Tag: chronic pain

Meet the Doctor Who Refuses to Stop Prescribing Opioids to Pain Patients

"I take the Hippocratic oath seriously that my job is to relieve pain and suffering," says Dr. Forest Tennant, a California pain specialist who patients from across the nation are flocking to see.

Tennant takes the patients turned away by doctors afraid to prescribe painkillers amidst the government's war on opioids.

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Pain patients from across the country who say they can't get the treatment and medication they need in their home states are flocking to a boundary-pushing pain specialist based in West Covina, California.

The problems these patients face stem from the opioid addiction and overdose crisis, which results in as many as 91 deaths a day in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The media and government have dubbed this problem the "opioid epidemic," and law enforcement agencies have reacted accordingly. Physicians are routinely arrested for overprescribing and running so-called "pill mills," and some states have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers. In 2016, the DEA clamped down on painkillers, reducing the allowed production of opioid medications by 25 percent or more. This year, the CDC issued guidelines advising avoid prescribing high doses over 90 morphine milligram equivalents.

Many physicians have even begun to adjust the way that they think about pain.

In a New England Journal of Medicine article, one of the pain specialists advising the CDC recommended that pain patients "use coping and acceptance strategies that primarily reduce the suffering associated with pain and only secondarily reduce pain intensity." That opioids are never an effective chronic pain treatment is quickly becoming conventional wisdom, and the American Medical Association has even begun to advise physicians to abandon the pain rating scale when assessing patients.

"I take the Hippocratic oath seriously, that my job is to relieve pain and suffering," says Dr. Forest Tennant. "So when I see the AMA decide that they're not going to assess pain, I'm not with them."

Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Music by Kai Engel (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/kai_engel/) and Blue Dot Sessions (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/).

Doctors and Chronic Pain (RANT)

Recently, I went to the doctor because I was abnormally fatigued. The ensuing fiasco made me so angry that I have redoubled my efforts to avoid going to the doctor if at all possible. The sad truth is that many primary care doctors have little understanding of chronic illness and chronic pain.

I had qualms about sharing this video with you all. I strive to limit my complaining and focus on what IS working in my life. I have a lot of wonderful people and opportunities around me. But the emotional and psychological impact of being treated so poorly was so significant, I decided to share this.

As I've mentioned before, I have symptoms (that I call Hurricane Ivan) that are not related to my Fibromyalgia. These include: swollen, red, painful joints that are hot to the touch, heat intolerance, and joint stiffness that persists much of the day. In an effort to find out what this business is about, I've been working with my Rheumatologist to see if she can identify the source of these symptoms. Unfortunately, all of my tests return "normal"…equally unfortunate is that doctors who see "normal" tests results tend to think that 1) there's nothing wrong with you and 2) you are likely exaggerating your problems. Undoubtedly, many of you have had this same experience. Unfortuntely, this can lead to some frightening treatment decisions…like the one a primary care doc made about my pain medications. See the video for more on that story…

And this, my friends, is the greatest challenge of it all. If a doctor receives a negative or normal test result on a battery of tests, they tend to just stop the diagnostic process. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to remind my doctor that I USED to be employed full time as a CEO of a 7 million dollar non profit. I do not PREFER to be at home, in my bed, eeking out a living online. I'd PREFER to have the 6 figure salary I once had. But I digress…

This video is a rant, so if you are not one who likes to listen to frustration, a bit of cursing and general complaining about the system, this may not be the video for you. I did include a tiny bit of humor…just to keep it real.

Understanding Trauma: How Stress and Trauma Cause Chronic Pain, Anxiety, Depression, & PTSD

http://www.wellnessandperformance.com Watch this video to find out how Trauma and Stress impact the brain to create chronic conditions, like: chronic pain, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, and fibromyalgia. You will understand how the brain / body connection works and why nothing you've tried has helped so far. If you or a loved one suffer from chronic health problems no matter what you've tried, then you can't afford to miss this cutting edge information. You'll also learn how to get started doing something about it right from home for less than $10 by visiting: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090S9XFG

Chronic Pain Patient, first visit with Pain Management Doctor

Chronic pain patients are required to sign contracts with their pain management physician. Many of the stipulations in these contracts remove the patient's rights to privacy of their medical information as well as removing the constitutional rights that require law enforcement to obtain a warrant (meaning need to show probable cause to get such a warrant) in order to get the medical record. These contracts also often contain false information regarding what is drug seeking behavior, physical dependence, and tolerance to pain medication. Also they rely upon presumptive testing that is widely known to be inaccurate in order to deny treatment. Basically these contracts are set up in such a way that every chronic pain patient will eventually violate some part of the contract and lose treatment. Depression is NOT drug seeking behavior, it is a common occurrence with ANY chronic illness, not just chronic pain.

To learn more, including information about the so-called studies that the DEA rely upon to call prescription drug abuse an "epidemic" when the numbrs don't support it. To learn more about chronic pain, contracts, and more:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/963719/-Chronic-Pain-Patients-Lose-Their-Rights
http://pain-topics.org/ for updates on studies http://updates.pain-topics.org/

To learn more about Richard Paey, an example of the unfair investigation procedures and prosecution on chronic pain patients see here:
http://www.november.org/thewall/cases/paey-r/paey-r.html