Comments from Angel K Mason, PhD
ACPA Facilitator,
Chicago, IL
I think what I am most concerned about is the fact that politicians are getting involved. This really should be settled within the medical community without politicians’ input.
People living with chronic pain have already been hurt. There are people being forced off medication regimens that are working for them literally being left to fend for themselves. That is not going to help the opiate crisis – it is going to make it worse.
Doctors are becoming afraid to even take on new patients especially if they need opiates of any kind. One thing I really believe needs to happen is to get thousands upon thousands of people living with chronic pain to write respective letters telling their local representatives, state medical boards, including any media that will listen, and exposing how people are being hurt by the actions on opioids. There are lives being thrown upside down by doctors who, suddenly, out of the blue, tell their people with chronic pain, “we’re going to take you off everything that’s been helping you and discharge you as a patient because we can’t prescribe opioids anymore!”
It is happening more than I think people realize.
Pain clinics will not even take me anymore once they get my medical file. They say “We can’t treat you! You have something that we know is lifelong. We know your situation will get only worse and, even though opiates may be the only thing that will help you, we can’t accept you into our program.”
I am lucky my primary doctor understands what I am going through and continues to write my prescription.
How is that even possible, currently?
Everyone in my group has been hurt by doctors who suddenly said, “Well you’re managing. So, goodbye!”
There is even a pain clinic here in Chicago that really tried helping me. They had models and advertisements for a Neuro stimulator in the lobby and every treatment room! They tried to get me a stimulator but, the second they realized I would not qualify for a neurostimulator with I my continued failing health from lifelong Type One diabetes, they simply stopped trying to help me, so I left their program.
Even as a mental health volunteer, I was surprised how many people I came across in psych wards that would not be there if somebody simply listened to the fact that they are living with pain.
One of my group members had a failed spine fusion. Even with all the x-rays, MRIs and scans showing the surgery was botched, he had to spend most of his time just convincing his doctors how badly he was hurting!
It is impossible that he is alone!
All of us who live with chronic pain have been lumped into the opiate crisis which never should have happened!
Doctors are afraid to even take new patients because, if a patient does something stupid with their medication, the doctor could get sued! Now there are fewer doctors willing to try and help us! There must be some type of protection for the doctors who continue to try to help those living with chronic pain. This whole thing is leaving too many people suffering with no option for pain management.
I agree with prescription limits for people who have not been on opiates previously, depending on what the problem is and what helps them with pain management.
Having people denied regiments of medications that are helping them have lives of quality should not be happening! That alone makes the “opiate crisis” worse because lives are being destroyed when people are not getting the help they need.
And like I said the second politicians get involved in this it makes it worse.
Angel K Mason PhD.
(773) 288-9341
Jim Weil
ACPA Facilitator
Redwood City, CA
Jim Weil – Primary Facilitator
Julia Voinche – Co-Facilitator
acparedwoodcity@icloud.com
Our Monthly ACPA chronic pain peer to peer support combined group virtual meeting is this Thursday, May 20,at 12:30PM with the formal meeting beginning at 12:45PM. All who are involved, or dealing with chronic pain and its management are invited to attend. This month’s topic is “Self Compassion as a Tool in Chronic Pain Management”.
This Meeting is an American Chronic Pain Association (non-profit organization), chartered chronic pain support group, and supported by the Stanford Pain Management Clinic, and the City of Fremont. The meetings are free of charge and membership in ACPA is optional. Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of every Month.
To get more information and/or to attend the meeting, simply send an email to acparedwoodcity@icloud.com. with the either the words “More Information” or “Subscribe” in the subject line.
As of this email I have migrated to the latest version of the Macintosh Operating System this weekend, Big Sur, and am still working our a few hiccups. I also have a lot of ACPA announcements to send so this mailing, also partially due to limited sleep due to late nights with the upgrade process will be limited to those Announcements. Hopefully I will be able to included some of the latest news and information about chronic pain in the next reminder, assuming limited technical glitches.
Index:
- Chronic Pain Survey
- Interview with Dr. Ravi Prasad, now at UC Davis
- Free Webinar: Virtually Better: Using Virtual Reality to Treat Real Pain
I look forward to seeing many of you at this coming Thursdays meeting.
Follow-up by Jim Weil
A special thank you to all who attended the meeting last Thursday. I recognize that attending often requires extra effort to attend despite your chronic pain and I really appreciate you making that extra effort. However attending the meeting allows you to interact with others that all understand your pain and is where the real value of the group is achieved.
Here are the links to the presentations. The actual presentations cannot be included due to email size limitations.
Heal Pain Naturally from within A Guided Mindfulness Meditation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TK2zTuqRmg&ab_channel=TheMindfulMovement
The Stigma and Social Consequences of Chronic Pain A Patient’s Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JODD0fjLw1c&ab_channel=PainManagement
Welcome new registrant: Mary F. Thank you for joining
ACPA is conducting a survey on Implantable Medication Pumps. Registrants are encouraged to take this short survey even if you have no experience with an Implantable Medication Pump or never intend to have an experience with one. The request and link is in the PDF file attached below. You are receiving this with the followup because it is time critical. I would encourage you to take this anonymous survey as I have done.
In case you are wondering just what an implantable pump actually is and how it works, here is a link to a description of it. https://www.painpathways.org/pain-pumps/
Hope you can attend the next meeting and wishing you successful management of your chronic pain.
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Best Regards,
Jim Weil – Primary Facilitator
Julia Voinche – Co-Facilitator
acparedwoodcity@icloud.com