After months of controversy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuesday published prescribing guidelines to address the epidemic of deaths and overdoses attributed to opioid painkillers.
The guidelines, which focus on chronic pain except for cancer and end-of-life care, arrive amid intensifying concern over the widely prescribed drugs. Every day, more than 40 Americans die from overdoses of opioid painkillers, according to the CDC. And each year, 2 million people abuse or misuse the drugs.
Many state lawmakers have responded to the crisis by introducing bills to restrict prescribing. And the Food and Drug Administration is pushing drug makers to develop more tamper-resistant products. But the CDC guidelines, while voluntary, arguably represent the most sweeping effort to address the problem.
“Management of chronic pain is an art and a science. The science of opioids for chronic pain is clear — for the vast majority of patients, the known, serious, and too-often fatal risks far outweigh the unproven and transient benefits,” wrote CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden and Dr. Debra Houry, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in an essay today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The guidelines are targeted at primary care physicians, in particular, since family doctors write the vast majority of prescriptions for painkillers. Notably, the agency recommends doctors prescribe opioids only after other therapies have failed and rely on the lowest possible doses.
The CDC also suggests that short-term treatment — typically, just three days, but sometimes seven days — is far more preferable than long-term use. The overriding concern is that patients who take opioids for extended periods are much more likely to become addicted.
“We don’t want people getting more opioids than needed,” said Houry in an interview. “We want people to have a proper course of treatment, but still want patients and health care providers to use caution.”
To what extent the guidelines will be adopted is uncertain. Although the opioid epidemic has received substantial publicity and policy makers are more aggressively trying to combat the problem, the CDC recommendations are just that — recommendations. Another unknown is whether more people will turn to heroin if opioids are harder to obtain, said Alison Insinger, editor of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly.
Nonetheless, the effort was welcomed by the Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, an education and advocacy group, whose president was a member of an expert working group that helped draft the guidelines.
“It’s the first time the federal government has clearly communicated to the medical community that widespread and routine practice of treating long-term chronic pain with opioids is inappropriate,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the group’s executive director, who is chief medical officer at Phoenix House, a nonprofit that runs drug abuse treatment and prevention programs.
The opioid epidemic has been fueled by what some say is improper marketing by drug makers.
Nearly a decade ago, Purdue Pharma and three former executives pleaded guilty to fraudulently marketing OxyContin as less addictive than other pain medications and paid $634 million in fines. More recently, Purdue and other drug makers have been sued by some local governments for allegedly misleading consumers about the risks of their opioid painkillers.
The guidelines were more than a year in the making, and the CDC encountered considerable pushback from some patient groups after a preliminary version of the guidelines was leaked online last fall. The groups argued that the agency relied on weak evidence to generate its recommendations. They also feared that some patients would be denied needed pain relief, an issue they continue to press.
“We’re concerned that rather than trying to understand the nuance involved, many clinicians will simply implement suggested dosing and duration recommendations as de facto limits, (instead of) thresholds that trigger additional actions,” said Bob Twillman, who heads the American Academy of Pain Management, which receives financial backing from the pharmaceutical industry.
Some groups voiced considerable opposition to the guidelines at a meeting last December of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee. However, the meeting itself became controversial because some of the groups also receive financial support from drug makers that sell opioid painkillers. Their involvement prompted US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to ask the US Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an inquiry.
The kerfuffle prompted the CDC to ask the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control’s Board of Scientific Counselors to review the guidelines. In the end, the board supported the CDC, and the agency tweaked its initial version of the guidelines. The CDC maintains that its critics are misguided because there simply isn’t sufficient evidence available to evaluate the long-term use of opioids or compare them with other treatments.
Most placebo-controlled, randomized trials of opioids have lasted six weeks or less, and CDC officials are not aware of any study that has compared opioid therapy with other treatments for more than one year and produced outcomes related to pain, function or lifestyle, wrote Frieden and Houry in their essay. “In fact, several studies have showed that use of opioids may actually worsen pain and functioning.”
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What is tragic is when a person has leginumant pain and complains to their Dr that the meds prescribed are not helping that they then be labeled with “Drug seeking behavior” and that label the patient caries in his jacket for life. Of coarse we are going to reach for heroin if there’s a way to manage our pain we will,it’s cheap,effective,overly abundant, thanks to our govermemt,who when we had boots on the ground,protected the opium fields and the people harvesting opium!
Ur absolutely right, Vivki. What is going to happen to the people who are truly in pain, do not abuse, sell and have every single urine test given come back fine? What is going to happen to the people who truly need these medications to have at least somewhat of a quality of life? What is going to happen to US when they lower our medication to the point where we just can’t take the pain anymore and detoxing from the medication that the dr. Put us on in the first place becomes unbearable? Because I’m about there. Last month they cut my medication in half. All I can think about is august 17th, because they’re gonna to do the same thing again. And I’m at my limit. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when they cut me down even more. I need to find a new dr. In Maryland that will see these guidelines as GUIDELINES and not the holy grail! But no matter how much I look I can’t find one. So I don’t know what im going to do. I’ve considered getting my medical marijuana card, which seems like the new thing now. But I really don’t have much hope in it. These guidelines are only going to drive the rate of opioid induced deaths through the roof because it’s going to force the people who are in unbearable pain to get their pain medication off the streets. This is ruining my life! I had a nurse while in the hospital awhile ago that told me she wished some of these dr.s would take a flying leap off the roof and then tell THEM that they didn’t need pain medication! I couldn’t agree more. Good luck and God bless you all. We’re all in this together. We’re all suffering because the dr.s that gave us the medication in the first place many years ago are now telling us that all of a sudden we’re going to die due to the medication that they prescribed! For many people I’m sure they’re correct. As for me, the jury’s still out…what can we do??? I’m open to suggestions! I’ve come to the conclusion that we no longer live in a democratic society. I will NOT just crawl away and die though! There has got to be something the disabled in this country can do! Shouldn’t we have the right to say what works for the pain we live in day in and day out? Like I said, I’m open for suggestions.
Ur absolutely right, Vickie. What is going to happen to the people who are truly in pain, do not abuse, sell and have every single urine test given come back fine? What is going to happen to the people who truly need these medications to have at least somewhat of a quality of life? What is going to happen to US when they lower our medication to the point where we just can’t take the pain anymore and detoxing from the medication that the dr. Put us on in the first place becomes unbearable? Because I’m about there. Last month they cut my medication in half. All I can think about is august 17th, because they’re gonna to do the same thing again. And I’m at my limit. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when they cut me down even more. I need to find a new dr. In Maryland that will see these guidelines as GUIDELINES and not the holy grail! But no matter how much I look I can’t find one. So I don’t know what im going to do. I’ve considered getting my medical marijuana card, which seems like the new thing now. But I really don’t have much hope in it. These guidelines are only going to drive the rate of opioid induced deaths through the roof because it’s going to force the people who are in unbearable pain to get their pain medication off the streets. This is ruining my life! I had a nurse while in the hospital awhile ago that told me she wished some of these dr.s would take a flying leap off the roof and then tell THEM that they didn’t need pain medication! I couldn’t agree more. Good luck and God bless you all. We’re all in this together. We’re all suffering because the dr.s that gave us the medication in the first place many years ago are now telling us that all of a sudden we’re going to die due to the medication that they prescribed! For many people I’m sure they’re correct. As for me, the jury’s still out…what can we do??? I’m open to suggestions! I’ve come to the conclusion that we no longer live in a democratic society. I will NOT just crawl away and die though! There has got to be something the disabled in this country can do! Shouldn’t we have the right to say what works for the pain we live in day in and day out? Like I said, I’m open for suggestions.
These “guidelines ” are absolutely rediculous. They have every dr. I know quaking in their shoes. I became disabled in 2003. I have been going to the same pain management clinic ever since. Now all of a sudden, the medication that I was prescribed and have taken for 14 years are going to kill me! Last month my muscle is relaxant was discontinued completely and my pain meds were cut in half and will be done so again this month! I’m really not sure how much more I can take. These “guidelines” are causing people with legitimate pain and who have always taken their medication as prescribed, to suffer. And the numbers of people who overdose will continue to rise because of it. I asked my dr. What They expected us to do and he looked at me and said “honestly? They’re hoping you’ll just crawl away quietly and die”. He said he’s no longer a dr. He’s just a technician following the rules. Seriously??? Yes, obviously I’m looking for pain management dr., but the sad thing is, that’s probably what’s going to happen when the pain gets to the point that it’s no longer bearable. Good job CDC
how can the cdc say that my pain is no different or worse than that of a person that just stubbed his toe?
I am a severe chronic pain patient. I won’t go into the details of my injuries, disease and surgeries, the last one on my left knee which accomplished nothing except for me contracting septis. Long story short, I have been on a dosage of ER morphine, 120mg 2x per day,( yes, I realize it’s a high dosage), for the past 14 years, with no ill side affects, no dirty urines and I have always taken it strictly as directed by my pain management dr. The ONLY affect it has had is that it allows me to have a moderate standard of quality of life. Now, after 14 years I’m being weaned down: along with my quality of life. The CDC guidelines are just that: guidelines! Suggestions, not rules. But due to these guidelines it seems to have every pain management clinic in America scared to death of loosing their license! In addition to being weaned off I’m being told all of a sudden that multiple surgeries are what I need. No thank you. Been there, done that, have no desire to get sepsis again. Plus the tendons which were reconnected in my knee and the torn ligaments which were repaired are right back to where they were 9 months ago. Which I knew they would be. It’s just 1 of the symptoms of the disease that I have and there’s no cure for it. Yet my dosage continues to decrease. Instead of dr.s caring for the quality of life of their patients, they’re more concerned with loosing their license, as previously noted. if it’s not broken then why fix it! Is there any pain management dr. In Maryland or Virginia that has an ounce of compassion and will keep me on the dosage of medication that has been working for the past 14 years? I have always taken my medication as directed, have never had a dirty urine, my ekg’s have always been fine. I would like my quality of life back! My granddaughter, age 4, doesn’t understand why she can’t spend the night at “grammy’s” anymore or why I can’t go outside and play anymore, because it’s starting to get to the point where I’m pretty much stuck on the couch, unable to sleep and in severe pain. I’m only 55. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this. And it’s only going to get worse. Please, if anyone knows of a compassionate pain management dr. That will ignore the GUIDELINES, please let me know. I’d like to have my life back. Thanks and God bless.
I Wish I COULD TeLL You that there IS HOPE For ALL of US but, that Would Be a LIE??♀️?♀️Krista! I DON’T think that WE (the injured & the People with SEVERE PAIN from OUR BODIES TURNING AGAINST US & CAUSING DAMAGE THRU & THRU!!) Have ANY HOPE FOR HELP!! The Dr’s ARE CHICKEN TO Give ~US~(the People that HAVE BEEN GETTING OUR PAIN MEDS FOR Y E A R S) OUR TREATMENT, PAIN MEDS FOR FEAR THAT THEY WILL JEPORDIZE THEM BEING A DOCTOR So, INSTEAD Of Keeping GooD RECORDS ABOUT US,.. they Would CHOOSE to CUT THE OPIODS OUT OF OUR LIVES FOR GOOD & they THINK THAT THAT WILL MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD!!! B U T,… HOW MANY OF
U S ARE GOING TO DIE FROM TRYING TO WITHDRAW!!?? I Have been Taking 4 Percocets (ENDOCET) & Also 2 EXALGO (MOROPHENE SULFATE) a Day!!!! I Take A LOT Of OTHER MEDS AS WELL TO HELP TURN DOWN THE PAIN THAT I SUFFER WITH EVERY DAY!!!! I FEAR THE DOCTOR WILL START CUTTING MY MEDS DOWN EVERY MONTH WHEN I ~HAVE TO GO~ In for My Medicine Checks!!! They give me RANDOM URINE TESTS TOO,..WhatEver!! I HAVE BEEN ON THESE MEDS FOR 7 YEARS!!! I have been going to them for my PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR 5 of the 7 Years!! I KNOW THAT I WILL PASS THE TESTs… NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE SO, THATS NOT A PROBLEM FOR ME… & I HAVE NEVER, EVER, GIVEN MY MEDS TO ANYONE NOR HAVE I EVER TAKEN OTHER DRUGS FIR MY PAIN,.. OTHER THAN WHAT THEY HAVE GIVEN FOR ME TO TRY & THEY HAVE TRIED E V E R Y KIND OF MEDS BEFORE THEY GAVE ME MY OPIOD MEDICATIONS!!!! I HAVE ALSO HAD THERAPY.. EVER KIND THAT THEY WANTED ME TO DO! I Have ALSO GIVEN MYSELF TO
E V E R Y INJECTION IN E V E R Y
AREA OF MY BODY THAT THEY WANTED TO DO ON ME!! N O N E
OF THE THERAPIES NOT ANY KIND OF INJECTIONS IN MY ANKELS, KNEES, my LOWER BACK (Involving my SCIATICK NERVES~OUCH) My NECK, my FEET & my Hands & Arms go NUMB on Me on a DAILY BASIS!!!
I have ALSO TRIED DRY NEEDLING & THEY BUILT THAT UP, telling Me HoW GREAT IT IS!!!! N O T!!!!!!!!
I Have HAD AN ANKEL REPLACEMENT 2 Years ago, I HAD a 4 Level SPINAL FUSSION SURGERY on your Back with RODS & SCREWS IN THERE!!! It was Done 4 Years ago!! I Have Had MANY TEST Done on MY BACK TO SEE WHERE THE PAIN IS COMING FROM & IT IS COMING FROM ~~WITHIN THE SURGERY SITE~~
I just have ALL THE LUCK!!!! PLUS I HAVE LOOSE JOINT SYNDROME, DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS & OSTEOARTHRITIS, I SUFFER FROM H O R R I B L E SICK MIGRAINES That LAST For at Least 3 DAYS A WEEK & I AM BED RIDDEN FOR
A L L Of Those Days!!! I ALSO HAVE THE TERRIBLE FIBROMYALGIA & I have HAD IT For 25+ YEARS & For the first 10+ Years,… NO DOCTOR WOULD BELIEVE ME,.. they just kept belittling me & BERATING ME,Saying that it’s ALL IN MY HEAD & they WOULD SEND ME TO THEIR SHRINK (EVERY DAMN DR. WOULD) & I Even Kept QUITTING, GOING TO THE DR’s!!! I just COULDNT FIND A DR. To HELP ME!!! I ALSO HAVE SCOLIOSIS & That REALLY FEELS LIKE SOMEONE IS TWISTING YOU INTO AN AWFUL PRESSURE PAIN!!
~~ WHAT WILL I DO “IF” my DR. STARTS TO CUT MY MEDS DOWN??? I KNOW THAT I CANT GO THRU THE DAY VERY WELL IF I ONLY MISS 1 PILL!!!
~<<~
~<<~ I GUESS MY POINT IS… For PEOPLE LIKE US,.. that Take OUR MEDS THE WAY THEY ARE DIRECTED & HAVE A PERFECT RECORD,.. in EVERY WAY,.. IF THEY TAKE OUR MEDS AWAY..!????
WHAT WILL WE DO!? WILL WE DIE, TRYING,..GETTING THEM OUT OF OUR SYSTEM,.. I THINK THAT "WILL DRIVE ALL OF US TO "MAYBE LOOK FOR ILLEGAL WAYS TO H E L P US WITH OUR PAIN!!??? WE ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE THIS F N PAIN
TO DEAL WITH… IT WONT GO AWAY WITH THE WITHDRAW & FROM WHAT I'VE READ, it WILL MAKE US FEEL EVEN WORSE THAN WE EVER, EVER HAD!!!! WE ARE
N O T SUPPLYING DRUGS TO THE DRUG DEALERS!!!! BUT,. I AM AFRAID.. IM SCARED TO DEATH ? THAT I MIGHT BE THAT DESPERATE TO BUY DRUGS ON THE STREET SOME WHERE.. to be ABLE TO FUNCTION ST ALL BECAUSE I
W I L L
BE
S U F F E R I N G!!!!
A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN
On a SCALE FROM 1–to–10!!!!
That Scale DID NOT FIT FOR MY PAIN AT ALL~~IN A N Y W A Y
WHAT-So-EVER & WHOM EVER INVENTED THAT S C A L E…. HAS
~N E V E R~ SUFFERED A Day
IN THEIR WHOLE F.N. LIFE!!!!!!!
I SURLY HOPE THAT THE LORD WILL H E L P US ALL!!!!!???
Thank you for the information. I read one person giving advice or life experience pertaining to chronic pain. I hope I read correctly as I would like to comment on chronic pain and my experience with it does not fit with what the experts say. The scientists that said we came from single cell animals fro! the ocean are the same ones working on this project. They need to use chronic pain experience right from a person with it to get the truth. Because they don’t have it right. Thank you Gary
These restrictions on people who actually need these pain Meds is totally REDICK! I’ve been in pain management for 2 1/2 years and every damn time I “REPORT” to my pain Dr. my heart rate is through the roof. Do you know why??? Because I’m sick of worrying about the pharmacy not having it or it’s to soon to refil or I’m (the temp) not authorized to call other pharmacies (all total bullshit)! This past Friday my pain Dr. Re-did my RX because my liver was not happy with the Tylenol! Well…of corse my Pharmacy didn’t have it and were not authorized to call others (again bullshit)! So, I went to another and they have it but cannot fill it because THEY CANNOT FILL THIS RX ON THE WEEKEND! Only during business hours! Are you freakin’ serious??!!!
I’ll tell you why people are turning to “street drugs”… it’s because they cannot get their own damn RX filled! It’s stupid and infuriating!!! Who is behind these regulations and why can’t they see they are the ones responsible for ALL OF THE CRAP THEY THINK THEY ARE TRYING TO STOP!!!
That’s right
So true it’s ducking crazy
Kathy,.. YOU ARE TOTALLY RIGHT!!!!
I Really THINK That They ARE TRADING ~”US”~ IN FOR WHAT THEY THINK ~”IS THE JUNKIE”~
THEY WANT TO SAVE THEIR ASS FIRST BY NOT GIVING US, THE MEDS THAT W E N E E D!!!
IT is Because THEY, (the Dr’s)
DO NOT WANT THEIR RECORDS INVESTIGATED BECSUSE THEY MIGHT FIND SOMETHING (anything)
That there was NO NOTES Or RECORDS TO PROVE THAT THEY NEED THE MEDS HE PRESCRIBED.. ALL IT TAKES IS ONE LITTLE LAZY DAY WHERE NO ONE WROTE ANYTHING DOWN IN THEIR FILE!!
WHAT HAPPENS “IF” a Dr. IS INVESTIGATED & HE/SHE IS FOUND GUILTY ON ONE PATIENT or TWO??
As a one of many living with severe pain (mine is due to spinal cord damage from a severe back injury), I am deeply concerned about the rising campaign against opioid prescription. I hate being dependant on opioids to remain self sufficient and have a quality of life that is tolerable. But, I have switched to non-narcotic medications numerous times in the past in order to remove this “ball and chain”. The results were ineffective and nearly fatal due to physical damages caused by the sustained use of NSAIDs and similar analgesics. I now have permanent stomach damage along with my chronic pain. The stomach damage is directly due to my prescribed use of Toradol for less than a year. Other non-opioid medications caused liver damage and other serious side effects.
It should be noted that long term use of opioids, even illicit ones like heroin, have shown little to no physiological damage to the human body. Although there are many other undesirable side effects from long term opioid use–addiction and physiological dependance for instance–it is still one of the safest to prescribe for long term use. It is true that opiates are dangerous in many ways, but so are most medications–especially when used improperly. Opiate addiction and overdose is not a problem to take lightly. But, in my opinion, the prescription of it should be determined on an individual basis and not regulated enmass.
Well said, I get so frustrated because I feel like I’m treated like a “junkie” when all I’m trying to do is have a reasonable quality of life so I can do what I need to do and not have my stomach shredded and liver destroyed in the process! I am on lowest dose, I never ask for more, I don’t want to be blitzed I just want to be able to stand long enough to cook dinner!
I have been in pain management since 2005. For approximately 6-7 years I was prescribed Oxycontin. Four years of that I received 180 80mg Oxycontin, 270 30mg roxicodone, and for some period 10 100mg Fentanyl patches. Now I have been cut down all the way to 90 30mg Morphine ER, 90 10mg oxycodone. I am the first to admit it was a good deal of medication I was taking and I have been trying to deal with the major adjustment but I am not sure if I can do it because my pain level is so high and is never ending. One Neurosurgeon told my pain doctor that it was NOT an option to do surgery because the scar tissue along would cause as much if not more pain. You see, I have approximately 14-15 herniated or ruptured discs in my neck and back with cord compression and pinched nerves in 7-8 different areas. I AM IN VERY BAD PAIN AT ALL MOMENTS OF MY LIFE NOW. How am I expected to function and be a part of my family’s life when I am not going to get off the couch or out of my bed due to the never ending pain? My doctors are not going to be able to do anything for me to get my pain level back down to the point to where I can do the things that Im expected and should be able to do with my family and friends. It has drove me almost to the point of suicide already and there’s no relief anywhere in sight now. What are we supposed to do with the pain PROBLEMS when the doctors are literally afraid to try and get back to a dosage that actually makes me feel like I have the ability to be able to get off the couch and walk to the store or thru the grocery store. It’s bad when you’re in so much pain all the time you’d rather be hungry than get out of bed and walk thru the grocery store. Please if you have any idea how to get the help I need please contact me at your earliest convenience at 678-246-6243
I’m not sure what to say or do. I’ve been in fentanyl patch 100 mcg and norco 3 a day for five years and today I have one norco tablet and one patch left. My md got fired , not sure why but we were in the process of getting pain md for me. I have no doctor for three weeks now, no one will see me and I do see suicide would be an option as they talk about will increase with these new laws. I feel for all of you who are strong enough to survive but I can’t. My quality of life will be unbearable. I have three grandchildren oldest is four and a new one coming in July. I will not be able to even hold this baby due to the pain. Just
Not sure what to do
But hopefully someone will benefit from us older Americans who worked all their life then politicians decide it’s time to take away what we need to function.
has this country gone mad. drug problems out of hand and they band drugs from chronic pain patients suffering with ms fibrmyalgia & arthrytiswhich all HAVE NO CURE ??? what about all the patients that are allergic to nsaids ,aspirin,& aleve ? what do they do when the suffering gets too much.also theres the inhumane way doctors abruptly stop all meds which tha drug companies plainly state is dangerous. all this from the cdc of all places. doctors going against everything they’re taught about helping people .now only watch them suffer. they know the suicides will go up because patients are denied effective treatment.why doesn’t president trump jump on this insanity. help us and earn our respect. k.johnson salisbury nc