I know. It's happening nation wide. Are you well enough to keep any kind of journal to document what you are going through with your medication reduction? There are pockets of us semi- functioning chronic pain patients that are collecting data on what is happening to all of us. We are then putting the stories together as documentation to present any time that we can. I would love to add your story to the group if you are willing to share it with me. You can just message me on this site or I can share my email if you need it. Also, I am asking for anyone suffering through this opioid crackdown to video document themselves also. That means just using your cell phone to record yourself when you are in extreme pain, frustration, anger or just have something to say about losing your medication. That means being willing to record yourself even when you are on the floor crying, especially then. I then want to collect the videos and edit them together so people can see who we are. There are always former addicts and families of those that have overdosed shown when the opioid epidemic is brought up. We need to be seen too. I am sorry you are going through this. If you don't mind sharing, what is the reason of your chronic pain? Some people have some good ideas on this site of things that have helped them.

This C.Y.A. problem exists all over this country. It is nothing but an attempt to continue to treat the symptom instead of the problem. When it is all said and done there will be more training, more hoops for the pain patients to have to jump through, more expense, and no relief. One has to wonder, just where is the tipping point where many patients can no longer abide with the unreasonable hurtles with no real relief. I fear many pain sufferers will begin to see the futility and expense in seeing a doctor and seek more drastic, illegal measures, ultimately filling our jails with people who only wish relief from pain that they never asked for. To deliberately under medicate any patient should be a crime yet this is exactly what I am witnessing happen. In a knee jerk reaction over a relatively few abusers and those suffering from addictive personalities, the tens of millions of chronic pain sufferers are being punished by under medicating (torture) doctors and politicians.
I have watched this lack of reason occur in the past. There were barbiturates- Marlyn Monroe, amphetamines-John Kennedy, Methaqualone or Quaalude-Ted Kennedy, and opiates-multiple rock stars, who were used as examples to prove that no one should be allow to take such drugs. This is nothing short of insanity! You would think we would learn from previous mistakes. I live in the eastern part of the country, but what is happening in Washington state is happening everywhere. We need to form one national front that will trump state law if we are to get any relief. Count me in!

This craziness is coming down to a matter of survival. For over 55 years, off and on, I have had to take opiates for a near normal life. Years ago, there was a similar crackdown by the drug thugs (D.E.A.) and I was forced to use high dose nsaids for relief. This stupidity forced upon me cost my teeth and tens of thousands of dollars. Opiates have allowed me to sleep and work to support my family. Any doctor will tell you that exercise and sleep are necessary for good health, yet I don't see any standing up to fight for pain patients. If we are to survive we must stand together and fight or we will all be sentenced to a slow torturous death. The media doesn't want to hear the success stories, only the tragic stories of those who wish to harm themselves. There is a book called Pain in America and how our government makes it worse, by John P. Flannery II, that is a synopsis of our problem. It was written about the last drug crackdown in the early part of this century. It has excellent information and shows, in detail, how the government will lie and distort facts to convict doctors and patients. I for one, am tired of being shamed or labeled an addict by my doctor and the drug thugs. I didn't ask for this pain, and I have done nothing wrong to deserve the punishment and torture placed upon me as a chronic pain sufferer. Enough is enough!

Yes, my clinic has cut back because of the CDC also. Keep praying our voices will be heard!

spiritscript, Thank you for notifying me of the closing date. I have downloaded the information and wish to add the following comments and intend to pass this information on to as many people as I can. This is a well kept secret in my part of the country. I have yet to hear of one doctor, pain specialist or otherwise, that has informed patients of this, nor have I seen any notices posted anywhere. It is hard to petition or file letters against such draconian rulings when people are unaware of such happenings. It would seem there is an intentional effort to keep us ignorant, therefore silent.
I am also trying to get as many people as I can to write and call President Trump, First Lady, House Representative, and Senators. The D.E.A. pulled this trick of enforcing recommended prescribing guidelines in the late 1990s-2005 when, a challenge at the trial of Dr. William Hurwitz (2005) forced them to drop their guidelines. A civilized society simply has no room for torture, and this is, exactly, what we are seeing, being enacted There would seem to be Constitutional violations of our rights as set forth in the 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments. Also at issue is the Right To The Pursuit of Happiness, afforded to all Americans. Denying people in pain relief is torture, by any definition.