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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry 1
#28102525 - 12/17/22 06:59 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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US health agency accused of bowing to drug industry with new opioid guidance December 17, 2022 - The Guardian
Doctors say CDC’s softer guidelines ‘tossing aside’ safety limits put lives at risk as opioid epidemic continues to rage in the country
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been accused of bowing to drug industry pressure after releasing new guidelines that doctors say put lives at risk by rowing back on warnings about the dangers of opioid prescribing.
The latest CDC guidelines have caused controversy after dropping specific limits on dosages and lengths of prescribing from a key summary of recommendations used by physicians.
Dr Kenneth Scheppke, Florida’s deputy health secretary, was so disturbed he issued a public statement accusing the CDC of “tossing aside” the limits used in the previous guidelines released six years ago. Scheppke told the Guardian he is concerned that the move could cost lives as the US continues to grapple with the worst drug epidemic in its history, driven by opioids.
“It’s pretty clear to me that they soften some really good, strong recommendations that they had in 2016 warning prescribers against over prescribing these opioids, and I don’t really see a good reason for removing those two warnings,” he said.
“The United States already has the highest per capita opioid prescriptions in the world, and our overdose numbers certainly reflect that. My concern is the apparent softening of the warning to my colleagues across the nation of the dangers of prescribing either for too many days or to a higher dose. That doesn’t really help the pain but raises dramatically the risk of overdose and death.”
Dr Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, sees the drug industry’s hand behind the change. Kolodny has testified against opioid makers in legal actions over their part in driving the opioid epidemic by pushing sales with false claims about their safety and effectiveness.
They include Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin, a powerful narcotic pill that kickstarted the US’s opioid epidemic alongside the company’s marketing strategy to see the drugs widely prescribed.
Kolody said court documents show that the drug industry calculated how much the 2016 CDC guidelines would cost it if doctors followed the recommendations to limit prescribing of high dosage pills.
“The highest dosage products have had the highest profit margin. It only costs a few extra pennies to make the higher dosage pill, but retail it’s almost double what they get per pill or prescription. So the industry fought very hard to block the release of the 2016 guideline and when that failed they did everything they could to make the guidelines appear controversial. And that worked,” he said.
The latest CDC guidelines, released last month, come as the US continues to grapple with tens of thousands of opioid overdose deaths every year, as well as the consequences of addiction for others hooked on the drugs and their families.
The biggest killer today is an illegal drug, the potent artificial opioid, fentanyl. It was linked to the deaths of more than 70,000 Americans last year. More American adults under the age of 45 die from drug overdoses than in the combined toll of car accidents and suicide.
But prescription opioids drove the US opioid epidemic for more than a decade, and continue to claim lives.
The CDC’s 2016 guidelines were intended to prevent more Americans from becoming addicted to prescription drugs and to stem the flow toward illicit opioids such as heroin and fentanyl. They set recommended limits for dosages and how long opioids should be prescribed for.
Those limits remain deep in the body of the latest guidelines but are excluded from what are known as the “box three recommendations”, a summary of the guidance which Scheppke said is all most doctors read.
“They won’t get all that great background information buried in the text that points out the scientific realities that dosage above a certain level provides minimal benefit, but much higher risk of overdose and death,” he said.
“The 2016 guidelines gave physicians recommendations saying that if you are prescribing for acute pain for less than three days that’s generally reasonable. Rarely will you need more than seven days.”
That direct warning is absent from the recommendations in the latest document.
Scheppke also took issue with the latest warning that opioids “carry considerable potential risk”.
“There is nothing potential about it,” he said, noting that the earlier guidelines stated flatly that the risk existed.
Kolodny said that from the beginning the drug industry resisted official curbs on opioid prescribing.
“In 2016, it was especially important because the drug industry marketing disguised as medical education for many years had pushed this notion that there’s no upper dose limit on opioids, that you should just go as high as anybody needs. So it was really needed,” said Kolodny.
“That upper dosage limit in the 2016 guideline was what was most concerning to industry.”
In 2018, Senator Claire McCaskill released a report detailing how opioid manufacturers spent millions of dollars funding front groups, including to oppose the original CDC guidelines. Purdue Pharma gave $500,000 to the Washington Legal Foundation, which previously defended the tobacco industry, to launch a court challenge to them.
Kolodny said that when that didn’t work, the opioid industry attacked the CDC guidelines by saying they were driving patients to suicide because doctors were depriving patients of opioids and forcing them to live with unbearable pain.
Both Scheppke and Kolodny question that claim while acknowledging that there is a very real problem of patients who were dependent on high dosages of opioids who require treatment for dependency and withdrawal. Kolodny said that drove some in withdrawal to kill themselves but the drug industry has used front groups to overstate the number of deaths and to spin them as a result of lack of pain treatment in a bid to pressure the CDC to relax its guidelines.
“This is a really serious issue. But what the opioid advocates, many with industry ties, disclosed or undisclosed, pushed was this false narrative about an epidemic of suicide and so there was a manufactured backlash against the CDC guidelines,” he said.
“The notion that there are patients losing access to an effective treatment, and therefore they have no choice but to kill themselves because they’re in so much pain now, that’s a hoax. But the idea that someone in the context of acute withdrawal would kill themselves, that certainly could be real because it’s so excruciating.”
Scheppke said that what is required is not weakened prescribing guidelines but better treatment for people dependent on opioids.
The CDC has been contacted for comment.
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the_way
political prisoner



Registered: 10/07/16
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: veggie]
#28102576 - 12/17/22 07:27 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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So is this positive or negative for a person? Seems like doctors should have drugs on hand to do a warsaw test. Any time you feel it in your lungs you should be able to get you some good codeine pro without the poison. Now a days one such as myself blames the poison and they like 'poison' I never done heard of that shit.
-------------------- They were dead before the ship sank!
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the_way
political prisoner



Registered: 10/07/16
Posts: 304
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28102586 - 12/17/22 07:33 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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There's no reason but hinklism for old people to not have nitroglycerin lying around all the time.
-------------------- They were dead before the ship sank!
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The Blind Ass
Bodhi



Registered: 08/16/16
Posts: 27,994
Loc: The Primordial Mind
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28102656 - 12/17/22 08:21 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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hmmmm
-------------------- Give me Liberty caps -or- give me Death caps
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ZeeBow


Registered: 03/19/18
Posts: 2,124
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: veggie] 2
#28102916 - 12/18/22 01:34 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
veggie said: “The notion that there are patients losing access to an effective treatment, and therefore they have no choice but to kill themselves because they’re in so much pain now, that’s a hoax. But the idea that someone in the context of acute withdrawal would kill themselves, that certainly could be real because it’s so excruciating.”
That is NOT a hoax AT ALL! That is the EXACT reason my father killed himself this year! No one would prescribe him adequate pain medication and after years of battling chronic, crippling pain he finally decided to end his life.
If someone is in excruciating pain and they know the possible side effects and addiction potential, let them have whatever opioids they need to manage their pain.
Pain is subjective from person to person and everyone reacts differently to opi/ate/oid medications.
There is absolutely no reason a 69 year old man that is in so much pain that he cannot even get out of bed should be forced to suffer because of strict prescription laws, regulations, and guidelines.
Honestly I wish there was a waiver people could sign saying that they understand the risks involved and are willing to go forward with taking the pain medication they need no matter what the consequences down the road may be.
Let people be free to choose what kind of treatment they want and/or need!
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 18,037
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: ZeeBow]
#28104038 - 12/18/22 05:51 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I knew one (late) veteran, who was issued about two 65G drums of clean bandages, sharps, pain killers, and different pharms, which he had shown to home care.
Another used (female) sanitary napkins to dress an infected leg surgery.
I will never believe in artificial scarcity being claimed by the state dealer.
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the_way
political prisoner



Registered: 10/07/16
Posts: 304
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: durian_2008]
#28104091 - 12/18/22 06:47 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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freedom from religion makes much more sense than freedom of religion when their pompousness prevents them from recognizing anything.
-------------------- They were dead before the ship sank!
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 18,037
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28104134 - 12/18/22 07:26 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I assume that I could use any inebriant in place of strong drink, and arrive at the same general principle:
"...it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction." -- from Proverbs 31
Who does that place in control of drug policy.
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the_way
political prisoner



Registered: 10/07/16
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: durian_2008]
#28104144 - 12/18/22 07:31 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Babies are born conceited, their not born sociopaths. People get fucked and they turn sociopath.
-------------------- They were dead before the ship sank!
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the_way
political prisoner



Registered: 10/07/16
Posts: 304
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28104149 - 12/18/22 07:35 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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gang alliance shouldn't be another obstacle, now ask me how it relates.
-------------------- They were dead before the ship sank!
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 18,037
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28104155 - 12/18/22 07:39 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I'm sort of a fatalist, who has heard of transformative experiences, yet never personally witnessed a full-on character change, for better or worse.
People can be treated rudely without becoming vulgar, or highly without being elevated.
This broadly applies to drug policy in that wacky scenarios, which we read about in the news, are the result of character, rather than resulting from body chemistry and social justice.
Sloppy people, don't write laws or operate heavy machinery, thx.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant



Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 18,037
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: the_way]
#28104166 - 12/18/22 07:52 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
the_way said: gang alliance shouldn't be another obstacle, now ask me how it relates.
imhblo, the common everyday person shouldn't have to buy medicines from Freeway Rick Ross. Something so ordinary that it taints the water supply and every dollar bill shouldn't have any onus of guilt attached, assuming that you act like a good person.
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


Registered: 06/12/09
Posts: 1,571
Loc: The Swamp
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: durian_2008]
#28104941 - 12/19/22 03:16 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Ok help me out here, perhaps I just missed something...been a long day at work.
They are complaining that the CDC reduces the safety guidelines as it pertains to the useage of prescription opioid medications, and thus opening it to a looser interpretation which could mean “Take More”. This could in turn increase the amount of ODs, and or adverse addictions/dependencies.
Am I right with this?
Because if so...my interpretation runs more along the lines of “Oh well now that we have taken the majority of Tylenol out of the average 5mg Hydro/Perc, etc...they can actually take more without risking acute damage to liver function”...considering that the main reason Tylenol was added in the first place was to discourage abuse....great job that did.
Idk
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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I'd say you have that right. The CDC has new guidelines on dosages and length of opioid treatment. They are just that, guidelines. This doesn't mean Docs are required to prescribe more for longer periods.
Until new medication and treatment comes along for pain, opioids do in fact work. Yes, we are in an opioid crisis, high addiction and overdose rates. The companies at 'fault' were identified. the manufacturers, the drug store chains, and the 'pill mills'. Now the situation has been created that patients suffering from severe pain are forced to go without any medication in most cases.
Doctors played a major role in the opiate crisis. Besides the docs that knowingly overprecsribed, the average docs that were just trying to help their patients by continuing to prescribe opioids for pain, did one thing that caused the crisis to be much worse. When a patient showed all the signs of addiction, they immediately cut them off from their medicine. Now you have people with high tolerance, going through withdrawal, in excruciating pain. Without any options in place for medication or treatment many patients turned to street dealers where fentanyl is cheap and readily available.
So some docs are fighting against the new guidelines as a way of saying they had no responsibility and see/look they are working against the epidemic and OD's.
People in pain need treatment. Addicts need treatment. Street fentanyl addicts need Heroin-Assisted Treatment (HAT) programs, and we all need the drug war to end, drugs legalized and regulated to put a stop to the worst overdose problem this country has ever seen.
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TheShroomanizer
Stranger-Danger


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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: veggie] 1
#28105181 - 12/19/22 06:10 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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It’s sad to see man, I used to see a pain management doctor at the height of opioid crisis (2017-2018) prior pandemic.
My doctor was awesome, had no problem in educating his patients on ALL options, but at the same time felt that what the patients said worked for them...worked for them, and that meant prescribing opioids in many cases. There are obvious red flags to abuse...
Also my doctor and I got along very well, as I was an Army Combat Medic, and he was a former Navy Corpsman, so there was some mutual respect there, one day he came into the office and sat down and said
“So we need to talk, my office is being put under increasing pressure by policy makers to reduce the amount of narcotics being prescribed for non-cancer related illnesses/pain”, he then proceeded to show me a letter from the local city’s DEA agency requesting that he conform to the new prescribing policies. (He also pointed out that the people signing off on the policies were not pain management doctors, but law enforcement). He was very distraught about the fact that law enforcement was taking such a heavy hand in the medical field in the hopes of having an impact at street level. Which in turn would hurt his patients, and his practice.
They openly threatened his license, despite his immaculate record, and not 1 case of prescription mismanagement...the problem is so rooted in every level that I highly doubt change is in the near future....$ is and will always be the most addictive drug in the USA.
-------------------- Trading Prints -Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could listen twice as much as we speak-
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SnowDaze
Probably Relapsing on Heroin



Registered: 02/24/13
Posts: 5,996
Loc: Home, Home Again....
Last seen: 8 months, 29 days
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If doctors would just prescribe then you wouldn’t have people turning to the streets for fentanyl and then ODing when they don’t know the dosage. Prescriptions even when abused are safer than street fentanyl and a step closer to regulation of drugs.
--------------------
If you get confused, listen to the music play
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pepz
Stranger


Registered: 12/20/22
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Re: CDC Accused of Bowing to Drug Industry [Re: SnowDaze] 1
#28108126 - 12/22/22 12:14 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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It's the communism and artificial selection. You can't get anywhere with out joining the cult. TC might be about Scientology but that doesn't mean everyone else isn't in it for the perks.
-------------------- Eluding is run by dumb nazis that work for the state, I know cause I was there when they stole my software. If I know who they are, than so does the state.
Edited by pepz (12/22/22 12:15 AM)
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