Arianne Profile picture
May 26, 2023 10 tweets 5 min read Read on X
1-#ChronicPain patients knew that the opioid 'guideline' re: prescribing practices was not law.
But as intended, PROP's 'guideline' shaped the Standard of Care re: #opioid prescribing practices so it might as well have been law.
Why?
Tort law.
Let's try and break it down. Image
2-Once PROP's ‘opioid guideline’ was published through CDC, prescribing practices started to formally change nationally and altered how doctors were to treat pain; altering the Standard of Care. This was crafted around an ‘opioids are dangerous drugs' narrative.
#ChronicPain Image
3-The recommendations to instate a maximum morphine milligram equivalent altered things further in the practice of treating pain. It changed pain treatment recommendations for acute pain, post surgical pain control, and most of all, the way #ChronicPain was treated. Image
4-As stated above, the opioid prescribing guideline was NOT law per se; but after the Standard of Care changed, MDs/medical facilities knew that if they deviated from standards crafted around the 'guideline' they could be held legally liable in negligence/malpractice litigation. Image
5-All of this, PROP's CDC ' opioid guideline' & changes in the treatment of pain were based on the assertion that drug deaths were being driven by prescribed opioid medicines and blanket 'over prescribing' practices, as well as an evil Big Pharma agenda.
#ChronicPain Image
6-But the data was flawed & deaths being attributed to RX medication were being conflated when it was primarily illegal street drugs and polypharmacy causing increased drug deaths.
Street Fentanyl was involved as early as 2013 & CDC knew it.
#ChronicPain link.springer.com/article/10.100…
7-But I digress.
Bottom line-MDs are living in fear of prescribing opioids now and not without good cause.
Between possible civil litigation if they deviate from the standard of care re: opioids and DEA intrusion if they DARE practice pateint centered care, they instead opt out. Image
8-The nightmare that #ChronicPain patients in particular are facing has been based on theories, false premises, and conflated data-
People are suffering & dying due to fallout from CDC's guideline.
9-CDC's 'opioid guideline' should be renounced & rescinded immediately.
Sanity returned re: treating pain w/opioids.
MDs must regain prescribing autonomy while law enforcement's taken out of the exam room altogether and drug policies changed.
IF saving lives is the goal.🧐 Image
10-This thread is very condensed explanation of what was a convoluted process, touching on what should be an involved & nuanced discussion nationally.
But it does highlight some of the more important aspects of how we got here and touches on why things must change.
#ChronicPain

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More from @ravensspirit68

May 4
1-And to wrap things up today...
This is our Critical Analysis of fallout from the 'opioid crisis scam'.
Misattribution of Deaths: The lack of IMF testing until the mid-2000s falsely attributed overdoses to prescription opioids, inflating their perceived role.
#PainCareCrisis
2-It was clear by 2015, (due to more widespread testing upon death), IMF was the dominant driver of drug poisinings, yet policies like the CDC’s guidelines and DEA’s quota cuts continued targeting prescriptions, harming patients without addressing illicit markets.
3-Policy Overreach & the made up "overprescribing" narrative justified one-size-fits-all regulations; ignoring patient diversity. The CDC’s 2022 guideline update acknowledged harm from rigid limits-but the CHILLING EFFECT contines due to DEA scrutiny and pharmacy gatekeeping.
Read 10 tweets
May 4
1-Continuing the conversation about how the 'opioid crisis' scam is harming and killing vulnerable patients with serious illnesses and injuries...
#PainCareCrisis
2-Harmful Outcomes: Forced tapering or discontinuation increases risks of suicide, mental health crises, and illicit drug use. A 2019 Health Affairs analysis linked restrictive policies to an 8% rise in suicides among chronic pain patients.
3-Some abandoned patients with debilitating conditions turning to fentanyl-laced street drugs after losing prescriptions, with one user on X stating, “Doctors abandoned me; the street was my only option.”
Read 14 tweets
May 4
1-An overview of my conversation with @Grok, on how the 'opioid crisis' scam is harming vulnerable patients/ a scam that's led to policies which severely limit access to opioids, benzodiazepines, and ADHD medications, devastating patients who rely on them.
2-"Overprescribing" lacks a clear legal or medical definition. It is a made up term that emerged in the late 1990s and 2000s as a catch-all term to describe high prescription opioid volumes based on a medically baseless maximum 'morphine milligram equivalent', or MME.
3-The made up term was popularized by media, advocacy groups, and regulators to frame prescription opioids as the primary driver of rising overdose deaths, despite limited evidence isolating their impact from illicit drugs.
Read 12 tweets
Apr 7
This is a cry for help!
Not because I’m considering suicide.

This is a cry for help for millions in pain. It’s a cry for those who are taking their own lives to end the agony they've been told that they  just need to learn to accept.

#PainCareCrisis Image
2-It’s a rallying cry for people to start talking about what’s happening, what has been happening for years now, to people with serious illnesses & injuries in this country. Virtually no one is talking about this in the public forum-This is the other side of the ‘opioid crisis’.
3-There are people right now watching the news, rightfully outraged when they see profiling and discrimination, human rights abuses, violations of civil liberties and civil rights.
Read 14 tweets
Mar 29
1-BEER
Imagine: Beer poisoning kills a few thousand.
Gov declares beer to be highly addictive & dangerous. They implement gov database monitoring of sales & restricting access to beer, you are monitored through your DL. DEA put restrictions on sales & commercial production...
2-There is evidence that deaths are not the beer from the store that's killing most people, although alcohol related deaths do include store bought beer. Some studies say deaths are from a new strong smuggled beer, and beer being made in garages.
3-Since it's difficult to discern which beer is killing people, the government lumps all beer under the 'highly addictive and dangerous' label, and declares that in order to save lives, we need to get people to stop drinking beer, and all alcohol for that matter.
Read 11 tweets
Jan 27
The Pain Care Crisis: A Call for Compassionate Policy
The majority of people who rely on RX opiate medicines for chronic pain are being unfairly penalized and harmed due to policies aimed at 'misuse'.
Thread...1/
#PainCareCrisis Image
2-Deadly policies-touted as well-intentioned-have led to unintended consequences across the board, leaving millions of chronic pain patients struggling to access the medications they desperately need. Image
3-Personal responsibility plays a crucial role in in the safe use of medications. Patients should be empowered with informed consent, understanding risks and benefits of treatment options, rather than subjected to restrictive, gatekeeping measures.
Read 6 tweets

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