Pain patients beg the FDA for more options, easier access to opioids



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They recommend first trying Tylenol or drugs such as ibuprofen or naproxen, which are in a class called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. They also recommend trying low-tech options such as ice cream, physical therapy and massage. And, says the CDC, patients may have to change their expectations with respect to living with pain.

Bit the CDC and the FDA do not regulate doctors. States

At least 28 states have limitations on opioid prescriptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seventeen order to limit prescriptions to three to 14 days

Others have prescription drug monitoring programs to monitor providers who write prescriptions too freely.

Pain patients who come from all over the country to testify

Flores, who said she was diagnosed with her painful condition two years ago, said she could no longer find a doctor to prescribe opioids.

"I have not yet The doctor accepts me as a patient," Flores told NBC News.

"No doctor will fight, they just do not want to get in trouble.They have forgotten the people for whom these drugs were made."

Flores said she was worried that she was not going to be in trouble. she fails as a mother, her teenage son not wanting to put her in touch urgently. "He knows I do not answer the phone often because I'm in bed," she said.

"When can I have medicine to be comfortable in my body?", She asked. they are responsible for their reduced ability to obtain opioids.

"To the FDA – we beg you to correct the blatant mistakes of the CDC," said Rose Bigham of Seattle, who spoke on behalf of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain

"The recommendations of the CDC have caused irreparable harm to those who are suffering. "

Pain Relief

More than 90 percent of patients at the FDA meeting and watch online said that they had used NSAIDs and more than 80 percent said that They had used opioids to control their pain, and 77% said they had used gabapentin (Neurontin) or pregabalin (Lyrica), two anticonvulsant drugs also approved to treat pain.

Quant 68% reported using food supplements or pain remedies, and 47% said they tried medical marijuana or other cannabis-based products, 68% tried to use non-prescription drugs. 39, acupuncture, massage or other complementary therapies and 47% tried counseling or other psychological treatments

. "Bigham noted, to loud applause and cheers.

  Image; Rose Bingham
Rose Bingham suffers from a chronic illness and wants the FDA to help find better treatments

Bigham said to have ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis affecting the spine.

She says she has tried NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, injectable drugs, cortisone, and an electrical current therapy called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ( TENS or TNS). "I remain opiate to this day," she said.

"My worst nightmare is to be admitted to the hospital, to be in agony and to be deprived of pain relief," Bigham said. from Atlanta said that it is not easy to have alternatives to opioids either. His doctor was not talking about the possibilities when he was treating her for complex regional pain syndrome. "He did not offer it," she said. "I had to hear about it and then ask him," Diggs told NBC News

"They forgot the people for whom these drugs were made."

Flores said that she did not know if talking to the FDA "I do not know if it's just a formality."

But FDA staff members said that they sincerely wanted to consider patients' views and quietly listened to long stories of untreated pains, job losses, and days. "We have no expectations for what we are asking for," said Dr. Sharon Hertz, director of the FDA's Anesthesia, Analgesics and Addiction Products Division. .

"If we thought we knew, we"

The agency invites public comment until September 10.

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