https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/16/thyroid-meds-chinese-manufacture-fails-inspection-leads-to-recall.html

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Opinion: The Battle Against Opioids Could Mean Misery for Patients in Pain

www.westernjournal.com/opinion-battle-opioids-mean-misery-patients-pain/

While the United States is distracted by politics, a human rights battle to the virtual death is being played out in Oregon and no mainstream media outlet is covering it. The ramifications of ending Medicaid coverage of prescribed pain medication for chronic illness except for a very narrowly defined list in Oregon will affect every American whether they realize it or not within the next decade. The effects will be disastrous if it goes the way the bipartisan players desire.

Please consider the following:

You have been taking an antidepressant for over a decade with success. One day, you go to your physician for a refill and are informed that you are receiving one 30-day supply of the drug and no more, because people have been using it recreationally, so your physician is discontinuing writing prescriptions. You are dumbfounded. You didn’t do anything wrong. You always took your antidepressant as prescribed. You recall the horrible days before medication — agoraphobia, black thoughts, suicidal ideation  — and you feel sick with dread. You ask the doctor what his treatment plan is. He says you should exercise more, lose weight and get out in the sun at least 30 minutes a day.

If that doesn’t work, there is another drug you could try, but it’s used for epilepsy and has some nasty side effects, hasn’t really worked well for depression, however, several depressed people have had little choice but to try it. You leave the appointment feeling dazed and sick.

After your prescription runs out, withdrawals begin. You knew this was coming and had tried to taper off the medication you had left, but 30 days is not long enough to taper off an antidepressant. Anyone who takes a medication long term will go through withdrawal without a planned long taper. Dependence is a far different animal than addiction. People go through withdrawal when they start a ketogenic diet and stop eating sugar and carbs, commonly called “carb flu.”

Brain zaps, insomnia, muscle aches, diarrhea, weepiness and the depression comes roaring back. You try supplements recommended online, but they are little help. You knew they wouldn’t help. Your sense of helpless futility is mounting because you already tried everything before asking for an antidepressant because of the stigma of depression.

One dark, hopeless night, in desperation, you go to the ER. The physician rolls his eyes and can’t mask his disdain when you explain yourself. You hear him clearly telling the nurse in the hallway that you are a drug seeker trying to score depression meds. You leave empty-handed.

You are forced to quit working. You lose friends because of your decline, have to move into a very different neighborhood because of finances. A 12 week trial of the epilepsy drug proves disastrous — horrible side effects, no help with your depression and it triggers another incredible round of withdrawal. Your physician is indifferent to your deterioration. Other conditions emerge, hypothyroidism and high blood pressure.

Suicide begins to become a very real and appealing option. One year ago, you had a bustling, thriving life, full of vitality. Now you exist. You did nothing wrong except require medication that others have abused. Your medical needs were weighed and determined to be of less value than those of an imaginary group of potentials who could become recreational users of medication you require to be a participant in your own life and do not abuse.

Replace the word antidepressant with opioid and depression with painful disease, and this is the true story of more than one patient I have spoken to this year in the United States.

Now Oregon is preparing to make thousands of people face this exact scenario.

We must step away from this rhetoric and wonder how and why the word opioid became weaponized.

Opioids are simply a class of medications to treat moderate to severe pain. They bring life and function to hundreds of thousands of people who suffer incredibly painful chronic diseases. You pass by people every day who use opioid therapy. You have people in your workplace who use opioid therapy. They do not advertise it and they are not addicts.

Opioids used by a chronic painful disease patient do not cause a high or euphoria as they do recreational users who are not in pain. They do bring moderate to severe pain down to a manageable level so that patients can work. They can take care of their children. They can clean their homes. They can have something that approaches normalcy.

Why do politicians, the media, and certain incentive-driven physicians strive so very hard to stigmatize and downgrade a large population that requires a medication to manage their chronic conditions? We all fall for the rhetoric. “Opioid” as it stands has successfully been negatively engineered to mean addict, dirty, unclean, bad parent, prisoner, felon, lawbreaker, thief.

In reality, over 95 percent of people who use prescription opioids prescribed to them by their physicians are responsible adults who have productive lives, only because they have their opioid therapy. Those statistics deservedly give opioids a positive name for thousands.

Keep this in mind as one looks into the players and machinations moving behind this opioid crisis and how politicians, drug companies, and very evil people are using this manufactured crisis for social engineering, profiling, records search without a warrant, certainly in part as a test drive for the implementation of socialism. After all, one of the pillars of socialism is one gives up theirs for the “good” of all.

That is exactly what chronic pain patients are being told to do — give up their prescribed pain medication for the good of society. These patients did nothing wrong to deserve having their medication taken away. Yet they are expected to willingly give up their pain medications for the common good.

Practitioners shame them, telling patients they have no compassion for their neighbor when they protest the loss of their life-saving prescribed medication.

The common good has shown that the forced compliance of giving up pain medication to stave off prescriptions on the loose is clearly not helping stop the rise of overdoses.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website.

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Robber blames doctor and pharmacist for crimes, sues them for $49,000

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/08/robber_claims_she_wasnt_hersel.html

A 46-year-old woman who donned a ski mask and wielded a fake gun when she robbed a Southeast Portland bookstore has filed a $49,000 lawsuit against her doctor and pharmacist, claiming they gave her a dangerous mix of prescription drugs that caused her to spiral out of control.

The lawsuit filed by Hilary Leah Bishop is virtually unheard of in criminal justice and medical circles: Convicted felons rarely if ever sue their medical providers for the crimes they’ve committed.

Bishop is serving a three-year prison sentence at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville for robbing Wallace Books on Southeast Milwaukie Avenue in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood on Aug. 15, 2016. She also was convicted of robbing Clogs-N-More on Hawthorne Boulevard the previous day.

Police said Bishop also was a suspect in a robbery at Palio Dessert and Espresso House on Southeast Ladd Avenue a week earlier. She wasn’t convicted of that crime, but a plea deal forbade her from having any contact with that business.

At the time of the heists, Bishop was a divorced mother of a 14-year-old daughter who shared custody with her ex-husband. In the past she worked as a licensed practical nurse and a licensed massage therapist. She told authorities that she’d been diagnosed with depression.

Bishop’s lawsuit claims her naturopathic doctor, Vanessa Esteves, and an unidentified pharmacist for Safeway prescribed and dispensed to her the mind-altering combination of drugs a few days before police say she frightened employees at the shoe store and bookstore and made off with the cash.

A message seeking comment from Esteves and the Pearl District clinic where she works, Oregon Integrated Health, wasn’t returned. Jill McGinnis, a Safeway spokeswoman, declined comment.

Bishop also is suing Tiffany McClean, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who worked at the same clinic as Esteves. McClean couldn’t be reached for comment.

According to Bishop’s lawsuit, she was prescribed a long list of drugs, including duloxetine and tramadol. The pair can lead to a rare but serious drug interaction, causing hallucinations, confusion and other symptoms, according to the website drugs.com. Bishop claims she experienced a “euphoria” and a “dissociative state.”

An August 2016 piece by Oregonian columnist Steve Duin said that Bishop’s friends were shocked by her robberies. Bishop’s ex-husband, Dewey Mahood, described the book-loving Bishop as the “most peaceful, animal-loving vegetarian” and “very anti-gun.”

Mahood also said his ex used to live four blocks from Clogs-N-More and it was her favorite store.

A probable cause affidavit said Bishop was arrested after she bungled the Wallace Books hold-up by wearing all black and removing her ski mask as she exited the store in full view of a parole and probation officer who happened to be in the area. He immediately became suspicious and followed her to her Mitsubishi Mirage and jotted down the license plate.

Police who were on the lookout pulled her over half an hour later.

Court records show Bishop had been convicted once in a 2006 impaired driving incident. She was allowed to enter a treatment program and a judge dismissed the charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicants. But a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stuck. She had no other criminal history.

Lake Oswego attorney Jose Cienfuegos filed Bishop’s lawsuit Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. In addition to $49,000 for her pain and suffering stemming from her prison sentence, Bishop also is seeking a yet-to-be determined amount in lost wages.

Read the lawsuit here.

— Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

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http://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/402083-cdc-opioid-guideline-is-causing-harm-to-people-in-chronic-pain

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https://wsma.org/Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/20180808/Last_chance_to_comment_on_rules_impacting_the_way_you_prescribe_opioids

Make your voice heard! Last chance to comment on proposed opioid prescribing rules

The WSMA is urging members to review and provide feedback on the Washington State Medical Commission’s final proposed rulemaking establishing opioid prescribing requirements for physicians and physician assistants in our state. Don’t delay; your comments are due by Aug. 16. This is your last opportunity to provide input before the rules are finalized by the Medical Commission later this year.

While the current proposal is drastically improved over previous iterations, the WSMA remains concerned about the volume of administrative burden and liability these rules would place on physicians and physician assistants during the limited context of a patient encounter and the resulting impact on access to appropriate care. Learn more about these concerns by reviewing our formal comments on the rulemaking, submitted on behalf of the WSMA and Washington State Hospital Association joint opioid safe practices task force.

In addition to your own thoughts, your feedback to the Medical Commission may be as simple as endorsing WSMA and WSHA’s comments. Send your feedback on the draft rules to the Medical Commission at medical.rules@doh.wa.gov before Aug. 16.

For those available to attend in person, the Medical Commission will be holding a public hearing on the proposed rule on Aug. 22, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Hotel RL Olympia located at 2300 Evergreen Park Drive SW in Olympia.

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26-year-old Alec Smith couldn’t afford the $1,300 a month insulin he needed to control his diabetes, so he tried rationing it — and died. His mother is now speaking out, telling NBC News she lost her son “because of pharmaceutical greed.”NBC News is a leading source of global news and information. Here you will find clips from NBC Nightly News, Meet The Press, and original digital videos. Subscribe to our channel for news stories, technology, politics, health, entertainment, science, business, and exclusive NBC investigations.

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https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/vulnerable-democrats-opioid-epidemic

Vulnerable red-state Democrats are highlighting their work to address the opioid crisis in an effort to hold on to their congressional seats, even as it remains unclear whether the Senate will take key action before the midterm elections.

While the opioid epidemic is a priority for much of Congress, candidates in especially hard-hit states, such as West Virginia, have made it a core issue in their re-election bids.

An ad by the Democratic Senate Majority PAC touts Sen. Joe Manchin III’s efforts in passing legislation as part of the fiscal 2018 omnibus package that would allow doctors to more easily find out if a patient has a history of substance abuse. Manchin, who faces a tough race against Republican Patrick Morrisey, is one of 10 Senate Democrats running in states won by Donald Trump in 2016.

Morrisey, the West Virginia attorney general, has campaigned on his efforts to curb the opioid epidemic, such as suing pharmaceutical distributor McKesson.

Manchin is among the candidates most likely to benefit from making opioids a campaign issue, said Andrew Kessler, founder of Slingshot Solutions, which specializes in behavioral health policy consulting. Both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also stand out as leaders in taking on opioids, Kessler said.

The Senate returns from a brief recess this week to a busy fall schedule that includes government funding legislation and a Supreme Court nomination, leaving little wiggle room to pass an opioids package before Nov. 6.

Voting on opioids prior to Election Day would benefit Democrats, said Andrea Harris, senior vice president of the Height Capital Markets health care team. The former Hill staffer and ex-Obama administration appointee noted Republicans may not want to give the opposing party a win before the elections. She added Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be skeptical about having anything related to health care on the Senate floor that either party could use as a vehicle for other health-related legislation.

Fighting on the airwaves

For Democrats, who are in a position to topple the GOP majority in the House, their campaign messaging is focused on criticizing Republicans for not doing enough to fund opioid-fighting efforts.

“Time and again, Republican lawmakers say they will help those impacted by this crisis, only to turn around and refuse to expand Medicaid or propose cuts to this vital source of treatment funding,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy communications director for the Democratic National Committee.

Republicans, meanwhile, can point to more than 50 bills passed by the House aimed at improving awareness for at-risk patients and increasing access to treatment, said Jesse Hunt, national press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

During a campaign event last week, Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana stated he plans to continue bipartisan work on passing his bill that gives students pursuing fields related to substance use disorders some loan forgiveness if they commit to working in an area with elevated overdose rates for at least six years.

[Number of Pregnant Women Abusing Opioids Skyrockets]

In July, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri released an ad touting her work in taking on pharmaceutical companies, including those that may have played a role in the opioid crisis. McCaskill also released a report last month that examined opioid distributors and manufacturers in her home state, as well as the volume of opioids shipped into it.

McCaskill’s opponent, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, is also campaigning on what he’s done to investigate opioid manufacturers. His office filed suit against Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions and Janssen Pharmaceuticals last year, arguing that the companies deliberately misrepresented the addictiveness of opioids.

Donnelly and McCaskill are locked in Senate races that are rated as toss-ups by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

In the Wisconsin Senate race, rated by Gonzales as leaning Democratic, incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin opened up about her mother’s drug problem in a May ad. The Democrat talks of a bipartisan approach to solve the problem.

[For Some in Congress, the Opioid Crisis Is Personal]

“I have worked with Republicans and Democrats to get the funding Wisconsin needs, so people have somewhere to turn for help,” she said in the ad. “It’s just a start.”

But Kevin Nicholson, a Republican businessman and veteran who is running against Baldwin, wants more.

“Solving the opioid epidemic will take a multi-pronged approach. Wisconsin needs a senator who’s willing to provide solutions that prevent drug dependency from the start,” Nicholson tweeted last month.

What’s next

Republicans may be less likely to lose ground at the polls by not sending opioid legislation to Trump’s desk this fall, strategists say. They can point to a House-passed bill that has been awaiting Senate action since June and could be sent to a conference committee.

“If you’re a House member and you voted for it, you can say you’ve voted for it,” said Christopher Nicholas, a GOP political consultant and president of Eagle Consulting Group. “If you’re a senator who is going to support it and it doesn’t come up, you can still say I support the bill, even though it hasn’t come to a floor vote yet.”

A senator could also put out a memo with other things he or she has done to address the issue even if a vote on opioids legislation doesn’t happen before the elections, Nicholas said.

“It would be hard for your opponent to take a swipe at you,” he said.

[Congress’ Focus on Opioids Misses Larger Crisis]

Former NRCC Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon has spearheaded much of the House effort as the leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has spotlighted many personal stories from members and constituents about the impact of opioids. The party has also launched opioidcrisis.gop to highlight Republican efforts.

The Senate returns Wednesday. A GOP leadership aide has said four committees are working to craft an opioids package that the Senate can vote on, resolve differences with the House and send to Trump. Timing could be key.

“If they wait until late October [for opioids] and then only have part of the lame-duck session to hammer out the conference, that’s not going to help anybody,” said Kessler with Slingshot Solutions.

Little variation by party

Advocacy groups such as the American Action Network demand action.

The center-right group spent more than $5 million earlier this year on ads encouraging the House to pay attention to opioid abuse. It targeted a bipartisan group of more than 25 districts, including those of vulnerable GOP Reps. Leonard Lance of New Jersey, Peter Roskam of Illinois and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Combating the opioid epidemic is a little like backing education or parks, said Jason Husser, who conducts an associate professor of political science and policy studies at Elon University and a pollster. Essentially, no one opposes it.

“One thing that stood out to me is just how little variation there is … across party lines. Dealing with this issue has support from both parties,” said Husser, who conducted an Elon Poll on attitudes toward the epidemic among likely voters in North Carolina last year.

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Call to Action:

PAIN WARRIORS COLLABORATIVE TEAM (QUESTIONNAIRE)

We Welcome ALL Chronic Pain Patients, Advocates, Medical & Legal Professionals, Group Members, and Team Leaders from ALL PAIN GROUPS & ADVOCACY WEBSITES to JOIN FORCES & WORK TOGETHER as a COLLABORATIVE TEAM EFFORT. We’re running out of TIME and must do everything possible to change the current RESTRICTIVE measures being taken against doctors and pain patients across the country. (ALL INFORMATION WILL BE KEPT PRIVATE)

Fellow Pain Warriors,

As you know,  our lawmakers are in the process of passing several new laws on the State and Federal level to further restrict the prescribing of ALL opioid pain medication which will severely harm legitimate pain patients across the country.

With the midterm election around the corner,  many legislators will surely  use the passage of these proposed bills as a political “football” to gain leverage with their constituents.  Meanwhile,  legitimate pain patients lives are hanging in the balance and if we don’t act fast,  we won’t be able to undo or mitigate the damage that’s already been done.

There’s no time to waste, so we must rally the troops to fight back against this “WAR” on pain patients and doctors by pulling together to collaborate and work TOGETHER as one giant FORCE to be reckoned with.  This “team effort” is not connected with any specific group or name in the interest of keeping everyone on neutral ground.

I’ve prepared a questionnaire (see below) to share with all interested parties in order to gather the information needed to form a collaborative team and assign specific tasks based on each members area of experience/expertise.

It would be appreciated if you could complete this form and pass it along to share far and wide with ALL pain groups.

https://goo.gl/forms/FgJhfK05OtWm7qgQ2

WAR ON PAIN PATIENTS

War on Pain Page:  https://www.facebook.com/waronpainpatients/

War on Pain Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/193354774642975/

Twitter:  https://mobile.twitter.com/NJMETALGIRL

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Hi Steve,

You have been such a help to me. I have an issue of course. As I stated before, I have a perfect cures report etc..I did find a pharmacy to fill my meds but now they won’t fill until 31 days! I am literally running out of medicines. So for example, I am out for 2 days and I pick up on the 2, the HAVE to count that day because I have been out. They are not counting the 31 days in a month. Example, got my meds July 6 they refused to fill until Aug 6. I have a calendar that shows everything. I take 2 oxy a day for 30 days. You can see I ran out. I do not know what to do, if I complain they will just refuse service. If I was a guyI would say they have me by the nuts! Lol.

What the heck do I do. I am a teacher and start school tomorrow. My last fill was July 16and they refuse to fill until aug 16. Any advice? We really have no recourse anymore.

Thank you. I actually have the refill apps. They all say 31 days!These people are Armenian and their English is not really good. I have written everything down in plain English. I totally understand how some count from the day after pick up. day after. I was doing that, and that doesn’t even make sense, but I do it anyways which leads me to my point that now they are filling it late so I go 2 days without so how can they Not count the first day because I have been out of the medication so I have to take the dose the DAY I get the prescription. I am not good at math but I can even figure this out!It makes you want to give up on life. I have done eve7by the book. My dr. Says he is powerless now too. He has called and everything. Steve, I am a teacher and these meds allow me to do my job. I have never ever deviated, asked for early meds etc… please help. I cannot go on with the anxiety this is causing. I live in Burbank, does your friend know of any pharmacy. I go to Glendale. 

Thank you again

The above is from the pharmacy’s computer… the previous Rx was filled on July 16th and indicates that the next due date is Aug 14th… notice that the computer apparently has the ability to be specific of how many days early that the Rx can be filled and it is registering ZERO DAYS EARLY… and the Pharmacist told the pt that she was to wait TWO MORE DAYS… meaning that the pt is INTENTIONALLY going to be thrown into withdrawal. Apparently this Pharmacist’s calendar must have 30 days IN EVERY MONTH…  according to this pt this pharmacist’s ENGLISH is not that good and apparently his MATH is even worse.

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