care about the peoples safety by making it the law for wearing seatbelts in a car, why not do something different that they would absolutely not want to do like community service for a day instead of making them pay a small fine and keep on doing it ...all of those greediness things are ok with me but why do you have to pick on and bully the innocent and weak? thats not fair!! to all the pain sufferers out there i wish you the best of luck in finding the relief you need to go on with your everyday lives ....just remember to keep the faith!! and to Washington/DEA/FDA....nobody here deserves to live their lives in excruciating pain...get the bad guys not us :(REPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 16th, 2015Someone from Salina, KS writes:
i am in constant pain from fibro and sclerosis in my right hip. It is absolutely humiliating being treated like some drug addict in order to get my Norco script filled. Certain provisions should have been made to protect the patient also!!!!!REPORT COMMENTS
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Jan 16th, 2015Someone from Morgantown, WV signed.
Jan 16th, 2015Someone from Jerome, ID writes:
I sustained a cervical spine injury at the age of 19. I now take Norco every day for pain all over my body. I am upset that the medication I have to take every day is becoming harder to obtain. I do not abuse my medication & actually have reduced my own dose intake over the years. It is unfair that the DEA is making it hard or impossible for us people who truthfully need this medication to function normally day to day.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 15th, 2015Someone from Boynton Beach, FL writes:
Chronic pain patients should not be punished for the small amount of people that abuse the system. Pharmacist and doctors don't have the right to judge us until they or one of their loved ones have walked in our shoes. I urge that you take another look at the policy and join forces with those that live with chronic pain and find a better solution. At the age of 15 years old I was taken by my boyfriends friend he took me two plus hours out of state for almost twenty four hours and proceeded to do horrific and vile things to me including strangling me several times fracturing my neck. I lived with this pain because doctors didn't want to believe that something was wrong with me. Now in my fourtys I've had three cervial spinal surgeries. The side effects and the memories are with me for life. In addition all the pharmacies don't stock my pain medicine and most of them have very bad bed side manners. Without my medication I am barely able to make it out of bed and through the day. I am trapped in this body mentally, physically and physiologically. I have earned a Bachlor's Degree, taken courses towards my MBA and almost married 16 years. Chronic pain patients need to continue to stick together and fight this battle. Thank you in advance for listening. Lets fight the good fight together!!!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 15th, 2015Someone from Irvine, CA signed.
Jan 15th, 2015Someone from Wildwood, FL writes:
I have suffered with chronic illness and associated pain since my mid twenties. I struggled for many years through medications that didn't work or made me sick. I suffered through doctors who didn't understand my small stature and over prescribed medicines that only held my pain at bay. I struggled with medicines that made me sleep all the time but at least numbed the pain. Finally, in my early 40s, I found a doctor who understood and got me on the RIGHT medicines that actually help. Unfortunately we had to move and change doctors. Now I live in an area in Florida where all the doctors are afraid to help their pain patients. I went through 4 doctors who treated me either terribly or simply looked at me and stated "there's nothing we can do for you here" before finding my current one and even she is hesitant to write my one prescription. If I have to go to a pain clinic that is another cost to endure that I cannot afford. It's bad enough my insurance company no longer covers my medicine and I'm forced to pay for it out of pocket because it's the ONLY thing that works. I want to go back to college and begin working again but I need my medications for those really bad days so that I can function. Someone needs to remind doctors that we look to them for help in keeping our quality of life bearable and reasonable. They are our life raft and if there is no raft we may drown.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 15th, 2015Someone from San Diego, CA signed.
Jan 15th, 2015Someone from Escondido, CA signed.
Jan 15th, 2015Someone from San Diego, CA signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Staten Island, NY writes:
As bad doctors take cash only from young healthy addicts with no real medical documentation or testing to back it. We the real suffering patients, are turned away. No one wants the lifelong patient, he high risk patient, with no chance of recovery. I with the most painful disease on the Pain scale, in my entire body. Muscle waste and horrific pain all of the time. Every time an insurance company drops me, I am bed ridden until I find a new doctor. I have been humiliated, had doctors not even take me into a room, and after watching me struggle to just get through the paperwork. Tell me in the waiting room. " I don't want the responsibility of your care". I have been told " I'm sorry but I can't risk prescribing these medications. I have actually had a doctor tell me, " you of all my patients, are the most deserving of medication." I just can't keep seeing you unless you get better insurance. I have been with CVS for years, they know me, they have told me when I ask when will this be in stock, " I'm sorry we can't tell you, it's a shame, but it seems only the abusers seem to know." The supplies have been reduced, the dealers get the meds, and the patients get lost. We are switched from insurance to insurance and eventually we are left with Medicare and Medicaid, and a short list of doctors, most of who either don't want long term patients or patients who need medications that draw attention. This is forcing patients to become afraid, we are constantly called by predators, who promise to heal your pain, if you sign over your home. Even though they have not seen a single mri or evaluate you. Pharmacies have cut supplies, doctors don't want he risk, and now we are on a list. Any legitimate patient can not get any high effect from the medications. It works as designed on us. Without it, our quality of life is lost. For me even my ability to get out of bed. This leads to depression, anxiety. fear, and eventually to what, either die, or commit a crime. You are forcing people who live in horrific pain, that you could not possibly imagine, to have to either find a bad doctor, just to get help, a doctor who only takes cash. Now we can't fill this doctors scripts and have to go to pharmacies who only take cash, and we spend every dime to stay alive. Or we can buy from the very dealers we hate. The very people that are causing this issue for us. I know that doctors can tell who is real and who is not. I can tell who is faking. So why not find another solution. Why do I have to spend another day in bed, missing my children's lives, waiting to die.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Charlotte, NC writes:
DEA out of bounds on this declaration. This is not war on drugs, it's war on patients rights and physician's oath. We the people should make a loud noise. There just must be a better way than harming so many innocent people. DEA...get it right. Your agency is oh so wrong on this decision!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Hillsdale, MI signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Hillsdale, MI signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Amarillo, TX writes:
1/14/2015 MSN.com story: "Lawmakers Call for Investigation of Veterans Hospital Accused of Distributing Pain Medication 'Like Candy'," Lotta folks posting on this story with anger over the treatment of our Vets, lack of oversight of agencies like the DEA. Interesting comments of people who were also cut off from their pain medications after years of being on them. someone here should go post and invite all of them to come comment here on this petition, I don' t have a Facebook account which is required to post on MSN.com stories.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from North Hollywood, CA writes:
We need help. Suicide does seem like the only solution left. This "war" on patients needs to stop.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Naples, FL writes:
I was treated well for chronic pain in NY by my primary doctor. Then I moved to FL where I have been repeatedly dismissed and discriminated against because I am a disabled senior who suffers from chronic pain. Doctors here have just refused to treat me,so now I am suffering.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Chewelah, WA writes:
iawm figthing wash state pain control crap too ive been in pain for 25 yrs and have found only 1 pain med that helps methadone and the pain management n.p is putting false illnesses in my file to make it look like i dont have what i really have. and i cant stop them says 1 lawyer i talked too. it needs to stop this is wrong.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Fremont, WI signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from West Jefferson, OH signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Conroe, TX writes:
The prohibition against physicians prescribing non toxic meds of any type should end. No politician has the medical training to tie the physicians hands. Making marijuana a dangerous drug is a hang-over from black and white TV and Nixon's war on drugs. It is pure politics and has nothing to do with substance safety and efficacy. Marijuana is non toxic and safe to use by adults who wish to use it.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 14th, 2015Someone from Owensboro, KY signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Allegany, NY signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Owensboro, KY signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Sparks, NV signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Hyde Park, VT signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Minneapolis, MN signed.
Jan 14th, 2015Someone from Seabeck, WA writes:
The dea has made my life miserable. I hate having to jump thru hoop after hoop to get my pain meds. My Dr. is always warning me of reasons my meds may be taken away. I'm a law abiding citizen subjected to urine tests, limits on when and where I'm able to purchase my meds, pill checks and more. This is humiliating and oppressive and I'm sick of it.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 13th, 2015Someone from Amarillo, TX writes:
The DEA has been after this particular medication and its rescheduling for many, many years. Finally, after spending taxpayer's millions and just as many resources and their diligence they've succeeded. They are not backing down from this victory! No way, no how. They could care less who's affected negatively from this outcome. Their disclaimer is and, will always be, that they allow doctors to prescribe using discretion and due diligence to patients who NEED them. What they don't realize is that the doctors don't want to deal with the possibility of a DEA search and seizure of their offices and assets. Plain and simple. So, instead of practicing medicine doctors are playing defense. Stop doing what attracts govt's attention. With this reclassification the DEA and FDA closely monitor hydrocodone prescriptions and can "change their rules" without notice and BAM they flag a doctor for prescribing hydrocodone. Doctor's aren't going to risk their licenses nor their well being. My doc said the new rules were TOO MUCH TROUBLE to keep me on the 2 hydrocodone a day I was on. IT sucks, I know, but I am in NO position to take on the government, I never was and never will be. We are at their unethical mercy. They are a GIANT compared to what few, irrelevant, resources I may have. I have lost!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 13th, 2015Someone from Slidell, LA writes:
They are torturing people in pain. Animals get better treatment than humans now days. Many of us don't want to have to take these meds but have no other options. To deny people suffering is BARBARIC!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 13th, 2015Someone from Huntington Beach, CA writes:
I too have had my Pain Management Doctor try to tell me that after 10 years on Oxycontin, then the last 5 on Opana, that I am going to be weaned off of them. When I was first told I would have to take medications for the rest of my life I was destroyed, at 24 and finding out my life was over as I knew it and I told my Pain Doc I didn't want to be chained to a pill bottle and be labeled a Drug Addict. He and the pain Psychologist told me almost in unison, "You are not an addict, your dependent on a medication just like a Diabetic would need insulin for life". That made me feel like I should keep using the strong Pain meds and when I was switched from 2 40 mg Oxycontin 3 times daily to 3 40 mg Opana 3 times daily I didn't think anything of it. Now my doctor has said the Opana is 2 to 3 times stronger than Morphine and that I will have to wean down to no more than 120 mg of Morphine a day or Methadone and that's it. I didn't ask to be put on these drugs but they did give me back my life and I was a active young adult. Now I am 38 and have more issues then I could write, to name the main ones, Anklosing Spondalitus, 3 degenerated budging disks in L2, 3 and 4, Sciatica in both legs, and I need hip replacements from the RA. How am I supposed to work full time. I am a IT Manager for a company that has 11 locations nationwide, 200 users who I support 24/7 365. I have gone from 270 Opana a month to 120 which is this month's taper down and my daily pain level before the taper was a constant 5 to 7, now it is a 10+ all day everyday like before I was put on these meds. It's been a long process to get down from 9 Opana to 4 and 4 Morphine to 3 a day for breakthrough. I asked my Pain Management Dr why this all started and he said its Kaisers new Policy and the DEA/FDA Guidelines, those are guidelines and they state in them that this they are just a guideline. If a person is not getting relief their Doctor may prescribe a stronger dosage and as far as Kaiser goes, they will no longer prescribe anything long lasting but Methadone or Morphine and only at 120 mg daily max. No break through meds. As I get older my spine fuses together and if I get 2 hours of sleep a night before the RA/AS stiffens up my spine and my ribs so badly I can't breathe I will surly eat a bullet in the very near future. I will make sure to leave a note and blame my pain doctor and PCP Doctor for not having a pair and doing their jobs which they got me hooked on these pills in the first place and now say that I am the problem. It's unfair that they have to follow the rules and policies of their employer and it makes them nasty to deal with. If I leave Kaiser I deal with trying to find a doc who will prescribe me the meds I need in the dosages I need but then just to find a pharmacy that will fill them is another joke and is impossible in Southern California now. I do wish the Dr's and DEA/FDA A Holes would have to feel what I feel for not just a day but for a month withouREPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 13th, 2015Someone from Ruston, LA writes:
the way chronic pain patients is almost third world. legislatures think they know more about medicine that doctors do! how long do legislatures go to school to study medicine?REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelJan 13th, 2015Someone from Waxahachie, TX signed.
Jan 13th, 2015Someone from Rockford, IL signed.
Jan 13th, 2015Someone from Fenton, MO writes:
I just had two stints put in my heart after heart attacks.they gave me 6 vicodine.then. last Month I had lung cancer surgery. And had part of my lung removed. The kind doctors gave me 8 low dose vicodine. And when I begged for more meds they said take extra strength acetemetiphine.I hope all of the dea have a loved. One suffer like I continue to do and reap what they sew!REPORT COMMENTS
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