Thread by @JillPiggott

.@NPR's response to the outcry that they wrongly blamed medical #opioid use as the cause of the OD epidemic? 4 days later they did it again. @BrianMannADK @carriefeibel @vicwj This is LAZY & HARMFUL reporting.

Evidence shows: #ODs & #suicides go UP as # of scripts goes DOWN.

https://twitter.com/Veronic41752363/status/1286654878081679360

.@NPR @BrianMannADK @carriefeibel @vicwj

🔴 2,887 #vets DIED from #OD or #suicide AFTER their #opioid pain med was stopped in FY 2013.

🔴 1 year of the VA's policy to take #vets off medicine produced just 90 fewer bodies than 9/11. (Link next tweet)

VA study showing people are 4 to 6.8 times MORE LIKELY to die of #overdose or #suicide after discontinuation of a prescription #opioid. THIS IS NOT AN OUTLIER. @NPR, PLEASE contact co-author @StefanKertesz. bmj.com/content/368/bm…

2 groups are being HARMED & KILLED by public policy driven by an assumption, not evidence. 1>Taking effective med away from people w/ #ChronicPain results in (SURPRISE!) worse outcomes: disability, psychological distress, illicit drug use, OD, suicide.

THAT'S FDA'S LIST.

2>Pushing people off rx #opioids & discontinuing med care if they show symptoms of misuse or addiction (a "very rare" occurrence, see below) KILLS. Those patients--too many of them #vets--deserve MORE care, not less.

Pain experts have guidelines for safer rx'ing to this group.

"Efforts to curb the course of the #opioid #overdose epidemic have principally focused on restricting the supply of rx #opioid analgesics," but these programs "have failed" & may have a "modest effect, at best" going forward. Study: jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

AGAIN in 2019, we hit a record LOW of #opioid scripts & record HIGH of #ODs. As AmCancerSociety TRIES to explain, #addiction in med use is "very rare." Large studies put it at under 1%. #CDC 2016 found av 97% unremarkable use. 3% includes non-addictive dependence & "long use."

@mentions @NPR: I lead @headsUPmigraine. You have the cognitive version of #migraine aura: You're BLIND to the most impt part of rx #opioid limits: OUTCOMES. We pull over if we feel an aura coming on. You should stop "reporting" til you get this right. @BrianMannADK @carriefeibel @vicwj

@mentions Unbelievable. Google Carrie Feibel, NPR, 7/23 if you want to read her interview. I'm not linking to it. I logged in to see if they'd issued a correction & found they did it again. @StefanKertesz @speakingabtpain @NitaGhei

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