On Tuesday, the federal government published its first-ever national guidelines for doctors prescribing opioid painkillers.
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The CDC’s recommendations suggest that doctors avoid prescribing long-term opioid pain killers, aside from patients receiving cancer treatment or end of life care.
The organization says an average of 46 people are dying every single day from overdoses. The drugs should also be combined with nondrug approaches to controlling pain, like physical therapy and exercise, the agency said.
“This is a hard position for primary care physicians because people are in pain and they are hurting and you know they have issues these are very tough patients to take care of”, says Dr. Griffin.
If you suffer from chronic pain, expect a different conversation with your doctor the next time you go for a prescription refill.
When prescribed for acute, or short-term pain, doctors should prescribe the lowest effective dose of immediate release opioids. Nonetheless, Mennen said “the new guidelines will definitely change my prescribing behavior”.
Some studies suggest only 5% of patients prescribed opioids receive them for chronic pain, but they account for 70% of overall opioid prescriptions and the majority of overdoses.
Before you start the use of painkillers ask your doctor what is right for you as well as the risks and benefits associated with taking the drugs.
New Hampshire governor Maggie Hassan released a statement on the CDC recommendations: “It is clear that the heroin and opioid crisis stems in part from the overuse, misuse and abuse of addictive prescription opioids, which is why we have been working in New Hampshire to prevent the overprescribing of opioids by improving provider training and working with providers to develop updated prescribing rules for the boards governing all prescribers…” They are synthetic narcotics which work by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and are mostly available in pill form.
In 2013 alone, an estimated 1.9 million were abusing or addicted to opioid medication according to the CDC.
Opioids also include heroin, an illegal injectable drug that has become a far cheaper alternative to oral opioids on the streets of many US communities, causing many overdoses.
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Barry Mennen, MD, a Washington, D.C.-based primary care physician who focuses on weight loss and overall health, has prescribed his share of opioids, although he says he is generally careful.
