If you really want an example of what being a #MyositisWarrior is all about look no further than the pain medicine debacle. The CDC has recently released information indicating that the rash of pain medicine tapers for chronic pain patients may have been a “slight” over-correction.
Doctors, fearing losing their Medical licenses, started drastic, rapid reductions of pain meds and in some cases didn’t offer alternatives to patients who needed, nay, deserved pain relief. The collateral damage of such irresponsible tapers is that chronic pain sufferers have been left with no choice but to turn to getting their opioids from the street, where they may be laced with other, more dangerous substances leading to accidental death. In other cases, people have turned to death by suicide as they see no other escape.
In 2016, seeking to curb opioid misuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced guidelines outlining a maximum safe dosage and strongly urging doctors to avoid prescribing for chronic pain unless death is imminent. The guidelines were supposed to be voluntary and apply only to chronic pain patients seeing general practitioners. Instead, they have been widely seen by doctors as mandatory. – Hans Bader
This is no laughing matter. The opioid crisis is real and should be addressed, but there is no excuse for the damage it has done to people with incurable pain.
But don’t take our word for it:
https://fee.org/articles/the-governments-anti-opioid-crusade-is-getting-people-killed/
http://nationalpainreport.com/hhs-draft-pain-report-lots-to-think-about-and-to-still-do-8839550.html
The Survey ended June 4, 2019
Important Update – May 2022
This survey has now turned into a seminal paper on pain and myositis and pain treatment. This study highlights the importance of addressing pain as part of myositis treatment. And MSU is providing you with access to the full paper. Download and save, and share with your doctors. There is no denying the Pain with Myositis is REAL.
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