Petition: First Do No Harm for Patients Cut Off From Opiates for Pain

Pain by Jade R

Mesh Medical Device News Desk, August 1, 2016 ~ The stories are heartbreaking. Thousands of people may soon be cut off from their opiates for pain control due to a nationwide crackdown on overprescribing of these drugs.

The stories are from those who are not abusers but need their medication to make living bearable. See this MND story on the issue.

Many mesh-injured understand that that's all about. Drugs such as OxyContin, methadone and Percocet may enable them to function on some level.

The push is contained in the National Pain Strategy that was issued in March as a way to cut down on rampant pain medication abuse. Overseen by Health and Human Services it is an interagency coordination involving the CDC, FDA, Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health, among others, to "transform how the nation understands and approaches pain management and prevention."

As with most things, the pendulum swing does not include consideration of the legitimate uses of pain meds but rather the "opioid epidemic." The underlying assumption is directed at the abusers of which there are many. It's estimated by the CDC that every day 40 Americans lose their lives to prescription pain medication. Read more on the Huffington Post here.

The CDC's guidelines are recommended for doctors prescribing outside of cancer treatment or end-of-live care. For everyone else, including the mesh-injured living with chronic pain, they may not be recognized as a legitimate need. Here are the Guidelines for Primary Care Providers.

In response is the First Do No Harm petition to the White House from people who have been cut off from their opiates for chronic pain. There are thousands leaving their signature along with heartbreaking stories of how they have suffered because their doctor will no longer prescribe pain medication.

States are also jumping in with their own no-opioid policies and surveillance of physicians who write prescriptions for them.

Thanks to Still Standing for bringing this to our attention.

She writes, "If you are interested in giving your voice to this issue, I urge you to sign the petition. Even if your medication has not been stopped or eliminated, there is a very high probability that it will be soon. This does not just impact new pain patients, it sweeps up all patients who rely on opioids for adequate pain management. Visit this site. It is eye opening to say the least."

Here is the Petition to Congress.