First Do No Harm: The DEA targets Physicians who treat their patients pain.
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Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Saint Petersburg, FL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Rockford, IL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Rockford, IL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Monroeville, NJ writes:
I have been on the same pain medication at the same levels for more then 6 years. I have never abused, sold or gave my medication away. I have never run out of medication or ask to be seen before my appointment was due. I only take the minimal amount I need to get through the day & get some sleep at night. Before I started taking pain medication I missed a lot of time from work & family events because my back & neck hurt so bad. Now I have bad knees to deal with and for the last 2 months my doctor has cut my pain medication to less than half. As a result I've missed time from work after having perfect attendance because my pain is not being controlled anymore. I am lucky if I get 2 straight hours of sleep. I cry every morning when I get up to shower & I have been breaking down in tears at work from the pain. I don't think I truly realized how much my pain medication was helping me until they cut my medication to 1/2 the dose. I feel like I am going to be crippled with pain after I go to my next appointment & they cut it back even more. Life really sucks when you're in pain around the clock & you cannot get any relief from pain medication because the DEA thinks they are going to save a life by cutting my pain medication down to 2 tablets per day, when in fact they are taking my life away from me. I don't know how much longer I will be able to work in this excruciating pain. I had been living a fulfilling life working, enjoying my yard & garden. Babysitting my grandchildren & enjoying my family but with my pain level returning back to unbearable levels I'm going to be disabled most of the time which means no fulfilling life again. I beg you the DEA to please let my doctors who know me & my health issues to treat me as they have always done in the past. I am not a drug addict I am a person in debilitating pain that needs to be treated with assorted medications & one of them is a narcotic pain medication that works wonders for me. We have tried many many different medications before we found the one that actually took away a lot of my pain & made my life enjoyable again.Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Shoals, IN signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Colonial Heights, VA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Loves Park, IL writes:
You are taking away our right to live life as a functioning person. You are stripping us of our quality of life. None of you care because you don't deal with our pain on a second, minute, hourly, daily rate. You need to be cracking down on drug dealers and let trained professional doctors do their job!! This world is nothing but a dictatorship anymore and we live in no peace. Now even in the comfort of our own homes. I hope your happy with yourselves and I hope your lives become as miserable as you have made millions of Americans. Shame on you all in the government.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Columbus, OH writes:
When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. This applies to doctors as well, politicans need to leave doctors to do what they where educated to do. So until our politician's can produce a degree in medicine perhaps they should stick to what they do best, screwing the American people.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Sandy, UT writes:
Without her small but daily dose of pain medication my wife would be totally immobile, bedridden, and probably dead in two years. She's 44. There MUST be a way to regulate medications while keeping them off the street, because that's what all this is REALLY about. It's the "new alcohol" a la prohibition and what crack cocaine was to the 80's. If politicians aren't charging forward with their heads up their rear ends because some statisticians release data about the drug of the moment, they get bored. I understand that prescription drug abuse has reached levels referred to in some states as "epidemic"; I know it kills many people every year. However, there are ways to keep it off the streets. Strictly regulated dosing schedules, smaller and more requent refill requirements, physician and/or pharmacy-directed pill counts, etc.. It must be frustrating to have a painful condition for which there is little physical proof other than your own word; I thank the Lord my wife suffers from a series of carefully diagnosed and documented conditions. Senators, Congresspersons, Your Honors and Esquires, Madam or Mister President, PLEASE CONSIDER REGULATIONS THAT WILL SAVE, rather than kill people like my wife. Do not frighten doctors into forfeiting licenses, changing specialties or turning away patients out of DEA scare tactics, including sanctions or even prison. Please don't make hasty, panicked decisions in an overzealous attempt to bring one set of numbers down, as it will undoubtably drive another set of numbers up--suicides from those living with chronic, unmanaged pain.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Roanoke, VA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Radnor, OH writes:
I feel like the goverments against us what if their family walked a mile in my shoes I bet the tables would turn real quick in Ohio from max 80mg equivlant to morphine to 200mg federal law. That's a big part of heroin epidimic people are not getting enough meds and I'm talking the true chronic pain patients they end up on heroin because their pain is so bad and doctors take away their quality of life thank about it.. THANKS ALOT MIKE DEWINE U WONT GET MY VOTE U POS U SHOULD REAVALUATE YOUR FACTS.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Torrance, CA writes:
I just spent the last 9 months, in constant horrific pain. My pain dr's office was an office targeted by the DEA, of course, nothing was found, he's very compliant, I bring my pill bottles to each appt., he counts them, I take a drug test about every 6 months & always fill at the same pharmacy. In December when the DEA started their investigation they put crazy guidelines on him concerning how many of certain meds he could prescribe. My dr sees the worst of the worst, and doesn't run when things get tough. The DEA was relentless, he had to quit prescribing pills that had worked perfectly for over 9 years...I do have 17 conditions, ALL generate pain! In short, I lost so much weight I became unrecognizable, the hospital in LA knew me by name I had so many stays & they scrambled to get my pain under some kind of control. I also was put on over 20 different meds, some with horrific side effects, loss of vision, more nerve damage, suicidal thought daily ( was seriously considering "Compassionate Care" & my husband tearfully agreed. Yesterday, I was able to get a scrip for the meds that work for me, and let me make this very, very clear; I've never, ever been "high" from my meds, I was literally screaming, crying, writhing in pain as I waited for that scrip. I was begging my husband to kill me, begging! THE most important POINT to be made is this: Let's say I was a puppy. Most would say a human life is more valuable than an animal, but for arguments sake, let's say we're equal. Like I said I have a lot of pain generators, the worst being CRPS (higher pain than a limb amputation, childbirth), spinal stenosis (sacral to cervical discs leaking/bulging), migraines, neuropathy & arthritis. Just these eat me alive daily. Back to the puppy dog, if you were at the vets, and you seen someone repeatedly pull the dogs legs as if to pull them off and the dog was whimpering & crying in pain how long would you let it go on? I know if I seen someone do it once I'd make sure they quit and if it was repeated? OMG! PETA would be there, they'd have a vet immediately get that pup a tranquilizer, something for pain, there's no way in Hell that animal would suffer! AND if that vet said, "Gee, this looks like not only were this pups legs pulled, but someone kicked the ribs and a couple are broken. I know this pup is real hurt, but I don't deal with difficult cases. Your pup will just need to suffer, it'd make the news!!! But every stinking day, this is happening to good, honest pain patients who have followed every crazy rule that's come down the pike. We're an easy target, were weak, sick and now our government is killing us off. It is absolutely nauseating! God help us & I pray we can stay alive and away from that filthy heroin until the DEA can pull their head out of their butt, or until it hits one of their spouses or children!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Medina, OH writes:
I am a former Hospice RN who also has a child in recovery from a heroin addiction so I certainly have seen both sides firsthand. It is imperative that patients with chronic pain and on Hospice care for end of life receive the pain melds they need to live their lives. When properly prescribed, used, AND monitored, I have seen patients live longer with far better quality of life through the use of narcotics. Physicians with experience in pain management and Hospice should be able to treat these patients as they deem appropriate for quality of life.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Evington, VA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from West Jordan, UT writes:
Dr. Pilgram has literally phisically and emotionally saved my life. I have Trigeminal Neuralgia. With the most pain I've ever experienced. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him. It's not just me, it's everyone who loves me and is in my life. I will stand and support him at anytime, anywhere. He is one of the best, smartest doctor and person I've ever known and I come from a long line of family with medical degrees. He has been the only one who has helped me out. He I'd definetly one of the best, and I have loads of people who will stand fit him, including my father in law Dr John Zahniser who was a Neurosurgeon at St. Marks and University of Utah. We all stand up to support him.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Medford, OR writes:
I've been treated like this since a year-and-a-half ago. My methadone started 10 years ago and was given to me for pain and to get off Vicodin and other opiates. Because of this DEA pressure I feel more lost than ever and of course for the first time in 10 years addiction has come to mind. I too have been through enough to some pain clinic where they don't respond to you at all. And made to feel like I'm a drug addict. The rate of tapering is a mess and well outside the CDC guidelines. Which are indeed only guidelines not law. This has to change. There is no compassion left in doctors insurance companies or the DEA. We need to start a class action suit against the government the Physicians and the insurance companies.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Tama, IA writes:
As a chronic pain patient, the way we are treated is demeaning. I did not ask for pain to take over my life. This is not how I envisioned my life in my 40s. I cannot find a doctor who will help control my pain. I now have high blood pressure that is hard to control, due to inadequate pain management. I struggle to work 6 hours a day. My family suffers, as I am in bed the minute I get home. I do not socialize, attend family events, or travel. I exist, in pain. I would not wish this on anyone. The government should not dictate my medical care. My doctors should not be afraid to treat me, for fear of reprucussions. Please allow us to live our lives with dignity and hope for our futures!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Tama, IA writes:
As a chronic pain patient, the way we are treated is demeaning. I did not ask for pain to take over my life. This is not how I envisioned my life in my 40s. I cannot find a doctor who will help control my pain. I now have high blood pressure that is hard to control, due to inadequate pain management. I struggle to work 6 hours a day. My family suffers, as I am in bed the minute I get home. I do not socialize, attend family events, or travel. I exist, in pain. I would not wish this on anyone. The government should not dictate my medical care. My doctors should not be afraid to treat me, for fear of reprucussions. Please allow us to live our lives with dignity and hope for our futures!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Highlands, NJ writes:
@ Robert R do not you understand that for some very many there is no magical "cure"? We are the broken who have in past endured all the shots and gadgets. We have no recourse but pain medication! We are the legitimate chronic pain suffering patients left with no quality of life. There are so many doctors whom are tired of running scared. The GOVERNMENT needs to step back and let our doctors do their job!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Corvallis, OR signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Little Elm, TX writes:
I am a disabled patient who has been mistreated from Dr to Dr and false notes had been notated in my record , I have hardware in my neck n back from four fusions due to being struck from behind while sitting at a stop light on 3 separate occasions. Clearly not at fault for my disability.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Seattle, WA writes:
The government has no business in the doctor's office.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Holbrook, NY writes:
So many of us just want to keep some kind of quality of life . All the attention is on the abusers, what about the people that need this just to do daily basic living?REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Athens, AL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Baytown, TX signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Daytona Beach, FL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Haverhill, NH signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Lake Forest, CA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Madisonville, TN writes:
I am 45 yr old female that has as of 2wks ago had 3 surgeries on my cervical spine. It has been fused from base of my skull to just between my shoulder blades. Hosp didn't have problem controlling pain, but now that I am out surgeon can only give min. pain meds, then will send me back to family doc who also can't do much and will have to send me somewhere else. In the meantime I may have to just lay in bed and cry from pain til that next appt. My life from here on out will be ruled by pain. Can't pick my head up off my pillow without the meds, can't hold my head up for more than 4 hrs without laying down and more meds, bedtime is torture if can't take meds. I have 6 mo old grandson that I can't enjoy like most people. Just because I have to have these meds just to have a semblance of a notice doesn't make me an addict. I don't dr shop. People in my position should not have our lives ruined or cut short because our trained drs can't treat us! That's what our drs went thru yrs and yrs of school for. And they promise Do No Harm but can no long hold that promise. Pharmacist are just as bad. People in my position and worse are being harmed as well as our families who take care of is. DEA needs to back off these drs trying to help legitimate patients!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Madisonville, TN signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Chicago, IL writes:
Im 24 years old, with my whole life ahead of me. Its sad that I don't see a life past 25 or 26 because I can't get the medication I need. I'm treated like a drug addicted criminal. Who wouldn't "seek out" LEGAL medication that you know will help you?! I have no interest in, nor have I ever touched heroin. My pain comes from my job, a job I can't quit or will be homeless. A job I have to do in pain constantly now...so my choice is either get on heroin and be able to work and function normally without pain, but nod off all day and risk overdose because who knows what that crap is cut with...oh and risk arrest and prison as well. Or my other choice is suicide because I can't live in pain. Really? Those are my two choices in this country in 2016? I've tried to do everything legally, but am still treated like a drug addict. Thought it was because of my age, but I see that people even triple my age cant get their meds to function. PLEASE CHANGE THIS ASAP. PEOPLE NEED THEIR MEDS TO LIVE. The heroin deaths will keep rising because people are forced to switch or suffer. Help!!!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Natural Bridge Station, VA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Niceville, FL signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Roanoke, VA signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Oakley, UT signed.
Aug 25th, 2016Someone from Salt Lake City, UT writes:
YOU GUYS NEED TO STEP BACK AND LET THESE MD S DO THEIR JOBS. THEY ARE THE TAUGHT EXPERTS ON WHATEVER THE SUBJECT IS. THIS IS A HUGE POLITICAL BUNCH OF BS AND YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF IT. WAY BACK YOU GUYS SAID " YOU ARE NOT TREATING YOUR PTS. APPROPRIATELY FOR PAIN". SO THEY INCREASED THEIR TREATMENTS. NOW " YOU GUYS ARE OVER PRESCRIBING YOUR PTS" STOP IT! YES THERE ARE THE "PILL DRS" AND THERE ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AND WILL BE, SECONDARY TO THE ALMIGHTY $, BUT THE 99% LEFT ARE DOING WHAT THEY ARE HIGHLY TRAINED AND LICENSED BY YOU TO DO. YOU ARE WRECKING MOSTLY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSEDLY BEING HELPED....THE PT (AND DRS') LIVES. I JUST HOPE, THAT WHEN I COME UPON YOU OR A LOVED ONE THAT HAS BEEN A PT IN NEED OF LIFE SAVING INTERVENTION, I RECOGNIZE YOU AND TREAT YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR DICTATION. YOU /THEY WILL SUFFER BECAUSE OF IT. PAIN MANAGEMENT IS A VERY DIFFICULT PROBLEM. MOST DOCS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE TO TREAT APPROPRIATELY. LET THE DOCS DO THEIR JOBS. YOU ARE GOING TO FIND THAT THESE SPECIAL DOCTORS ARE TREATING PTS WITH HUGE MULTIPLE, SOMETIMES TERMINAL PROBLEMS. THESE ARE PTS THAT NO OTHER MDS WILL TOUCH THAT ARE AT THE VERY LEAST GROSSLY TIME CONSUMING, THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL TOUCH. IF YOU TAKE THIS PIECE OF THE PUZZLE OUT OF THE MIX, YOU ARE LITERALLY GOING TO KILL PEOPLE! I AM NOT GOING TO NAME NAMES, BUT THERE IS ONE MD IN SLC, UT THAT YOU, I KNOW, ARE HANGING OUT TO DRY AND JUST TRYING TO MAKE "AN EXAMPLE " OF. ALL YOU ARE DOING IS RUINING A DRS LIFE AND SEVERAL THOUSANDS" OF PTS ALONG WITH HIS. I FIND IT VERY HARD NOT TO SIDE WITH THE GREAT DOCTOR. PLEASE DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN THIS POLITICAL HARASSMENT. ASK HIM TO BE APART OF YOUR DESIGN. ASK HIM FOR HIS HELP VIA HIS 30+ YEARS OF SEVERAL BOARD CERTIFICATIONS HAVE GIVEN HIM. ASK HIM TO HELP YOU GET THE JOB DONE AND DONE RIGHT. IT IS KINDA LIKE GUN CONTROL, THE HUGE MAJORITY KNOW WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT. PROMISE ME THAT YOU WILL LET THESE GUYS DO WHAT THEY ARE HIGHLY TRAINED TO DO...THAT IS CARE FOR THE PATIENT APPROPRIATELY. I KNOW, THAT IF YOU TRUELY DELVED INTO HIS CASE, YOU WOULD FIND, HE IS A VERY SMART, TALENTED, EXPERIENCED DOCTOR. YOU ARE MAKING IT VERY HARD TO TURN OUT UP AND COMING TALENT WHEN YOU ARE TREATING THE CURE WITH SUCH DISRESPECT.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Sandy, UT writes:
I have suffered with cluster headaches for 27 years. I've tried every kind of "migraine" medication. Approximately 15 years ago I finally found a kind, caring doctor that changed my life. I went from 3-4 headaches, 16+ hours, a DAY of excruciating pain (to the point of being unable to sit still, talk or breathe) to now having 1-4 headaches per week. I am not, nor have I ever, abused any of my meds. Previous to the physician I currently see, I saw a highly recommended neurologists that put me on fentanyl patches. And every 2 weeks he would have me bring in all of the patches I had left from my 4 week supply to "trade" for a higher dose. I was so trusting that I didn't even realize what he was doing, let alone how illegal it was, until I found myself in the ER SO sick from withdrawal. I did not know what exactly this medication was, or why I was taking it. I always wondered why the pharmacist was so kind and treated me with such sympathy. (This was long before we had the internet.) I was immediately admitted to the rehabilitation part of the hospital. The doctors had no idea what or how to help me. This medication is primarily used for terminal cancer and other terminal conditions. I was told that people don't stop using this, they generally pass away while using it. It was horrible. It took months to recover fully. After that incident I was sent to a pain clinic, then my insurance changed, and that was when I found my current doctor. This incredibly knowledgeable doctor is right now undergoing a hearing to have his medical licence and controlled substance licence revoked by DOPL. It's a travesty. It's a witch hunt, and if the state succeeds, it will destroy the lives of hundreds of people including (and especially) this amazing doctor that is loved and supported by his very grateful patients! He is honestly the most caring, compassionate, thorough doctor I've ever had the privilege of knowing. This kind of practice of taking licenses from good doctors, and making all doctors terrified of treating people the way that they should, the very thing they went to so many years of med school for, must not be allowed to continue. My doctor has made certain all of his pain patients have naloxone in our medicine cabinets, just in case. He has also made it possible for ANYONE to walk into several pharmacies across the valley and buy it without a prescription. He has done more than most to ensure the safety of his patients as well as people he's never met. The DEA needs to seriously rethink this crusade to prevent well intentioned doctors from doing what they are licensed to do. I believe there will be a staggering increase in suicides. I think most chronic pain patients have considered it at least once. The DEA must know that pain and depression are processed by the same receptors in the brain, which is why they go hand in hand. Where will we draw the line?REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2016Someone from Salt Lake City, UT writes:
The DEA is so far out of control and so unfair this is ridiiculas. Let the Doctors be Doctors and allow them to control what they havr gone to collage and learned most of their lives and let the treat their patients as they see fit. They are the professionals. LET THEM BE!. DEA needs to seek out the ones who has labeled the rest of us addicts. THIS is so out of control and needs immediate attention.REPORT COMMENTS
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