Isn’t it a fact that millions of aged people and others on Medicare are being discriminated against just because they are in pain?

I have OA and have had 2 back surgeries, could do with another, but will not have it, b/c as of now, my pain is controlled with Tylenol #3, a pretty 'mild' opioid, but an opioid all the same.

I'm fortunate that my PCP can prescribe 3 months of this between actual visits. As long as I don't take more than prescribed and try to stay as active as possible--it is OK. But I am not going to get 'better'.....OA creeps into the joints and somedays, seriously, everything hurts.

I USED to be on Norco 10/325, and tapered myself down to the Tyleno#3. The Norco was incredibly BETTER at the pain relief, but I am only 64 and I have to have somewhere to go 'up' if I need to.

Drs are under enromous scrutiny to not overprescribe, but I personally feel that many people are walking around in untenable pain and it really affects their daily lives.

I was told by my DIL, who is an anesthesiologist, that the WORST abusers of opioids are anesthesiologists. It's kind of a dirty little secret. She was at a symposium a couple years ago and came home and told me about it--the real crisis is people who NEED pain relief who cannot get it and the fact that EVERY neighborhood 'drug dealer' is somehow able to have quite the stash of stuff. I know ours does. (I'm NOT kidding, everyone knows who the kids go to for their party drugs!)

The pendulum has swung too far one way and needs to swing back more to center.

My problem is that I experienced excellent pain management working with my PCP over 25 years ago. I supervised employees plus drove commercially. The pain began in 1964, when I fell down a flight of stairs.
I always had excellent private health care insurance that covered me and my wife and children.
when our Doctors ordered therapy or medication , there was never an issue about following the prescribed tests, etc.
I agree that it’s not so much an age issue but a person deserting another that is weaker because they are being bullied by people that will fine them, and take their licenses away based on untruths is wrong, and needs to be fixed.
America is supposed to be a free Country.
I’ve seen spine specialist that called me a walking miracle. I’ve survived cancer and CABG plus own a TENS unit, and been offered surgical options when, not if I loose bowel & bladder control. Being in COVID quarantine will NOT effect how I live IF I get that virus. I’ve adapted to life “on line” years ago.
I miss my outdoor hobbies and being active with my Church outreach.
It hurts reading the hundreds of responses from folks that are caught up in this, looking for a way to return sanity back to patient / Dr. relations .

This has absolutely nothing to do with age discrimination. You were prescribe a highly controlled opioid. This is all the fault of CDC guidelines and drs that follow them to a T. My husband is under 50 and guess what? He too had his Norco prescription cut off when workman’s comp decided he had been on it too long (he had a significantly herniated disk so obviously he was in severe pain). And the kicker is, he wouldn’t have needed them as long as he did if the medical professionals treating him has been competent and done their jobs correctly. They refused to request surgery for him because his last MRI was 2 years earlier. So he told them to request an MRI. They did but they told WC that that he did not work surgery (he told them he did and to request the MRI so they could then request the surgery). MC denied the MRI because they were incorrectly told he didn’t want surgery. Long story short, it took 4 months to get the surgery approved because an competent physicians assistant, who also refused to keep prescribing Norco (she did not want to lose her license she said), kept sending WC an MRI request without fixing the erroneous statement about my husband not wanting surgery. For 4 months he suffered in agonizing pain,
pretty much unable to live a normal life. It has nothing to do with age and everything to do with ridiculous CDC guidelines that punish the non-addicts. The truth is, drs are afraid they will lose their licenses to practice medicine and the result is, people of all ages are left to suffer. The statistics continue to increase, there has been an ongoing rise in suicides since CDC changed their guidelines because people are being left to suffer in physical pain with no relief.

It would be helpful to know what alternatives to opioids you've tried, if any? Gel injections, cortisone shots, tens therapy, 60-day implantable (SPRint PNS)...? I agree that you need to go to a pain clinic and work through a orthopedist if possible. They want people to be off of opioids as much as is reasonable. My mom had a gel injection in her knee and shoulder and has long-term relief. There are also nerve ablation treatments that deaden nerves, is safe, fast and effective but are indicated for only certain parts of the body. Please keep searching -- I wish you success!

Doctors are under GREAT pressure now NOT to prescribe opioids. You are aware of that and you are seeing a pain specialist, so I know you are doing all you can. I have a friend with various problems that range from hips to knees to feet with many braces and with multiple surgeries. Her life is a life of pain meds, yes opioids, and edibles, yes weed, and downers to sleep. She is basically an addict and recognizes that she is, as does her doctor, who warns her that it will get increasingly more difficult for her to get relief. At this point it seems to me that all of this DOESN'T give her relief anymore and I am coming to think she is getting rebound pain big time. All that isn't here or there. Pain is dreadful, and pain without an answer, chronic, is one of the major causes of suicide. I am so sorry for all you are doing and it seems to me you are doing all you can. Your points are all well taken.

No, It is not discrimination. It's something else. Go Figure.

Opioid addiction is rampant here in the US, and I'm sure elsewhere, so I certainly understand why Dr's anymore are leary to write any more prescriptions than they have to for them. They are dangerous, and have led to many deaths and overdoses, not to mention innocent folks becoming addicted after being on them for only a week or so. And just because you were still able to work while on them, doesn't mean that you weren't still affected negatively in some way.

I am speaking to this issue as someone who lives in constant pain, after having 7 surgeries in 7 years(between 2011 and 2018), after being thrown into a glass jewelry case during a robbery at the jewelry store I was working at. I now have developed osteoarthritis, in my hip, shoulders, and knee, along with low back and SI joint dysfunction, and fibromyalgia. And because I have addiction issues that run in my family, I have purposely chosen not to take any narcotics,(for more than a couple of days) as I never wanted to take the chance of becoming an addict. Even after all my surgeries, I would only allow myself to be on them for a day or two,(and that includes my total hip replacement) and then went to Tylenol or ibuprofen.

I would much rather be in pain than be an addict. But that's just me. I continue to search out alternative methods to relieve my pain, without pain medicine. There are things out there to help with pain, that don't include opioids. You may just have to search. Best wishes.

Maybe go to a pain management doctor? That's where my mom goes and she's been on daily Norco since 2016 for back pain. No doctor she has seen and multiple MRIs show nothing, but she claims pain, and gets 80 Norco every single month, so it doesn't seem very restrictive to me.

And she is on Medicare.

Look into a Pain Management clinic in your area.