Meet the Doctor Who Refuses to Stop Prescribing Opioids to Pain Patients
Pain patients from across the country are flocking to a boundary-pushing pain specialist in West Covina, California because they can’t get the treatment they need in their home states.
A growing “opioid epidemic” in the U.S. has led law enforcement agencies to crack down on so-called pill mills, leading to the arrest of several physicians. Last year, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) clamped down on painkillers, reducing the allowed production of opioid medications by about 25 percent. Some states have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers, and, earlier this year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued guidelines advising physicians against prescribing high doses of these drugs, which can be particularly lethal when combined with alcohol or anti-anxiety medications. Many doctors will only prescribe opioids as a last resort.
Dr. Forest Tennant, 76, says this regulatory backlash is preventing chronic pain sufferers from getting the drugs they need to alleviate their conditions, and he refuses to go along. Critics have denounced his unapologetic style and unorthodox methods, but his patients depict him as one of the only physicians in America to put the needs of his patients first.
“[Tennant was] the first doctor to say, ‘our goal is to relieve your pain,'” says Kristen Ogden, whose husband Louis Ogden has suffered from chronic pain for decades. They travel to Dr. Tennant’s office from Virginia for treatment every three months. “Every other doctor had said, ‘our goal is to get you off any opioid medications.'”
Many physicians have even begun to adjust the way that they think about pain.
In a New England Journal of Medicine article, one of the pain specialists advising the CDC recommended that pain patients “use coping and acceptance strategies that primarily reduce the suffering associated with pain and only secondarily reduce pain intensity.” That opioids are never an effective chronic pain treatment is quickly becoming conventional wisdom, and the American Medical Association (AMA) has even begun to advise physicians to abandon the pain rating scale when assessing patients.
“I take the Hippocratic oath seriously, that my job is to relieve pain and suffering,” says Dr. Tennant. “So when I see the AMA decide that they’re not going to assess pain, I’m not with them.”
Tennant has run a pain clinic since the 1970s when he mostly treated patients with pain resulting from cancer and polio. He’s never shied away from the public spotlight.
In addition to serving as mayor of his city, he ran some of Los Angeles County’s earliest methadone clinics to treat heroin addicts and in the late ’80s served as a drug adviser for the NFL, NASCAR, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Controversy swirled around him in many of these roles.
He angered the NFL when he publicly disclosed plans to monitor several New England Patriots players for drug use. One NASCAR racer even accused him of colluding to falsify drug tests to target him.
Tennant simply told the New York Times that “[n]o mistakes were ever made.”
Tennant says it’s true that opioids were overprescribed in the past and should generally be a last resort for pain treatment. But he believes the media and government have now gone too far in demonizing them, and it’s legitimate pain patients who are paying the price.
Filed under: General Problems
I have read the first 7 or so postings and I just would like to say that all of you are SPOT ON THE MONEY! Thank you all for speaking out and giving your honest opinion. This Dr is a god send we need more like him. I am so happy to say that I have a doctor like Dr. Tennant but I am so afraid to give anyone his name because of the Governmental powers that be as well as my Doctor would be overwhelmed by people looking for higher doses. He is far from an overprescriber or a pill mill he is just realistic and not intimidated ,Call me selfish but in this day and age you must protect your source. Grin.
keep your mouth shut,,, the government will hack your computer or your medical records and find your doctors,,,trust me on this,,,HOWEVER,,,,,, your doctor might want to conscider speaking up,,for Dr.Tennant,,,should NOT BE THEE ONLY ONE W/THE TRUE ,”HUMANITY,ETHICS,AND MORALITY,,, to adhere to his medical oath,,,to do no harm,,,,,,,,,your doctor might want to conscider that,,,,its like Steve stated long ago,,,,first they went after the mentally ill,,then the doctors,,then me,,,,and no-one was left,,,to defend me!!!!,,,and we see this now,,,,w/morgan taking on people who supposedly were harm by medicine,,,and not taking on our case,,people who are harmed by NO MEDICINE,,,,,,,, think on that??!!!,,,,we need MORE doctors like Dr.Tennant to stand up to the prohibition of no medical purpose for opiates,,,BULLSHIT,,,maryw
Mary, you are exactly right! Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, pain doctor’s will stop prescribing pain medication before they lose everything! I have watched 6 PM doctor’s leave my PM doctor’s office, out of a total of 10 doctors. They retire early, move on to lower paying jobs, and change to primary care, just to avoid the bull s$#@ flying around. So, what is the answer? I wish I knew!
Today i had accidentally stopped channel surfing and landed on CNN. The news if you call it that wss talking about this opioid crisis and what they were reporting you could tell was that there was no independent research done to verify what they said and made us look so bad. I wanted to call them up and set the record straight but didn’t because I’m nobody. This amazing doctor tho he could really make a difference by speaking out for us. Maybe get interviewed by them since this opioid epidemic was pretty much headline news this mornin. I can’t even tell y’all exactly what was said because i wss struck dumb by by the stupidity of their so called facts. Lucky is the person who sees this doctor if i were closer i would call to get in to be seen and helped.
Dr.Tennant Sir,,,THANK U,,THANK U ,,THANK U,,, for being a doctor who takes his hippocratic oath above money,,,,,,and putting YOUR patient 1st,,,,,THANK U,,,,and having the ethic,morality,and humanity,,,to be among thee great men who founded this country,,For opiate medicine was never even a issue during their time,,,stopping physical pain was their top priority also,,,to relieve human agony from painful MEDICAL condition!!!!,,,,,,THANK U,,,,,,,,maryw
Bravo for Dr. Tenant. He takes his oath seriously and is obviously a very caring man. I have had my chronic pain successfully controlled for 30 years via an opioid. So, obviously, it is a LIE that opioids do not work long term for chronic pain. Who in their right mind would tell a chronic pain patient to ” learn to accept” chronic pain. It must be someone who has never had any serious pain, How absolutely ridiculous!!! I am extremely tired of the addicts not being held ACCOUNTABLE for their actions!! The pain medications ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. The problem is the person ABUSING things because something is wrong in their life. STOP blaming opioids and put the blame where it belongs.
Thank you dr Tennant. I respect you greatly. I wish we could have found you before my husband was driven to suicide after abandonment from his pain dr. God bless your efforts.
God Bless this Dr who takes his job seriously!!