Two Senators With Business Degrees Want
the FDA to Tell Doctors They Should Not
Treat Chronic Pain With Opioids
Reason,
by
Jacob Sullum
Original Article
Posted By: zoidberg,
7/15/2019 1:07:19 PM
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) has a bachelor's degree in business administration. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) has an MBA from Harvard. Yet the two senators seem to think they have the medical expertise to second-guess the judgment of physicians across the United States, not to mention the Food and Drug Administration. A bill they introducedlast week, the FDA Opioid Labeling Accuracy Act, instructs the agency to tell prescribers that opioids are "not intended for the treatment of chronic pain." Their reasoning is hard to follow. "In the United States," Manchin says, "we consume 80 percent of the world's opioid production
Reply 1 - Posted by:
earlybird 7/15/2019 1:14:51 PM (No. 124298)
Prudent doctors are aware of the ease with which opioid addiction can occur. They give limited quantities of them and any renewal will require the doctor’s approval.
That said, most of those sufferering from addiction and/or death due to opioid overdose are not the persons for whom these meds were prescribed. My surgeon’s office has posters warning about leaving these meds in the medicine cabinet.
And then there are the ones sold on the street.
10 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
HotRod 7/15/2019 1:19:20 PM (No. 124303)
Of the claimed 70,000 who have died from Opioids, how many were from voluntary abuse to get stoned? Getting addicted is different from voluntary abuse, so I suspect a large part of the 70,000 are the druggies.
14 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
jalo1951 7/15/2019 1:26:43 PM (No. 124308)
One of my sisters has a degenerative bone disease in her neck, shoulders and spine. She has taken opioids for many years. This medication has allowed her to continue to be an active participant in her family and community. She takes them responsibility under the care of her physician. She has had no issues. She is not popping pills to escape whatever hell these people are trying to escape. She doesn't sell them or share them. She does not overdose in the backseat of her car or on her front yard waiting for someone to call 911 to save her for the 5th time that month. I don't have an answer for this problem. But denying her the medication she needs is not the right path. Sen. Braun, you are my senator. Please rethink and re-evaluate your position. I am aware of the opioid crisis but denying people the ability to live their daily lives and function without pain is not the answer.
41 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
RedWhiteBlue 7/15/2019 1:31:24 PM (No. 124312)
Didn't the jackass-eared foul breath socialist-commie obamba urged people to just take a pill? Well.....
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
AltaD 7/15/2019 1:37:50 PM (No. 124321)
Reply #4's post should be sent to every Senator and member of Congress.
16 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Smart11344 7/15/2019 1:43:42 PM (No. 124332)
Since when does a business degree allow you to prescribe ANY medicine? My God, the democrats truly are as dumb as a post.
12 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
VegasGrump 7/15/2019 1:44:19 PM (No. 124335)
"patients who depend upon these drugs to make their lives livable are not inclined to part with them, meaning that short-term prescriptions for acute pain are more likely sources of diverted pain pills." Boy is that the truth! I have been taking the same dose of hydrocodone since 1998 when I was dealing with my 1st of 9 joint surgeries and 1 spine surgery. Osteoarthritis is eating my joints and these yahoos say I don't need the medication. Shame on them for talking out their a__es when they don't know what they are talking about.
19 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
flygal 7/15/2019 1:45:09 PM (No. 124336)
I too am a chronic pain patient, since a cord injury 20 years ago. I use opioids to control the pain and allow me to function and work (I am a farmer, and we are currently cleaning up a farm we bought a few years ago getting ready to get animals. Before I was injured I was a medical professional working full time). Were I not allowed opioids, I would be a couch potato of no use to society. On opioids, I have been able to become active (I have trained for and run triathlons and snowboarded). I worked until my job would no longer accommodate my needs (even on the opioids I have difficulty sitting at a desk for long periods). I can't imagine my life without my medication. Kind of like asking a diabetic to live without insulin, or a transplant patient to not be allowed anti-rejection medication. The end result is death. I prefer a society that is willing to treat the people with appropriate medications that work, and allow the people to continue to live the best, most comfortable and productive life they can.
19 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
jfodoch 7/15/2019 1:46:01 PM (No. 124338)
As with any substance (prescribed drugs, alcohol, even food) opioids can be addictive, but when properly used to treat symptoms, can be very effective if consumed in an appropriate way.
The word "abuse" is key to the problem -- if the side-effects are unacceptable, you know how to fix that.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
CEP 7/15/2019 1:47:13 PM (No. 124340)
I am so sick of these elected people who haven't a clue yet spout off nonsense like they are experts. Sorry I also think that Ivanka Trump should keep her nose out of it also. They have made a mess out of this opiod situation that doctors cannot treat their patients. It is the abusers, the druggies, those buying off the streets unscrupulous doctors etc. that have created the problems and the ones paying the price are those with chronic pain.
12 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
runningdoc 7/15/2019 1:53:24 PM (No. 124351)
While they may not have medical degrees, they are mostly correct. We did not give narcotic medicines for chronic pain before OxyContin and the “pain is the fifth vital sign” nonsense that was promoted by Purdue Pharma. Do no harm! Not everyone with a pain number of 0!
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 7/15/2019 1:53:47 PM (No. 124352)
If they want to be accurate, then the label should include what is 'intended for treatment of chronic pain'. If they want to proactise medicine, then practise it. Tell the world what is appropriate.
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
lakerman1 7/15/2019 2:06:19 PM (No. 124368)
Rite Aid pharmacy now has a protocol where they place a red sticker on the bottle cap of an opiod prescription, OPIODS.
I asked the pharmacist if he was trying to make burglars more efficient when they raided a medicine cabinet.
He said, 'well, we didn't think of that.'
It was sort of like the 1968 Federal Firearms Act. Initially, all boxes shipped with guns in them had to be labeled as such. Gun thieves were pleased with that.
The federal government changed the regulation.
6 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Nevadadad46 7/15/2019 2:49:26 PM (No. 124414)
How about this; How about idiot legislators and/or Senators who do not have medical degrees shut their GD pie hole about drugs? Hmmm? How about we let doctors figure this out instead of randomly elected morons who are from districts than a 'glass of water with a "D" on the side of it could get elected to office'?
Wife and I both suffered chronic pain and opioids helped us live productive lives for years. After the laws changed under Obama, Medicos put us through a wringer of constant urine testing, questionnaires and outright accusations of abuse, all due to ever increasing government regulations. One day we decided to simply quit. We were both addicted but we made it through- I went cold turkey first then she did it helping each other through the agony. I used whisky, she used nothing but Tylenol. It was real Hell but we made it. Now we just suffer the pain as best we can. Thanks government, you busybody jerks! What if you dopes did your stupid jobs and actually went after the real abusers of these very helpful drugs instead of harassing folks who really need them??
7 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
montwoodcliff 7/15/2019 2:50:05 PM (No. 124416)
These people who wish to deny chronic pain sufferers these drugs have never been through pain and have no idea of the suffering they go through. Ibuprofen, naproxen, Tylenol, and aspirin are next to useless in treating severe pain and do have side effects such as bleeding, and kidney problems. They are fine for a headache and light muscular pain. But for real pain, you have to take the opioids. If these do gooders want to stop the prescribing of opioids, I suggest they go through knee replacement surgery or some other major joint surgery without them. What will they take if they have cancer? As other people have commented here, many people need these drugs to function normally so they can do their jobs. Cancer patients need relief so they can be comfortable. And don't forget those with chronic back pain. Unless one has experienced chronic or severe pain, they should keep their mouths shut!
16 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
DVC 7/15/2019 2:51:58 PM (No. 124420)
If someone is in chronic pain, being addicted to opiods, as long as they can legally get them is BY FAR, the least of their worries. Their worries start when they are cut off from their pain meds by well meaning idiots like these.
12 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
skacmar 7/15/2019 3:02:04 PM (No. 124432)
It appears that becoming a Senator, Representative in Congress, or an famous Actor, makes you an expert in all things and gives you the ability to tell others what to do. Its funny how being elected or playing a character makes one an expert on something these days. The problems with the rules for things like Opioid based medications is they are either too lax or way too restrictive. Physicians are now so afraid of the FDA that they are denying people who truly need their medication refills based on rules based on sensationalized reactions to a "crisis" by those who abuse drugs but ignores those who use them responsibly. This proposed Act just furthers the problem for responsible opioid drug patients while not actually addressing the problems of addiction. Addicts don't read labels!
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
cheeflo 7/15/2019 3:19:09 PM (No. 124439)
What other purpose do opioids serve if not to relieve pain? Why not just ban their manufacture outright, or limit them to hospital use only? How obtuse can these two geniuses be?
#3 -- most overdoses are typically the result of a combination of drugs, often street drugs like fentanyl and heroin, maybe with alcohol thrown in. Drug overdoses by pain patients are not driving the so-called opioid crisis -- it is a very small proportion of accidental death from overdose because pain patients take opioids to relieve pain, not for the buzz.
#4 -- agreed. I regularly take an opioid for chronic rheumatoid arthritis pain. I never take more than one at a time, always at a safe and appropriate interval, and have found it to continue to be very helpful in getting through the day for several years. The assumption that a pain patient will inevitably resort to increased dosing and ultimately result in addiction is a mistaken one. I rely on it, but I am not dependent on it. Why would someone choose to turn a lifeline into a liability? In fact, working with my rheumatologist, my prescription count has been reduced over time at my request.
6 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
fayebeck 7/15/2019 3:39:02 PM (No. 124458)
I am a "recreational" opioid user.
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
j9zig2009 7/15/2019 3:50:18 PM (No. 124474)
Dependency is not addiction. Dependency is taking as prescribed for pain management.
I empathize with those who suffer chronic pain. A relative of mine needed fentanyl patch to be able to walk across a room & not go mad from chronic pain. Doctors do fear the DEA & getting a mostly homebound person to Dr office every 30 days was hard, esp in winter. This person died at 90 years old, still able to walk.
Thank God for the opioids. I'm grateful I don't have to fight these new laws & watch someone I love suffer. I guess they'd have to do medical marijuana to replace.
3 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 7/15/2019 4:16:59 PM (No. 124509)
I have degenerative disc disease and am in almost constant pain from my lower back. I also have arthritis I'm my hips and knees. Unfortunately, I am unable to take narcotics and opioids due to my body's reactions to such drugs. If I take them, I experience double vision, migraine headaches and other problems. I am left with either living with the pain or using other resources like NSAIDS to deal with it. And my doctor will not prescribe anything stronger than Tylenol due to the kidney problems that I am already dealing with.
These idiot know-all Congress-critters and Senators are why we ended up with the disastrous Obamacare bill. Why in the HILL would I listen to them now???
4 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
john56 7/15/2019 4:42:38 PM (No. 124528)
Obviously Sen. Manchin's daughter's drug company isn't in the opiod business. Otherwise he'd be encouraging their use.
6 people like this.
Suddenly, everybody in Congress is a maven. It should be left up to patients and their doctors. A person in chronic pain does not have the same experience with opioids as a drug abuser. Now cancer patients have to go to pain management doctors, which has it's own racket. You don't know if you are sitting next to a druggie, a white collar criminal who was court ordered, or someone in pain. And they all get the $600 urine test. I refused to return to one doctor.
1 person likes this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 7/16/2019 2:00:00 AM (No. 124930)
We fought the British over less than this.
2 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
AntiStatist 7/16/2019 10:28:44 AM (No. 125252)
Exactly right.
When will we seek to severely restrict alcohol because there are some of us who have that addiction gene? If 1 out of 100 is given to substance addiction- alcohol, drugs, and the like- shouldn't the remaining 99 do without, and in the case of opioids, suffer in pain, just because of a few who mis-use?
Good intentions pave the road to hell, and Manchin and Braun are grading the way.
0 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
AntiStatist 7/16/2019 10:40:23 AM (No. 125267)
And another thing- politicians have interfered to the point already that the doctor-patient relationship is seriously affected, where the patient is scared to ask for relief, and the doctor is scared to prescribe because of the opioid HYSTERIA has every doctor looking over his shoulder when prescribing legitimate medication.
My wife was a victim in a car accdient 25 years ago (not her fault, but the consequence of a "do-gooder") and he has neck damage that no x-ray or scan can locate for corrective surgery. So she has severe headaches fairly regularly. Her long-time doctor knows her well, knows what she's going through, and he's provided a good range of medications to be used responsibly, which she does. One tablet every four hours as needed does not mean one tablet every 2 or 3 as wanted.
But now, due to irresponsible addicts and quick-buck shady doctors, her obtaining these meds becomes ever more difficult, to even where a pharmacy has refused to fill a legitimate prescription for fear of alerting the opioid police.
To see my wife have to suffer because of irresponsible mis-users and do-gooder politicians who want to be seen as "fixing a problem", I say to hell with both.
0 people like this.
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Comments:
This is wrong-headed.