over 70 percent of pain patients say they are no longer prescribed opioid medication or are getting a lower dose

Survey Finds CDC Opioid Guidelines Harming Patients

www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2017/3/13/survey-finds-cdc-opioid-guidelines-harming-patients

The CDC’s opioid prescribing guidelines have harmed pain patients, reduced access to pain care, and failed to reduce drug abuse and overdoses, according to a large new survey of patients, doctors and healthcare providers. The survey also found signs of a dramatic shift away from opioid prescribing over the past year.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the guidelines, which discourage the prescribing of opioid medication for chronic pain. The guidelines are meant to be voluntary and only intended for primary care physicians, but are being widely implemented throughout the U.S. healthcare system and are having many unintended consequences.

According to the survey, over 70 percent of pain patients say they are no longer prescribed opioid medication or are getting a lower dose. While reducing opioid prescriptions may have been the ultimate goal of the guidelines, it came with a heavy price: Eight out of ten patients say their pain and quality of life are worse. Many are having suicidal thoughts, and some are hoarding opioids or turning to illegal drugs for pain relief.

“I had a doctor pull me off methadone cold turkey after taking it successfully for 15 years for no reason other than the CDC’s guidelines. I was in the worst pain of my life,” said one patient.

“The CDC needs to stop practicing medicine without a license. They are hurting more chronic pain patients than they are helping,” said another.

“These guidelines are so incredibly wrong. People are already suffering, myself included. And it’s going to get so much worse,” predicted one patient.

“The ‘War on Drugs’ has devolved into a war on patients,” wrote a primary care doctor. “The government should spend its time, effort, and money on research to find a pain treatment with fewer harmful effects than narcotics and butt out of the doctor-patient relationship.”

HOW HAVE THE CDC GUIDELINES AFFECTED YOUR OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS?

 
  • 23% OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS STOPPED
  • 48% LOWER DOSE
  • 24% SAME DOSE
  • 2% HIGHER DOSE
  • 3% DO NOT USE OPIOIDS
 

The online survey of 3,108 pain patients, 43 doctors and 235 other healthcare providers was conducted between February 15 and March 11 by Pain News Network and the International Pain Foundation (iPain).

“This survey shows that patients and providers are in agreement about the harm the guidelines have caused since their release last year,” said Barby Ingle, president of iPain. “When we have government agencies or insurance companies impose poor practices on the pain community, we see failure. A failure to stop abuse and overdoses, hoarding behaviors by well-intentioned patients, increased use of illegal drugs and, worst of all, suicides increase.”

There was broad agreement between patients, doctors and healthcare providers that the guidelines have been harmful to patients. When asked if the guidelines had improved the quality of pain care in the United States, over 90 percent said no.

“I have been on a high dose of opioids for twenty years. I was having a quality of life and enjoyed living. Now I want to die every day. I am in excruciating pain and have no quality of life. I am on more drugs than ever and all I want is to die,” said a patient..

“Not only do I have less pain relief but I am not able to be as active and am sad and frustrated about that. Something has to change, what’s happening is not sane or humane,” wrote a fibromyalgia sufferer.

HAVE THE CDC GUIDELINES IMPROVED THE QUALITY OF PAIN CARE?

 
  • 90% NO
  • 3% YES
  • 7% DON’T KNOW
 

Eight out of ten respondents said the guidelines have not been successful in reducing opioid abuse and overdoses. That view is supported by recent reports showing that opioid overdoses are soaring around the country, and are now being driven primarily by heroin and illicit fentanyl, not prescription painkillers. 

Some patients admit they are turning to the black market for pain relief.

“Eleven of the 36 people in my support group have admitted using illegally obtained pain medication. Three of those have resorted to heroin because it is cheaper,” one patient said.

“I was able to find illegal sources of medication. However, the prices are high. I have been trying to avoid heroin but I may have to make a switch in the future if I don’t find another doctor to manage my pain,” said another patient.

“My pain clinic sent a letter to all of their patients stating they would no longer prescribe opiates,” said a patient. “No other practice would accept me in the area so I have been able to obtain my former meds through the black market. The prices are high and I am tempted to move to heroin as it’s much less expensive.”

HAVE THE CDC GUIDELINES BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN REDUCING OPIOID ABUSE AND OVERDOSES?

 
  • 84% NO
  • 3% YES
  • 13% DON’T KNOW
 

“I have found a source of illegal hydrocodone that I have been testing (making sure not laced with fentanyl) in extremely small does. If that turns out clean I will move to the black market for my drugs since it will end up cheaper,” another patient wrote.

Over the past year, patients reported many negative consequences from the guidelines, with very few positive outcomes – such as finding safer and more effective treatments.

  • 84% say they have more pain and worse quality of life
  • 42% have considered suicide because their pain is poorly treated
  • 22% are hoarding opioids because they’re not sure of future access
  • 20% say insurance refused to pay for a pain treatment they needed
  • 19% say a pharmacy refused to fill their opioid prescription
  • 11% have obtained opioids illegally for pain relief
  •   4% found better and safer treatment than opioids
  •   4% were given a referral for addiction treatment
  •   4% were discharged by a doctor for failing a drug test
  •   1% found that they don’t really need opioids

Suicidal thoughts and an increasing sense of desperation were common in many of the patient’s answers.

“My neighbor poured gasoline over her head and set herself on fire and died because she could not get any pain relief. To me it’s the same as taking chemo and radiation away from a cancer patient,” said one patient.

“Should be very careful who they kick off meds. A friend hung himself in the bathroom, another lost his job and went homeless. I live in fear,” said another.

“People are killing themselves because their chronic pain isn’t being treated, and I become closer and closer to being one of those people,” wrote another patient.

“So far I have lost three friends with chronic pain to suicide. I bet the CDC sees that as a win. Three less people to deal with. Bullets are cheaper than dealing with their chronic pain. It’s become a joke,” a patient said.

To see the complete survey results, click here.

12 Responses

  1. psss,,,u know,,I am going to look up the death due to suicides,,2000,,,,to the year 2016,,,and I am willing to bet,,,suicides are up exactly 70 %,,,,,,,,maryw

    • Mary, unless I am unable to find it, the CDC still has not released the number of suicides for the years of 2015 and 2016. The last year they’ve shown data from was 2014. They can pump those rates of overdose deaths out like nothing, but they’re two years behind on their suicides. I have to wonder if they’re afraid of what those two years of suicides will show.

      • I found it,,and it shows the truith,,Every since Dr.Government bullied there way into our medicare care and sicked this witch hunt on us,,our doctors,,,and our MEDICINES,,,it has sky rocketed,,,I wish I knew how to do a attachment here,,,I am sooo stupid when it come to computers,,um,,this site I found it at,,is http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html#death-rates,,,,,,,,geez could they make it any harder to find,,,,ON PURPOSE,,, when u find it,,,,look at the suicides between 1990-2000,,,,,notta,,actually THEY WENT DOWN!!!!!!,, with thee invention of PAIN MANAGEMENT!!!!!!then Dr.Government killed us,,literally!!!!!!COPY IT,,,FOR U KNOW ONCE WORD GETS OUT WE HAVE MORE PROOF THEIR WILLFULLY KILLING US,,IE TORTURE AND GENOCIDE,,,,IT WILL DISAPPEAR,,,,MARY

  2. We need to have a march on Washington, oh wait many of us have trouble walking, can’t afford to make the trip, don’t get paid for protesting etc… Time to put away the vagina hats and maybe get one with a scull and cross bones

  3. Its because NO LAWYER will help us,,,plain and simple,,,,had there been a lawsuit against these government employees for torture and genocide upon thee medically ill,,,,which carries a life sentence,,,,it would of been stopped dead in its tracks BEFORE these murderous guidelines ever were forcible put in place,,,,,,give us a lawyer,,,it will ALLLLLLLLLL STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,,,mary

  4. But the cdc published a report in the last few months that overdoses by prescription opioids hadn’t really changed. It was mostly heroin overdoses that had the dramatic increase. But you still don’t see them changing the guidelines even though they were totally wrong. And now I have to suffer because they lowered my doses.

  5. Do you really want to stop this insanity? Then learn what the REAL cause of drug abuse is here: https://youtu.be/YvG5Vv5rW5A, and pass it on to everyone, especially your legislators and doctors.

  6. No wonder why sooo many of us are being forced to use death to stop our physical pain,,,,sickening,,,barbaric and inhumane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MARY

  7. So what they are doing is making the drug dealers richer, the people on disability poorer. Why doesn’t the DEA focus on how all these drug dealers are getting more pain medication than the pain patients? They are barking up the wrong tree.

    • I disagree I think the DEA makes it worse from the beginning because they are simply glorified police most of whom are addicts and uneducated on medical need for pain management. Drugs should be lealas inPortugal.

  8. I bet if they told all the fat people they had to quit eating fast food we would really see the power of the people !!!!

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