The war on opiates has and will continue to have unintended consequences. In my own experience it was handled with a one size fits all broad brush approach. I was a chronic pain patient since 1991. I spent 10 years with virtually no treatment because doctors thought there was nothing wrong with me. They sent me to psychiatrists who put me on a variety of psychiatric drugs that made matters worse. Their take was I did not look the part and was very calm about my condition hence to them it was all in my mind. Then I protested so loudly that they couldn't ignore it and longer and finally sent me for an MRI. The results of the MRI were so bad that I was taken off work immediately and permanently. No discs in my lumbar and cervical region, central and foriminal spinal stenosis throughout, spodylothesis and more. In the end 3 surgeon concluded I am not a surgical candidate. I then did every other treatment known to man until finally I bacame a medication patient only. That was 2005. From 2005 until 2013 i was prescribed norco and Morphine er and the pain and my life became managable. Then in 2013 the government got involved with opiates and me , along with 230 other patients were sumarily dropped from all treatment. A 30 day script and see ya latter. In my group some people went to street drugs and became addicted to heroin, others like myself used alcohol to excess to kill the pain..and several killed themselves.. This action by both government and the medical community was highly irresponsible and unethical. I had quality of life for almost 8 years due to medicine that I never abused...then overnight it was cut off without any way to titrate off , no assistance and no medical solutions or treatment to follow. It is my belief that the current opiate problem is a direct result of such idiot policies and this problem will continue. Pain is the most powerful motivating force in nature. When in severe pain any living thing will do just about anything to make it go away. Seems to me that medical oversight of people in such cases is far more intellegent than to put a person in a position of going to the streets or worse. I am still in pain all the time and am left with very few and ineffective options.. I believe there are cases where continued use of opiates are not called for .I also believe that there are other cases , where medical evidence proves the need that they are a life saver as to quality of life. Most people would choose a life of dependence (not addiction) than a life of misery and pain.

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