Pharmacies Sued for Discrimination Against Pain Patients

Pharmacies Sued for Discrimination Against Pain Patients — Pain News Network – by Pat Anson – Aug 2020

This is wonderful news, to finally push back against the anti-opioid forces aligned against us.

Class action complaints against Walgreens, Costco and CVS Pharmacy were filed in California and Rhode Island on behalf of two women seeking legal relief that will allow them to get their opioid prescriptions filled without delays or restrictions, and without the fear that their prescriptions will be denied. 

Pain patients in the U.S. have complained for years about pharmacists refusing to fill their opioid prescriptions or reducing them to lower doses. It’s also not uncommon for patients to encounter delays and excuses, such as a pharmacy claiming it was out of stock of a particular medication.  

Pain Warriors: Civil Rights for Our Time

Pain Warriors: ‘A Civil Rights Movement for Our Time’ — Pain News Network – By Pat Anson, PNN Editor – May 25, 2020

A long-awaited documentary about chronic pain in North America is shining a light on the other side of the opioid crisis – how chronic pain patients and their doctors have been marginalized and persecuted in the name of fighting opioid addiction.

“Pain Warriors” is being released by Gravitas Ventures. It is available for streaming on Vimeo, iTunes and Amazon Prime or on DVD.

The 80-minute film takes an intimate look at the lives of four chronic pain patients and their loved ones, including an 11-year old boy living with cancer pain and a doctor who nearly lost his medical license due to allegations he overprescribed opioids.

N.H. Bill supports doctors treating pain with opioids

Here’s a very positive development in New Hampshire:

HOUSE BILL 1639-FN – AN ACT relative to healthcare.

Section 5
Requires that boards regulating practitioners prescribing, administering, and dispensing controlled substances adopt rules for management of chronic pain.

Section 6:
defines chronic pain for the purposes of the controlled drug prescription health and safety program.  

Super-potent human antibodies against COVID-19

Super-potent human antibodies protect against COVID-19 in animal tests: Scientists isolate powerful coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies from COVID-19 patients and successfully test in animals — ScienceDaily – June 15, 2020

Here’s a promising avenue: using antibodies from people who overcame and recovered from COVID as a prophylactic for others.

A team led by Scripps Research has discovered antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, when tested in animals and human cell cultures.

In principle, injections of such antibodies could be given to patients in the early stage of COVID-19 to reduce the level of virus and protect against severe disease.  

Misperceptions about ‘Opioid Epidemic:’ Exploring Facts

Misperceptions about the ‘Opioid Epidemic:’ Exploring the Facts – ScienceDirect – Pain Management Nursing – Feb 2020

Here is the full article I posted about yesterday:

A plethora of statistics and claims exist concerning the rise in prescription opioid use and the increase in opioid-related deaths.

Eleven misperceptions were identified that underlie some of the growing national concern and backlash against opioid use.

Misperceptions include

• the number of opioid overdose deaths,
• the quality of government-sponsored data and guidelines,
• the impact of opioid dose escalation on overdose risk,
• postoperative opioid use associated with long-term use, and
• the link between prescription opioid use and heroin initiation.

Tapentadol (Nucynta) Prolonged Release: A Review

Tapentadol Prolonged Release: A Review in Pain Management – free full-text /PMC6422986/ – 2018 Nov

Tapentadol prolonged release (tapentadol PR) [Palexia® SR in EU] is a long-acting tablet formulation of the strong central analgesic tapentadol, which acts as both a μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist and a noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor.

Tapentadol PR is approved for chronic pain in various countries, with its EU indication (severe chronic pain manageable only with opioid analgesics) being the focus here.

Well-designed trials and clinical practice data support tapentadol PR use in this setting.   

The Science of Helping Out

The Science of Helping Out – The New York Times – By Tara Parker-Pope – April 9, 2020

At a time when we are all experiencing an extraordinary level of stress, science offers a simple and effective way to bolster our own emotional health.

To help yourself, start by helping others.

Much of the scientific research on resilience — which is our ability to bounce back from adversity — has shown that having a sense of purpose, and giving support to others, has a significant impact on our well-being.  

COVID-19: The immune system can fight back

COVID-19: The immune system can fight back – by University of Melbourne – Mar 2020 

This just makes sense: our immune systems have to deal with novel bacteria and viruses all during our lives. If our bodies had no ability to put up a fight against these new (to our bodies) invaders when they are first encountered, few of us would live past childhood.

Melbourne researchers have mapped immune responses from one of Australia’s first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, showing the body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection.

Researchers were able to test blood samples at four different time points in an otherwise healthy woman in her 40s, who presented with COVID-19 and had mild-to-moderate symptoms requiring hospital admission.  

How to find doctors still prescribing opioids

I received what I believe to be excellent advice from Richard A “Red” Lawhern for anyone looking for doctors still prescribing opioids:

I very often receive inquiries from patients who have been deserted by their doctors due to concerns for malicious persecution by DEA, DoJ, State Medical Boards or State drug enforcement authorities.

It is hard these days to find any doctor who is taking on new patients for the treatment of chronic pain. But a medical professional associated with the Alliance offered this insight: talk to your local independent pharmacist and ask which doctors they know who may be treating patients for pain.  

Minnesota bill allowing opioids for intractable pain

A bill for an act relating to health; changing intractable pain provisions; amending Minnesota Statues 2018 

I’m thrilled to see that one of the states that legislated some of the earliest and most extreme anti-opioid rules is now realizing that intractable chronic pain sometimes *does* require opioid medication indefinitely.

Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 152.125, is amended to read: 152.125 INTRACTABLE PAIN.

Subdivision 1. Definition.

For purposes of this section, “intractable pain” means a pain state, that includes but is not limited to noncancer pain and rare diseases, in which the cause or causes of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated with the consent of the patient and in which, in the generally accepted course of medical practice, no relief or cure of the cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found after reasonable efforts.