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1/Here is a thread of my letter to @amnestyusa-2018.
The pain community was DENIED help.
"One tenet of Amnesty International is upholding and fighting for the rights of human beings to obtain the highest standard of physical and mental health possible.
cont...
#PainCareCrisis
The pain community was DENIED help.
"One tenet of Amnesty International is upholding and fighting for the rights of human beings to obtain the highest standard of physical and mental health possible.
cont...
#PainCareCrisis
2/At this very moment there are millions of Americans who are being denied that very thing. People with severe health issues facing a LIFETIME of pain due to a devastating diagnosis of an incurable disease, or because they were tragically injured and all treatment options failed.
3/I am one of those Americans. I was involved in a tree cutting accident in 2010 and sustained a cervical spine injury as well as having a chronic illness that causes daily pain.
4/Patients in pain are now being profiled, discriminated against, put into government databases where even their Veterinarians have access to their medical records, and forced into ‘pain contracts’ which essentially strip them of their constitutional rights.
5/They are told they must sign these contracts, with the direct threat of not receiving needed medication if they don’t comply. This practice amounts to coercion and patients are signing these contracts under extreme duress.
6/If a patient objects they are told that they are free to go to another doctor, but they aren’t able to find a doctor that doesn’t use these policies because ‘pain contracts’ are now the Standard of Care regarding opioid prescribing all across the nation.
7/These contracts are in fact, more penalizing than some penalties levied at individuals who have actually committed drug crimes. People convicted of drug crimes can earn their freedom with probation and by ‘proving’ themselves in a court of law. Pain patients have no such right.
8/They are being subjected to endless repeated drug testing, forced to take other medications in order to be prescribed the medicines that treat their pain effectively.
9/They are being forced to undergo risky medical procedures and are treated by medical professionals with hostility, dismissive attitudes, and blatant contempt.
10/It’s important to note that even when a patient complies fully with their pain contract and follows all the rules as stipulated, they are being force tapered or denied needed medication altogether.
11/People with serious health conditions are even being told that instead of needed medication they should learn ‘pain acceptance’ or to use exercise, yoga, & meditation to treat their pain.
12/Not only are the opioid policies causing irreparable harm to chronic pain patients, it has now begun to impact post surgical and acute care pain protocols with the use of 'Enhanced Recovery'; whereby opioids are restricted or denied.
13/The current approach to combating the 'OPIOID CRISIS" has not reduced OD deaths. In addition, the anti-opioid campaign has taken the lives away from millions of people living with pain every day by denying them medicine that actually improves the quality of their lives.
14/Most who were moderately to extremely functional are now housebound and forced to endure severe, relentless pain.
It seems that our Washington Representatives view Americans with illness and injury who need opioids as inconsequential collateral damage in this opioid war.
It seems that our Washington Representatives view Americans with illness and injury who need opioids as inconsequential collateral damage in this opioid war.
15/The CDC has even admitted publicly to inaccurate and conflated numbers in regard to prescription opioids, due to poor information gathering regarding opioid deaths, yet no changes in policies have resulted from this admission.
16/Addiction happens in a very small percentage of people who are prescribed opioids for moderate to severe pain. Some studies put that percentage at about 2.5 percent or even lower for those with no history of prior substance abuse.
17/If we look at addiction objectively and with some measure of sanity, we see that addiction isn't about the substance per se. The causes of addiction are far more insidious and complex and will require of our leaders the impetus to address the underlying causes of addiction;
18/issues like joblessness, homelessness, poverty, and lack of access to affordable health and mental health services.
19/I am appealing to Amnesty International to please help those being negatively impacted by the current prescription drug policies. Please do not let this inhumane treatment, happening to some of the most vulnerable among us to go on any longer.
20/There is a CHILLING EFFECT that has set in due to misinformation and the stigma surrounding even the word 'opoid' is pervasive and the current narrative and policies must stop.
We are just trying to live our lives the best we can.
We are just trying to live our lives the best we can.
21/I would like to speak with someone regarding this issue if at all possible. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter, I look forward to speaking with you.
