Life: quality or quantity… One.. Both… Neither… decided by someone else ?

I have a chronic illness and suffer from non stop pain. Last March, when my father was dying and I was flying back and forth to Montana I spoke to my pain management people about the 15 plus hour flights. I explained the increased strain, pain, and stress I was under. (One flight actually got way laid till the next day and I was in Salt Lake for a day. I was super bruised in both hips and on each side of my back and spine from the seats. ) I had asked my PM to help me temporarily with something to ease the pain as I was getting ready to go back up to Montana. My dad was now in hospice. They said no. Not gonna help me. Told me that if I didn’t like it then don’t fly. My chart was flagged. I was labeled a risk because I asked. Then I changed to medicaid insurance and they dropped me without a second thought. Hung up on me when I called and asked about the insurance. So I was cold turkey off all my pain meds. Now all this being said….
I understand someone going though with “END OF LIFE” proceedings. It is not, NOT suicide so don’t even think that. Suicide is for people who are self haters.
We are not self haters. We love life, our families and, friends, but when your body is so wracked with pain that you just can’t move anymore, and the slightest movement can make you puke. When you have to have help to the bathroom because your legs or feet are in so much pain you can’t stand. THEN TO HAVE THEN ONLY RELIEF FROM THIS CONSTANT NEVER ENDING SUFFERING RIPPED FROM YOU and to labeled a drug addict by the very dr who has been treating you for years? There comes a point where there is no quality of life, no end in sight, and we have to make a decision to what’s right for ourselves and our families.
I personally have thought about turning to street drugs to ease my pain because it’s cheaper than the medical marijuana that I have been prescribed here in FL. I just can’t bring myself to do.
I can’t go back on opioids.
I do have an END OF LIFE EXIT PLAN.

The above comment was made on this post on my blog  Ray left us this morning. He decided he couldn’t live with the Pain anymore

Somewhere I remember is some class that:

we Americans were entitled to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”

We are innocent until proven guilty and we are entitled to a “speedy trial”

The 4th Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure

The 8th Amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.

Most of the time in dealing with the enforcement of many laws.. is that those who create our laws and those that are in charge of enforcing our laws are the same ones who are breaking the laws and/or have decided not to enforce the laws or only enforce certain laws at certain times and/or against certain individual(s) or groups.

When the DEA raids and closes a practice… are the chronic pain pts of that practice being exposed to cruel and unusual punishment … because generally no other prescriber will take them on as a pt because generally the DEA has seized the pt’s medical records and put up road blocks for the pt to get them and/or a copy of them….  Unless one does not consider a cold turkey withdrawal as “cruel and unusual punishment” particularly for someone who is innocent until proven guilty.

How many pts suffering with a chronic disease would chose quantity of life without any quality of life and how many of those same pts would chose a good quality of life even if it could compromise their quantity of life ?

How much longer is the chronic pain community continue to whine, bitch and moan about being the “innocent victims” of the war on drugs..  why is most of the healthcare system not fighting to protect themselves and their pts ?

Maybe it is time for the chronic pain community to get to funding a legal defense fund and start suing those parts of the healthcare system that are responsible for denial of care and torturing the innocent chronic pain pts…  These entities will react to whoever they fear the most… right now it is the DEA… but .. it’s just as easy to be chronic pain pts… which could force them to stand up to the DEA and other bureaucratic entities that are violating the laws they are in charge of enforcing.

Others should not be the ones who are deciding if chronic pain pts should have a quality of life or a quantity of life nor have NEITHER !

 

 

 

2 Responses

  1. jmo,,I saw a video,,,of a Wolve,,overlooking his territory on a cliff,,and below,,,read the caption,,”Its not thee amount of time we have left in the life,,,its thee amount of life we live,,in the time we have left,,”..
    I have asked this ?? over 100’x on different bloggs,,,When it is physically impossible for anyone to physically feel the physical pain of another,,,why,,,,would any sane person think they have right to decide for all of mankind,,how much another human is to FORCIBLE endure physical pain from any medical condition???Is this not the same as Adolf Hitler deciding who he tortured and who he tortured to death???I believe it is,,,,I also believe NO-ONE HAS THE RIGHT O DECIDE HOW MUCH forced PHYSICAL PAIN any soulful entity should forcible endure,,via denial of access to effective medicine,by corrupted laws,regulations etc,,that put us all into absolute Despotisms,,,,jmo,,maryw,

  2. Steve, you are right. You have also taken the first step by creating this site which is serving as a platform for many actions.

    I have gained knowledge from your site which I will use for legal action if denied effective treatment. Effective for me.

    If I’m denied treatment by a doctor, or entity having jurisdiction over that doctor, where evidence supports such treatment, and it’s offered in any WHO territories, I’ll seek a judge to provide some temporary form of legal relief wherein I could receive the treatment. I will then provide the doctor a release or waiver of any liability he may sustain from me. In this manner the doctor may feel comfortable providing medication that he would otherwise be hesitant to, regarding sanction from DEA , FBI or others.

    I’m sure the doctor in question could refuse to provide a script based on moral situations, but even so the doctor may have to pass the issue along to someone who will have the fortitude to agree that the treatment in question may be warranted. The opportunity for some doctor to be involved in a positive way may actually be attractive to some Physicians that adhere to the science of Medicine.

    I believe such a temporary injunction would get the ball rolling on my situation and perhaps serve as a model for other legal action against the medical community – as you point out. The way things are going I expect this circumstance will arise within the next six months or so.

    I do not see any way out of this situation short of going to the Supreme Court, because the oppressive issues are at the heart of discrimination and most of the other rights afforded us in our constitution. It’s only a matter of taking the first shot which I believe you have done with this post and blog of yours.

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