I rarely comment on political or policy issues, but the recent FDA guidelines demand a response. They are absolutely terrifying and I believe that they hinder medicine rather than help anyone at all. I am furious. 

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-03-15/cdc-guidelines-aim-to-curb-painkiller-prescribing

I understand that there is a prescription drug problem in this country. You will always have some people who are going to abuse something, but I do not think that restricting access to pain control is an answer. At one time, Alcohol was banned in this country. Still, many people found ways around this. It simply drove drinking into the shadows for a few years. It even led to the invention of cocktails to get rid of the horrible taste of bootlegged alcohol. It did not work then, and it will not work now. Prohibition did not stop alcohol consumption. It is clear to most people that the roaring twenties were well lubricated.

Under the new guidelines, doctors would prescribe painkillers only after considering non-addictive under the new guidelines, doctors would prescribe painkillers only after considering non-addictive pain relievers, behavioral changes and other options. The CDC also wants doctors to prescribe the lowest effective dose possible. And doctors should only continue prescribing the drugs if patients show significant improvement

In many ways, this flies in the face of a principle sacred in medicine- Doctor-Patient confidentiality. Not only does the patient have to prove that they are in chronic pain. Doctors would not be able to prescribe without sending the patients to more doctors for therapies that are not covered by insurance. In addition, they would have to justify the reason. Doctors should be able to prescribe medication without fear of being prosecuted or losing their license. No one says to a diabetes patients- you are taking too much insulin. “You can only use this amount- it doesn’t matter if you have a seizure due to low blood sugar- you had it because you used too much insulin.” This is essentially what is happening to pain patients right now. A patient must have proof that the pain is chronic, try alternate therapies, sign a pain contract, and beg the doctor for treatment. The doctor is now to terrified to prescribe tome medications and sends you a specialist. The specialist could then decide if you warranted pain medication. Then, you have to go back to the pain doctor and hope that your medication will be there.

These guidelines do not just effect patients in chronic pain, but those in acute pain as well. For short-term pain, the CDC recommends limiting opioids to three days of treatment, when possible.

So if you are in the hospital for surgery or have a broken arm, you might only be given pain medication for a few days post op or event. This, more than anything else, is just wrong. If they can only prescribe for three days, the patient will be in a great deal of pain and this may actually hinder the healing process.

It will condemn some chronic pain patients to a life of pain. Many pain patients learn to manage their pain and are able to lead a relatively normal life. These guidelines would dramatically change this and will have an adverse effect on the lives of many. Indeed, some chronic pain patients would be disabled due to pain. This would increase the number of people on disability and thus hurt the economy.

I really, really hope that someone starts to see sense.

Getting out of the Ball

Sometimes I find myself curled up in a ball and I need to get out! This is probably the hardest thing to do- I basically have to force myself and say- "OK, time to get up NOW!"
You see pain and fatigue are great robbers. They rob us of time, energy, and life. Suddenly, you look around and realize that another few hours or another day and another event ha passed and you were curled up in pain- fighting the battle and the time has gone. While we are fighting, life goes on around us.
Then I try to catch up and find myself three steps behind and this happens too much. Then it gets harder to catch up and you don't know what to do. The only thing you can do is force yourself to stretch to get out of the stress/pain/exhaustion ball and try to catch up. Some days you win, some you lose.
 Sometime it feels like there isn't a reason to get out of the ball- it is easy- but you have to do it, so you do. You stand up.
Take a walk. Try to catch up and try to make life worth living again. It won't be easy. It never is. But one day, the sun will shine and you will catch up. Life will be better.

They say that the dragons are dead

No more knights are needed to chop of the heads of the beasts

That terrify the village. But I say they are wrong

We will always have dragons

And we will always need heroes to sing of in the winter

The fights are different

The battles change

There is technology. Who needs a knight in the age of tanks and missiles?

But the men and women who wield it for us are there.

There has to be a chest to wear the breast plate,

There has to be a brain to guide and

There will always be underdogs

Warriors who fight.

They are not just found on the battlefields.

These soldiers aren’t just strong young warriors

These soldiers are young, old, brave, and bold

And the battles they fight are small

Sometimes it is just the battle of rising each morning with hope in your heart.

Or standing after you have been felled ten times- long after sane men would leave the field

It is fighting pain while smiling at a friend and not letting her see your pain

No one would ever know I am such a person

Some may notice due to my ever faithful friend, my war dog.

But most have no clue the battles fought with pain

Yes, the physicians and wise men and women may be the generals

But we are the ones who fight.

Every day I look for just one thing in the battle- the will to go on

The will to fight, the will to win, the will to smile, the will to not fall here

I fight for life.

Sometimes it is small and far away

But on other days, I glimpse it

And I know that one day

I will stand on the far shore.

I will receive the sword from the enemy

And I will give the sword to God I hope to hear the words we all long to hear

“Well done, good and faithful servant. Come sit with me and rest and live, my child.”

New Year

I have not fallen off the face of the earth. It has been a strange and difficult few months. This year, I hope, will be better than last! I'm writing more, just not on the blog. I have resolved to post more and to work harder on the children's book about service dogs. I may even post of my newer ideas or stories here!