Opioids, Anarchy, Communism, and Pain

Share with others

What kind of a government, economic and healthcare system do we really have and what kind do we want when it comes to pain? There is no doubt pain treatment has become highly politicized but in what direction – and as we mobilize, in which direction do we want it to go?

Has it happened?  Are patients in pain being treated like animals, or worse yet, beaten into subservient outcasts beneath standards we expect for our very own pets? As Orwell said, in his famous political novel, Animal Farm in 1945, “all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Capitalism is a society where investment, ownership, production, distribution, and exchange of affluence is in the hands of each individual or corporations.

Karl Marx teaches us that Communism is a political theory favoring a classless society in which the government owns all such assets and that “the people” own none.  Or as Marx summarized it, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

Revisionism is any dangerous departure from the teachings of Marx.

Totalitarianism is a government in which a single authoritarian party controls everything and everyone.

Although I don’t believe we have reached the point of revisionism or totalitarianism at the federal level, we are certainly approaching these at various state levels when it comes to opioids.

Do academics even really have freedom to critique government policies about pain and pain medication or will they have to deal with repercussions in the form of hurtful policies set forth by, for example, the Senate finance committee that will affect their revenue streams? 

Oh, so many “ism” options it’s hard to put my finger on which fits the opioid travesty in the country best as it relates to pain management. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m proud to be an American and everything it stands for.  And, I’m the first to admit I’ve had more than my share of enjoying freedom of speech!

So let’s take a look.

The attack on Capitalism is inconsistent with free trade by big and small Pharma. Paindr.com discussed some of these uncomfortable realities in What the Market Will Bear?  There we point out that drug pricing is related to costs of research and development, and that although Shkreli’s shenanigans are indefensible, he did put us all in touch with our ambivalence about free market economics being applied to drug costs.

From a Communism standpoint, the only consistency I see with a classless society is that pretty much most folks, regardless of standing in society, have poor access to pain treatment at least insofar as pharmacotherapy with opioids is concerned. 

Nevertheless, little attention was paid to the opioid epidemic until it became prevalent among white affluent communities as outlined in Reflections on Martin Luther King Day: In Pain Politics, White Lives (Really) MatterHow do you suppose this fits into a classless society?

I see some Revisionism in that each state seems to do what they want, so although Pain Communism (treating each patient in a classless society) is prevalent, some states have maximum allowable morphine daily dose equivalent (MEDD), some do not, and it seems to vary at the whim of politicians.

Then there’s totalitarianism within individual states whereby governors and senators are allowed to run amuck as a single authoritarian that controls their constituents at their whim.  Examples here include West Virginia, Massachusetts, and more recently, Maine.

And finally, there’s McCarthyism, a crusade of false allegations to intimidate prescribers into not adequately addressing the needs of their patients due to fear and false accusations by state authorities, unfound investigations, and intimidation to force clinicians to fall into line or leave the profession. 

Sure, people can write in here and share their thoughts for or against the content of this blog post in support or dispute of our alienated rights as clinicians and citizens.  Others might argue that opioids are an earned and stepwise privilege, not a right, and in certain circumstances I might even agree.i will work harder

But from where I sit, it is quite clear that legitimate patients and clinicians alike often feel as though they are treated as criminals living in a surreal Police State never before imagined. Every new anti-pain policy that comes down the pike begins with some double-speak about how it is not meant to impede legitimate access to pain medications for those who need them? Orwell would have been proud.

After receiving probably over 1000 emails in the last few months starting with “my doctor told me…” or “the office of professional discipline has accused me…” I decided to just run an email search. For the former, I couldn’t scroll down far enough to find the end.  For the latter, it capped out at about 62.

Here’s some snippets from the last few…

My doctor told me…
“Due to DEA, he cannot write for two narcotics…”
“I will lose my license if I prescribe for more than 20mg of hydrocodone per day…”
“New laws prohibit primary care doctors from prescribing opiates…”
“In order for me to keep prescribing your opiate, the law requires you see a psychiatrist…”

I need an expert to help me because…
“the state has accused me of prescribing too many opioids, but I work in a pain practice…”
“they threatened to revoke my license if I don’t admit to prescribing too many opioids…”
“the state said the methadone doses were too high, but all my patients failed other medications, were escalated slowly, and are carefully monitored.  I work in a pain practice…”

Pharmacists: I feel bad that I can’t help this patient because…
“the insurance company put a cap on how many tablets can be dispensed and the patient has to keep coming back and pay another copay…”
“the primary care doctor has temporarily provided a two week supply for the patient because the NP at a pain practice told the patient that she is above the MEDD allowed by the state.  What happens after that…?”

supperReaders may argue otherwise, but it is what it is.  We are now seeing an Animal Farm society where pain patients are treated like Boxer the workhorse and sold for slaughter while metaphorically, lawmaking Napoleons sell out hardworking patients even after proving to be loyal taxpaying contributors to society.  And for what?   Well if you know the book, it was to buy whisky for himself (Napoleon) and his pig followers.  Hmm, I wonder who those pigs are in our world?

Years after certain animals attempted a revolution, those participants vanished.  I guess maybe that will be me someday and many of the patient and clinician readers here that painstakingly are fighting the fight for patients every day.  glue factory

To wrap this up, it is clear to me that pain patients and the clinicians that care for them are operating outside of the traditional world of Capitalism.  Both are frightened, intimidated, and quite frankly, exhausted from trying to do what’s right.  Will we be escorted out to pasture like Boxer?

Society as a whole is treating pain patients and their clinicians unfairly and unconstitutionally. 

The fourth amendment of the Constitution seems to be violated routinely as of late with regard to honest clinicians.  It does not protect from “…unreasonable searches and seizures [that] sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate”.

Then there’s the sixth amendment that ensures a fair trial, but most, if not all States have a Kangaroo Court without a Jury trial.  Specifically, the Amendment “Protects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel”. Pain patients and their doctors deserve their civil rights!

The way I see it, pain patients in this country and the clinicians that care for them (if you can find one anymore) are being treated like animals, and certainly not as good as my loyal dogs at home. 

In essence, what it’s come to is that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

As always, comments are welcomed with enthusiasm!

 

 

24 thoughts on “Opioids, Anarchy, Communism, and Pain

  1. No worries all these Communists who deny pain patients from getting 4 hours of reduced pain will burn in Hell for Eternity from all the suffering. Believe me I’ve been there so many times. Faith knows how it all works. Praise Jesus!

  2. I just would like to say thank-you for your work in this area. I live with irretractable pain. I am under treated and brushed aside.I can only live my life on a moment to moment basis. I am in utter dismay that those of us with chronic illness/terminal Illness are clumped into the same category as those chasing a high illegally out on the streets. We must continue to unite and make our voices heard…but will we be heard?

  3. This article is right on! Our rights are being trampled on! The government does not care one bit about those in chronic pain or any other medical condition! We are seen as a drain on the medical dollars even if we are self pay patients! My pain management doctor was just closed down on bogus charges. She did everything she could to ensure that everyone of her patients had legitimate pain issues with medical documentation to back it up! However, the DEA came in and just closed her doors…no dosing down for her patients or a 30 day prescription to be able to find a new doctor. If you can find one in 30 days. This is going to hurt and kill lots of people but the government just does not care! They want us all to go through treatment programs and get off the opioids. If I could have some kind of quality of life without opioid pain medication, I wouldn’t be taking it in the first place! I have tried all other treatments and the only thing that helped was opioid medication! What are we to do now? I am hurting so bad that I can’t stand it and trying to get into another doctor is almost impossible! There has to be some kind of civil lawsuit or injunction that pain patients can bring against the government at least until this issue is re-addressed! I appreciate all the insight you provide at Pain Drs….please tell us what we can do to get our pain management treatment back! I have started a website http://www.chronicpainsufferersunite.com to try to educate and get people to understand what we are up against. I would love to use some of your articles on my website! Thanks for all you are doing and please let us know what we can do to fight for our constitutional right for chronic pain management care! Our doctors are scared and being blackmailed!

    1. Thank you for your comments. You are more than welcome to include any of my blogs on your site as long as you state where they came from and only include up to two paragraphs followed by a statement, “to continue reading click here…” with a hyperlink to the original content on my site.

  4. Dr Fudin,

    There is definitely a subtext here. The Media has run a Campaign against pain. It simply does not exist anymore. I live in a State that is at the top for drug addiction, suicide, and poverty. They have declared a “war” on drugs. A local Doctor and Clinic Director even endorsed some “Alternative” treatment for Pain for pain that could afford it. Apparently anyone seeking help in their clinic for pain raises a red flag. They never mention the number of people they turned away that had legitimate concerns, or a possible medical explanation for the pain. This is how they mislead the public, they run a long term narrative that leaves out the important parts, while demonizing part of the population. Of course we will never know the numbers of people with all kinds of medical issues that were turned away, and either had a diagnosis postponed or if that led to further complications. They don’t mention any of these negatives in the News anymore.

  5. Thank You Doctor!

    There is definitely a subtext here. When I think about it too much i get a feeling of horror.

  6. Dr. Fudin,

    I had acute pain that was under-treated for several years- then turned chronic. The few side effects pale in comparison to the ability to get out of the house, work part time and attend school. I am able to participate in PM&R – without pain management it would be too difficult.

    Patients with CNCP are stigmatized like no others: After exhausting nearly all other medications, I was put on a reasonable dose of analgesics. I have some of my life back.

    I am compliant with terms of treatment not only to protect myself, but my doctor. Although some may take offense, with all of the opiophobia happening – I can understand why they request patients to sign those.

    Look at the statistics of those suffering with Chronic pain vs those with a SUD. Yes, there is a problem and it needs to be addressed, but the pendulum has swung too far. It appears that politicians have decided that they know how to practice medicine and take the attitude “this ii a problem And I am going to be the one to do something about it”.

    Anyway- Thank you for all the work you do and your advocacy. I hope more people will start listening.

  7. I was just told my short acting narcotics would be taken from my care. Doctors are even exceeding the CDC regulations when it comes to medications. I’ve had a medication for migraines taken away. A muscle relaxer about to be taken away. Anxiety medication also. I was told due the the recent death of Prince we will no longer give these meds. Also doctor said he has to look out for his family , because on ladies family brought a lawsuit after she injected 30 pills into her IV port and died. I’ve been a patient of chronic pain for fifteen year’s without addiction issues. He then stuck the dagger in by calling me a model patient. My friend needs two surgeries on her spine. The surgeon refused her any medication before surgery. He told her the CDC says opioids lead to heroin addiction. He will however give her these same medications after surgery. I’ve been treated like an addict for year’s without any history , or behavior of being one.

    1. Have a single surgery with a long recovery period and you will understand this quickly. I transitioned to acetaminophen as soon as I could. hearing of all the unintended consequences that are happening, I am hesitant to have surgery because of these new guidelines – the ones compiled by the advisory group made up of SIG’s such as PROP. Hardly fair and balanced. perioperative pain should be treated aggressively – not excessively. Rx pain meds are not a cure all, but sometimes they are necessary. Education could help in this area. Failure to treat it adequately has significant consequences – from chronic pain to worse long term outcomes, longer recovery times. The list goes on. Make sure the patient is stable and follow-up. Don’t throw them under a bus.

  8. This is, by far, one of the best articles I’ve read that explains in detail what is happening. This is why I’ve been trying to get those who don’t necessarily suffer from pain themselves involved in this. Most people (who don’t currently suffer from chronic pain) think this type of legislation could ever affect them They’re wrong. It will affect them in some way in the future. What they don’t understand is how slippery this slope of state and federal governments becoming so involved in an individual’s health care decisions, including using government-funded propaganda and false statistics to either intimidate physicians or imposing madated restrictions (quantity maximum limits of MMEs and/or a maximum number of pills that can be prescribed) … or both. We already know that giving any government an inch will lead to them taking a mile. History has shown us this time and time again. I really don’t know what else can wake the American people up as to the road this government is going, but I truly worry about the America my son and potential grandkids, great-grandkids, etc will inherit.

    1. Kudos Dr Fudin. For what? Going “there”. You said “as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate”.
      There is no such thing. Why? Capitalism does not support too big to fail policies for banks or corporations, even someone like Keynes would never endorse such ridiculous policies. Capitalism cannot survive ZIRP. (0%Interest Rate Policy~bear w/me I come around to making ALL of this relevant to the topic)
      Why? If there are no returns on investment there is no reason to risk loaning one’s money to small businesses+entrepreneurs. You cannot have capitalism w/out capital investment (econ 101).These businesses are essential for our economy because unlike corporations they do not outsource our jobs to China or Mexico!! This is destroying America’s middle class and tax base. W/out small business we are approaching a failed state.(reason we see the police state, they KNOW it too). QE (Quantitative Easing fluffy word for printing money which is illegal if done by individuals OR banking cartels, see FEDERAL RESERVE and who has the sole right to print/coin money of gold/silver [or at least backed by g/s] IS Congress this power CANNOT BE DELEGATED TO A PRIVATE INSTITUTION). When a bank prints money to cover not only budget deficits, not only trade deficits, but bond dumping (USTreasury absorbed $750 BILLION in Oct alone by the Chinese w/out a change in the percentage/returns??). The wars in the ME (also Ukraine, Libya, etc) are to force the use of a debased currency(FRN aka petrol dollar) that is decimating EVERY nation state’s sovereign wealth fund (a store of wealth not unlike our checking or savings accounts, in UST-bonds because of its FORMER status as a ‘stable’ world reserve currency). The decline in shipping and INTL trade, not touched upon by the mainstream media, is in large part, actually a boycott against accepting the dollar in trade due to its debasement by The Federal Reserve. The Fed is actually a criminal cabal who has more say in govt than anyone and most of its owners are not even American!!! What does this reduce us to? Basically, a COLONY!!
      What is corporatism or crony capitalism? It is a PC term for F-A-S-C-I-S-M. USA is a more perfect example of Fascism than the originators of fascism, Mussolini’s Italy, no dictator in silly uniform required).
      The oligarchy serves the purpose of obfuscating the facade of choice which is practically nil these days. Dems and GOP disagree on many things but NEVER on big govt, foreign policy, banking/economy issues, the BIG TICKET items. It becomes the perfect example when you notice not only the melding of corporate and banking powers w/big govt but add in an all seeing/all knowing surveillance state/militarized police state, with an aggressive military/foreign policy, rigged elections (see 2102 GOP Maine caucus as prime example Paul/Romney), taxation w/out representation (where have I heard this before?),the prison industrial complex (largest prison population in the world and we are the land of the free?) which was bad enough before FOR PROFIT PRISONS, a conflict of interest if ever there was. Add to this a corrupt fraudulent Justice system that confuses people w/the difference in words between English and Legalese. Please see Blacks Law Dictionary before assuming anything about the meanings of words in court proceedings. Citizen vs living person example #1. Most of these statutes, codes, and regulations affecting not only physicians, pharmacists, and patients but most of society simply don’t apply to them(us). Take away the fact that they are instituted by unelected bureaucrats from Unconstitutional ‘agencies’ like the FDA and DEA.The govt likes to state the ‘Supremacy Clause’ and the ‘Commerce Clause’ for their legitimacy. Problem is, they are taken out of context. Jefferson said so eloquently in his Kentucky Resolutions.

      A bit long but so relevant but unknown to most of the public because even non-mainstream press miss it.

      TJ “Resolved, That the several States composing, the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that, by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes — delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving, each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force: that to this compact each State acceded as a State, and is an integral part, its co-States forming, as to itself, the other party: that the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress.

      2. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States, having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies, and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations, AND NO OTHER CRIMES, WHATSOEVER; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” therefore the act of Congress, passed on the 14th day of July, 1798, and intituled “An Act in addition to the act intituled An Act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,” as also the act passed by them on the — day of June, 1798, intituled “An Act to punish frauds committed on the bank of the United States,” (and all their other acts which assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those so enumerated in the Constitution,) are altogether void, and of no force; and that the power to create, define, and punish such other crimes is reserved, and, of right, appertains solely and exclusively to the respective States, each within its own territory.

      Why we can’t fight the media. Google Smith-Mundt Modernization Act. What does it do? It legalizes using taxpayer funding to propagandize the American people. I can’t think of any reason this legislation belongs in a free society. The closing of an open society follows a blue print of sorts. Ours is unbelievably taken almost step by step from NAZI Germany. Our good pals the neo-cons from PNAC had written about what has happened in our foreign and domestic policy since 9/11 many years before 9/11. The P.A.T.R.I.O.T ACT was enacted in record time. Why? It was waiting for another “Pearl Harbor” type incident to be introduced. This is public information just not widely known. (hint Dems like Hillary and Obama are neo-cons too just better camouflage !). When this is taken into account it explains the skewed statistics the govt uses for ODs and diversion (most occurring at higher levels up the distribution chain than physicians and patient level). We can see a perfect example for this on gun control. No matter which side of the debate one is on there is one clear fact, the stats, like on opioids, are skewed. They use the term gun violence. This is misleading because it includes suicides, accidents, and murders, and self-defense. The REAL stats for murder and attempted murder and even manslaughter cannot be defended because they have been on the DECLINE for over 20yrs. This can easily be found by looking at the UCR (Uniformed Crime Reports posted by the FBI) which serves and has served as the “gold standard” for crime stats in the US for decades. So the govts own numbers dispute the idea that there is an epidemic of gun violence, rather, we have an epidemic of high profile incidents which are (not taking into the account several have been proven to be false flags) increasing yearly. Just like w/gun control, the govt and other interested parties-pharmaceutical manufacturers facing the ending of patents and “substance abuse treatment” interests like Kolodny pandering for increased govt funding, just pump out fear and derogatory one way arguments featuring addicts and unscrupulous doctors.
      Its all about money and CONTROL. What does this all rest upon. Laws and its fraudulent justice system. W/out the courts these edicts, codes, rules/regs, and statutes are meaningless. No matter who is elected, the bureaucracy remains intact. DEA, in light of the refusal of States to enforce marijuana laws NEEDS another cash cow to justify its existence so we have the war on prescription drug abuse which like every other epidemic is painted as the worst the country has ever seen. Same script played over and over again ad nauseum. How can we have a heroin problem when most of the worlds supply comes form occupied Afghanistan? The corporate mainstream media will not go there but you and I know why. This is beyond criminal. To bring such drugs in, dump them on a population reeling from policies which favor outsourcing and off shoring, desperate for money to feed their kids, then using them as fodder for the prison industrial complex which IMO is more of a danger than the oft indicated military industrial complex.
      The problem? Uniting liberals and conservatives to uphold the Constitution not just when it favors the issues they want to see advanced or implicated.
      This is the reason I quit posting to pain forums/blogs. Too many failed to see the forest for the trees. They also assumed that DEA and other govt agencies would respond favorably if “they only knew who they were affecting” w/their actions. Trust me, they know. Its their JOB to know, period. How can a illiterate hs dropout drug dealer from Kentucky know of the pill mill situation a few years back and the DEA operating in their very backyard was taken “unawares”? The very notion is preposterous. They have been caught red handed intimidating pharmacists not to fill if out of county/city for either doctor or patient. This flies in the face of pain management and treatment of rare diseases who’s patients must travel in many cases hundred or more miles to see specialists.
      I wrote of the roadblocks from the Hospital system, the insurance company (fraud and violation of Medicare Plan B, and the ADA). When I received no satisfaction I took my complaints to SS Administration and received little more than stall tactics and excuses for the corporate insurance agency despite blatant violation of FEDERAL LAW. I stopped posting because compiling a wealth of info to present a well documented appeal led me to many vets who were receiving the same treatment. One last bit I find important is that the DSM is being used more and more by the bureaucrats in diagnosing addiction and other mental illnesses to prevent patients from securing treatment for intractable pain. The irony here is that most patients who are receiving pain management have incurable chronic disease and are disabled and not expected to get better. To let pain run untreated undermines any other care they receive. Why? The lack of sleep, increase in stress and anxiety, heart rate, and other factors lead to an increase in disease activity and an increase in pain. Until there is some return to Constitutional Law which is not the current statutory court system we now have, but rather COMMON LAW we are not going to see change. For a great look at Common Law and Common Law Grand Juries take a look at Justice Scalia’s writings on a little know SCOTUS case from 1992: US v Williams. In those he likened the CLGJ aka ‘runaway juries’ as a virtual 4th branch of govt, unaccountable to any judge or prosecutor/DA. (See also the 7th Amendment)
      Why has this system, in use at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, been submarined in favor of statutory courts? See Montgomery v Daly 1969 vital to anyone who is under threat of foreclosure (most of these mortgages were paid for in the bail-outs). https://criminalbankingmonopoly.wordpress.com/montgomery-vs-daly/

      A couple years ago I was asked if I would write a column for a pain related web site as my case, I’ve described in several posting here as well, was a good example of what many were going through. Upon finishing, their editor left and I was told it was no longer needed. In fact I was banned from even COMMENTING on the site!! The CEO/developer of the site would not tell me in an email. (my guess was he didn’t want anything in writing regarding the matter) but would take a phone call !! Reason being I was calling people out on their naive outlooks in regards to the State Medical Boards, Board of Pharmacy, and more specifically for my “controversial” efforts to point out that you could not expect any level of fairness from an agency who’s very funding was tied into turning as many patients into criminals as possible. At the time the DEA had been recently outed for accepting prostitutes from drug cartels and other various scandals at the time which led to their fearless leader stepping down. Anyone who wants to put the larger picture into focus and see why our legal system is set up to fail please watch this 10 min video.
      You can also look up the Federal Govt on dun and bradstreet if you don’t believe it, and It is rather unbelievable at first glance, but in light of all we know; with all the Unconstitutional acts passed then summarily nullified by the States in defiance of the Federal Govt lately, it makes perfect sense. We are at a critical crossroads in this country. Instead of fighting among each other, which the govt wants because it takes eyes off them and their criminal actions both domestically and abroad, we need to join together. If we put aside our political differences we can work towards restoring this country to some form of rule of law. This is much different to the current system which operates under the “color of law”. Before assuming to know anything about legal proceeding and/or documentation please consult the Blacks Law dictionary(available online for free!). English does NOT=LEGALESE. God Bless America.

      Keep up the good work Dr Fudin, your efforts are appreciated and have not gone unnoticed.

      Coonhound

      1. My apologies for the double post was trying to edit please erase. I wanted to add the 10min video on our justice system that explains much of what is passing for “law” these days, illegal laws are not laws at all but null and void.We have a DUTY, advised TJ to ignore/nullifiy these encroachments upon our liberties. https://youtu.be/QtgtiDtyykM
        How to fight the Federal behemoth? You will get nowhere appealing (petitions) or calling your Senator. You don’t ask a rapist to stop raping you cry out for help. One must seek interposition by OUR STATES as stated by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as the rightful remedy for Federal usurpation which at this point is beyond anything King George could ever have conceived.
        The Constitution is a great document because it ensures the freedom of all, including minorities, it is NOT a democracy which this govt insists upon, the removal of the Pledge of Allegiance had less to do w/the advertised reason(God) than the fact that children were pledging allegiance to a REPUBLIC.
        Nullification and anti-commandeering doctrine along w/interposition are the way to go about reductions in the power of the Feral Govt. It has proven successful in the fight for medical marijuana. and other issues. I see no reason why it cannot be used, by way of STATE legislation and/or referendums to opening more access to pain care once again to those who clearly need it. Start w/verified disabled and veterans w/chronic incurable disease(s) and major injuries/wounds preventing them from work. Just as the marijuana movement started w/medical marijuana then proceeded to recreational marijuana. Take it in increments and at the right avenues NOT begging Federal agencies to lighten up. http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/petition/
        Democracy is a full contact political system. We cannot afford to sit idly by and show up once every four yrs to pick the lesser of two evils because we always wind up w/evil! http://tracking.tenthamendmentcenter.com/ (Nullification toolkit) http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/report/ (State of the Nullification movement report)

        Today’s nullification movement is revolutionary because it offers
        the hope of smashing the established political order; an alternative
        to “voting the bums out” – a way to support the Constitution and
        liberty whether the federal government wants us to or not.
        -Michael Boldin (Tenth Amendment Center)

        Lets take back our country legally, peacefully, and most importantly, Constitutionally

        Coonhound

        ~One last irony we need to expose is that the DSM is used against pain patients who have anxiety and depression (who wouldn’t after fighting for care every day?). Pointing out that the DSM allows many advocates of denying pain care, like Koolaidodny and company, to prescribe dangerous drugs including amphetamines, benzodiazepines, SSRIs, and anti-psychotics having much worse side effect profiles than opioids. What else? The justification that a DSM diagnosis is based solely upon observed or reported symptoms. That NONE of the diagnosis, including the neurotransmitter theory is just that a theory for depression and their root cause cannot be proved by ANY MEDICAL TEST whether it be imaging or laboratory specimens.
        IMO those w/proven chronic disease states known to cause pain have an unbelievable amount of “proof” when compared to psychiatric patients (not taking away anything from those that suffer from mental illness). I do not hear this point in the arguments for pain patients and compassionate care.

  9. Dr. Fudin, thank you for the article. I, too, would like to make copies of your article. I’m afraid I, and the article, will only be an annoyance to those who should read it. Would you explain one thing for me? I want to go after who/what/where created and continues to create this hell on earth. Someone/something MUST benefit from continuing w/this witch hunt. Please help me understand who is benefiting from creating this ridiculous hysteria? I want the pain patient to know why no one cares if we live or die. Some days I just want to kill myself to end the pain. Who do we target??? Please, Doc, any insight? Thanks so much.

  10. As for my state it has adopted their own guidelines. I am ashamed at my state for putting the addiction first after taking it to where this is the only choice we thought we had. In essence we have addiction and mental health boards across the state that came together as one entity and with it we had budget cuts from the board we have now. I was in mental health and am a pain patient who is sorely upset that we are doing this to the very people who put these people in office. I have seen disagreement with how it is being handled, but to me it was handled poorly before the “epidemic” we already has way before opiates became the focus. I am a nobody who just cares about people and their rights to fairness. All the above including the pain patients are getting railroaded in our state. It is a sad thing to know our governor wants what he thinks is best, but he has not asked all of his people who live in this state how we feel and how can we as people get a good result for all.

    The government of Ohio took away needed money to addiction help by lowering the funding we could have used to get this under control years ago. I do not have the facts at hand, but i was working for a small mental health drop in center and i saw people who had addiction not get help because the money was rerouted to another area. My opinion about how all the states are handling this is they are afraid they messed up by ignoring it before it became a bigger and bigger problem. Now we have some greedy people who are willing to sell their souls for money in addiction help and most likely to come in with a pain med that will be horribly expensive and we will be paying once again. No matter what pain patients and everyone up and down the ladder are being used as a way to make money. My opinion again is that we got caught in this because it was easy to just think we would say okay. Well i say no and my state is horribly deficient in taking care of our people.

    Thanks for the chance to say this.

  11. Dr Fudin you hit the nail on the head with this posting. We have a Yuge crisis getting larger daily! Our group is signed on with 70 other orgs, groups with SPPAN to try and push the National Pain Strategy along. I’m getting a gut instinct that the letters sent are being ignored by Congress and the Energy Commerce committee.
    I surely wish that more pain specialist would speak up before they no longer have CAREERS, and pain patients are completely left out with zero care anywhere. I know patients that have to travel thousands of miles to see a pain doctor. This is extremely out of control. We need to try and arrange a meeting or rally with all 70 org/ group representatives to meet in Washington DC. I don’t know.. But something has to be done and FAST.
    Thank you for posting. It’s true. Humans are being treated worse than most animals. Very tragic and very scary.

    1. Donna. You said “I’m getting a gut instinct that the letters sent are being ignored by Congress” You are correct! These people do not run a govt. They run a scam that appears to be a govt. What is this wacko talking about? I’m talking about the one thing that, if not addressed TOGETHER by liberals+conservatives, healthy+sick, black+white, secular+religious, EVERYONE, then we will all be worse off in every conceivable way. Please don’t take this the wrong way but until we stop looking at our small little areas of interest, pain care, the environment, unjustified/unwanted wars, poverty, etc, etc, and address the big picture, we will NEVER see ANY change. It takes a lot to admit that most of what we know about our govt and our history is false, little more than propaganda. I know I have a degree in geography and history and taught the public school system. Manta.com provides the names of about 40 million for-profit private companies. SO…..
      http://www.manta.com/mb_55_F30D30B6_0AT/courts_state_government/montgomery_al?ftoggle-frontend-prod-on=abTests.revenue.responsive_12162014_control&utm_expid=82789632-30.8Ue3RXoXRoWAwC0cgSs_wg.1 Ask yourself one question. Why is the State of Alabama (or any other State) court listed as a BUSINESS/CORPORATION? Can a business corporation dispense justice fairly w/out prejudice? How can an individual charged by the State receive a fair trial when the State is both plaintiff and Judge? The answer lies in jurisdiction……………

      A few years ago I started looking into govt due to being the victim of insurance fraud and ADA discrimination against the disabled. I was stonewalled at every turn despite clear violation of Federal Law.
      One must ask why are all these rules, regs, codes, and statutes being passed that negatively affect patients seeking care, not only for pain but for any number of injuries and disease states? They are not laws passed by our representatives in govt. They are written by unelected bureaucrats from independent agencies like the FDA and DEA. This is not representative govt. This is not democracy. This is tyranny, we have not been the “land of the free” for a VERY long time.Please watch this short video and read this article and this should give you the scent of the mind screwing matrix in which we live. Do not believe it nor myself (nor anyone else) I simply ask that you use the information for further research on your own to either validate the claims or debunk them. Best wishes Donna and thank you for all you do for all the pain patients out there. https://youtu.be/_oxHlYWWOPc 10 min and further info:
      g
      There is an old saying. How can one defeat an enemy he cannot identify. While we may target the DEA, the Board of pharmacy, etc, we must ask ourselves one question. Since all of these agencies, courts, county adn Federal govts are registered FOR PROFIT BUSINESSES/CORPORATIONS then they are not there to protect us, uphold the law, etc. They are there to conduct business, period. That is what corporations do. Do not be fooled because they give of themselves a bone for charity. http://anationbeguiled.com/?p=11981

  12. Dear Dr Pain,
    May I please borrow some of your article in my letters to my Senators? I also have a meeting set with both in the next few weeks. I WILL be heard! Thank you for always staying honest and supportive.
    Jenn

  13. Dear Doctor,

    I understand Vermont and New Hampshire have tremendous drug problems.As do other parts of the country.This is in more affluent or more educated places.People want this problem to be solved.The war on drugs,”just say no” doesn’t work. Is Trump right? Close the borders? How would you ELIMINATE this problem? Maybe you should run as an independent for Congress as Bernie did in Vermont. I am not kidding. am sure Albany areas have same problem. This is the year of the outsider. You would have a good chance perhaps of winning. Sensible people are needed.

    Regards,
    A Special aquaintance

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.