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Hello & Happy Spring! (Thread) If you haven’t been on here til 1am EST, I’m going to unpack recently announced #opioid bill S-724 (named for John McCain). For reax check out threads by @erinbiba and @AnaMardoll (call @gillibrandNY ASAP to protest bill.) Onto the breakdown:
Sen. Gillibrand introduced this bill with a flip referral to dental work and a misunderstanding of the term “acute pain”. #AcutePain does not mean ‘severe’ in medical terms, it means pain lasting up to/less than 6mos. If you’ve ever had a gunshot wound,
been in/had a serious accident, needed extensive surgery, had #fibromyalgia #arthritis #endometriosis or #pelvicpain #backpain -just to name a few-you may know that sometimes one needs more than 7 days of pain meds.
#ChronicPain patients are sounding the alarm🚨 b/c we know this system, and all had Acute Pain before we were diagnosed w/Chronic Pain, which can take years. This bill will assuredly harm us, despite the Senator’s replies, but it will also harm you. Opioids exist for a reason.
W/o safe pain meds, Americans will be forced to take too-high levels of OTC NSAIDs (Aleve, etc) and risk stomach bleeding (often fatal). You will be forced into disability, to leave work, to seek dangerous street drugs. You, like us, may contemplate #suicide. People will be hurt
by the intense stress untreated #pain causes. It will overload doctor’s offices & pharmacies, and cost us enormous amounts of money. 💸 Before #opioids were discovered, it was like life before #vaccines and #handwashing. People died. The body can only handle so much stress.
Chronic Pain patients are already treated as criminals in many states. We sign agreements w/pain management specialists (a rare, vital field) to only get meds from them. We get regular urine tests. We’re now screened for depression & suicidal ideation b/c of our constant pain &
dose limits in new CDC guidelines drafted by those w/o medical knowledge— leaving us w/o proper pain relief. Pain patients can’t access #medicalmarijuana in many states w/o abandoning our working pain meds (it’s illegal to federally study what’s safe w/MJ!), yet we know #cannabis
is *not* a replacement for morphine. All patients respond to medicine and pain differently. We all need different strengths, types, & amounts of medicine, especially pain medicine. This bill disregards that entirely. It will harm individuals & our society, & frighten good MDs
Current addiction causes are largely no longer from #prescriptionopioids but synthetic imitators cdc.gov/drugoverdose/e… This bill does not target the #Sacklers who made millions lying to doctors & Americans about drug safety newyorker.com/magazine/2017/…. It punishes patients instead
bad doctors already being tracked & investigated by the #DEA. It doesn’t target the lack of training in #medschools on prescribing pain meds & treating pain. It doesn’t help curb or treat #drugabuse. It knows nothing of drug chemistry or basic medical terminology. It is reckless.
This bill appeals to an invisible 3rd party electorate w/no stake in nor understanding of pain medicine or #OpioidCrisis. Axing Rx numbers does not stop abuse nor treat pain. Consider the lesson of #AbortionRights: Legislation should not obstruct the doctor-patient relationship.
The GOP Senator @SenCoryGardner who partnered w/Gillibrand is infamous for having disabled activists jailed when they came to his office denverpost.com/2017/06/29/cor…, backs Trump to the chagrin of his constituents denverpost.com/2019/03/14/cor…, and opposes the #AHA & #healthcarereform
Please take what I & other #disabled folks r saying to heart. S-724 needs to be scrapped immediately. Please heed our warning and call your Senators. Call #Gillibrand (📞202-224-4451) contactsenators.com/new-york/kirst… ASAP. Find your Senator’s info here: callmycongress.com
Some of us may not even seem sick, but pain is often an #invisibleillness. This bill will harm everyone searching for a diagnosis & proper care. It’s bizarrely anti-science, cruel, ignorant, and dystopian. I was a healthy 26 y.o. when I became disabled. Protect your future self.
P.S. Thanks for reading 💝
@threadreaderapp unroll please
