opioids Archives - The Painful Truth

Response to People in Pain

CDC Guidelines for Opioid Prescriptions

The CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March 2016, was meant to provide recommendations for prescribing opioids. It was not meant to mandate policy. Since then, states have developed their own restrictive guidelines for prescribing opioids largely based on the CDC prescribing guideline.

Proposed federal restrictions on prescribing might increase the difficulty of finding doctors who are willing to provide pain patients with opioid prescriptions. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is working to decrease the production of opioids while pursuing legal action against an increasing number of doctors who prescribe opioids.

Opioid Lawsuits Threaten Lives of Pain Sufferers

Implications for People With Chronic Pain

Several lawsuits have been filed against several opioid manufacturers, distributors, and physicians for participating in what was allegedly a scheme to cause incalculable harm for profit. I am one of the physicians named as an alleged “conspirator.”

The opioid lawsuits are far more than legal matters that involve the defendants. They also have serious implications for people in pain.

The opioid crisis and resulting lawsuits have significantly impacted regulatory scrutiny of prescribing, which in turn has had a chilling effect on physicians who are increasingly unwilling to treat people in pain for fear of losing their license. Unfortunately, the lawsuits and the hyperbolic charges they contain fail to recognize the scientific, medical realities of chronic pain patients.

Repeating the Mistakes of the Past

I’m pleased to present a blog written by Megan Nalamachu who is a bright, articulate high school student.

Her father, Dr. Srinivas Nalamachu, is a treasured colleague and friend. He proudly sent me his daughter’s well-researched work, because he believed I’d be interested in it. He was correct. Megan did a wonderful job rendering a powerful piece that, in my opinion, is well worth sharing.

My usual disclaimer applies. Megan’s article reflects her own views. They are not necessarily my own, nor do they represent medical advice.

Megan Nalamachu, it’s a privilege for me to publish your work. Thank you for your contribution.

Prescription Drug Advertisements

Selling Prescription Drugs via Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

“Next year, how about fewer ads that fuel opioid addiction and more on access to treatment,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough complained on Twitter.

“Was that really an ad for junkies who can’t [poop]? America, I luv ya but I just can’t keep up,” TV host Bill Maher tweeted.

These are only two insensitive comments that were made by high-profile individuals in response to AstraZenca’s 2016 Super Bowl ad, “Envy.”

Open Letter to Journalists and Editors About “Addicted Babies”

Babies Cannot Be Born Addicted to Drugs

“Babies Born Addicted,” “Addicted Babies,” “Babies with Addiction,” and similar headlines appear nearly daily in the media. This is because babies exhibit horrible withdrawal symptoms if they are born physically dependent on opioids, and it pulls at our heartstrings to see them suffer. But it misleads media consumers, policymakers, and family members into believing the newborns are addicted. They confuse signs of withdrawal with opioid addiction.

Confusion is understandable. Yet the fact is that babies cannot be born addicted to drugs, and they don’t deserve the stigma that accompanies the label.

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz’s Mea Culpa on the War on Drugs

A Unique Perspective of the War on Drugs

George Shultz has fought the war on drugs. He worked as the Secretary of State during the Reagan Administration when First Lady Nancy Reagan failed to significantly decrease drug abuse with her well-intended, yet overly simplistic, “Just Say No” campaign.

He has a unique perspective on the current drug crisis, since he’s fought in the trenches. Therefore, it’s especially significant that he now admits we have used the wrong tactics and are losing the battle. George P. Shultz and Pedro Aspe provide an accurate and sensible analysis of the current drug crisis in a recent New York Times article.

Gaslighting the Public

To Push a Political Agenda

It’s troubling to think that our thought leaders and government officials could intentionally mislead the public. But I was reminded this week after watching “The Post,” a film about the massive coverup that spanned three decades of secrets and lies about the Vietnam conflict, that our government has indeed intentionally deceived and lied to the American public.

Burying information is one way to further a political agenda. Limiting acceptable words and, as the National Review points out, choosing language specifically to distort the truth is another. You might be far more willing to ingest a meat additive, for example, if detractors hadn’t labeled it as “pink slime.”

Please Send the FDA Your Comments

New Opioid Policy Steering Committee

On September 29 of this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice — Opioid Policy Steering Committee; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Comments — in the Federal Register, The Daily Journal of the United States Government.

The FDA is seeking comments from members of the public, including chronic pain patients and their families, healthcare professionals, academic institutions, and industry relative to the FDA’s new Opioid Policy Steering Committee (OPSC).

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. has expressed his commitment to confronting the opioid crisis and reducing the possibility of opioid addiction. He established the OPSC, and charged the committee with seeking input from the public.

The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.

Please note: This version of the blog originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake City Tribune on December 10, 2017.

The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.

The Salt Lake Tribune published an editorial on Sunday Nov 12, 2017, “Medical professionals need to play a role in opioid crisis.” The first line reads, “First do no harm.” According to the editorial, physicians who prescribe opioids to treat pain patients may be violating the Hippocratic Oath, because “a doctor’s first concern is to not do anything to make things worse.”

Digital Pills and Other Medical Adherence Technology

The Future of Medicine

The future of medicine may have arrived, and it has its benefits — but it might also create an Orwellian, Big Brother culture.

All medical developments are meant to solve a problem. It is estimated that as often as 80% of the time, patients fail to use medication as directed for some diseases. According to The Atlantic, nonadherence (or noncompliance), in general, costs Americans between $100 billion to $289 billion a year. That has led to considerable research focusing on how to improve patients’ compliance.