What you, the Chronic Pain sufferer can do.

If you are suffering from Chronic Pain like I am PLEASE don't just sit there doing nothing. As for as I am concerned a medical doctor that lets a patient walk out of their office, knowing that individual is suffering at a level of pain they can not endure is violating the very oath they took to become a Doctor in the first place. The statistics are out there. You are paying that person to help you, not just to take your money. As for as I am concerned, the millions of people in this country alone that have to suffer from Chronic Pain are having their "Human Rights" violated every day, by the medical profession that refuses to treat them, by the news media that stigmatizes us and by the politicans who are more interested in catering to the lobbyists than protecting us and making laws to make sure we get the proper treatment.

Even Veterans from Viet Nam all the way through the Veterans of Iraq and other recent conflicts are having the same problems finding treatment and that is a damn shame. That is why it is so important for everyone to get involved in some type of
advocacy group. Look on the left side of my blog at my "favorite sites", pick one and join. Do like I am doing. Take advantage of all of the tools the internet has to offer to have your voice heard. That is the only we will ever get our voice heard.
Call your Congressman and Senators, engage in letter writing to them. I can promise you that the politicans are afraid of the "Blogs", because that is one of the best tools we have to get our voices heard.

The main problem with getting proper treatment for Chronic pain is here.

How many times have we heard politicians on the campaign trail making all of their false promises to get elected. Try to get one to talk to you after they get elected and see what happens. Even though my core values are conservative and I have voted Republican all of my life, I will never do it again. I am about as sick of one side as I am the other. As soon as they get elected they immediately start running for re-election. Then they are interested primarily in the big money guys. The big lobbyists. Of course the Medical Industry is supported by the Republicans and the Trial Lawyers by the Democrats.

Then people like you and me can stand in line. I have personally contacted both of my U.S. Senators, my Representatives both State and Federal trying to arrange a meeting on the current undertreatment of Chronic Pain in this country. Usually all I get is an autoresponder generated generic letter, or a news letter. What have they done since the new Congress? Nothing except argue and bicker about Attorneys Generals. To his credit Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan and the late Charlie Norwood has had a bill in the house, H.R. 1020 since 2003, called the National Pain Care Policy and so far it hasn't gotten out of committee. Why? They don't give a damn. I have vowed that I will never stop my fight for better treatment of the 70 million people suffering from pain if I have to go and sit on the Capitol steps.

We have thousands of brave men and women who have been mangeled by an unnecessary war and even they aren't getting the proper treatment and that is a shame. If you don't believe me just go to The american Pain Foundation and see for yourself. And if that is not enough, we have a generation of people (the Baby Boomers) turning 60 years old at the rate of almost 8,000 per day. What is congress doing about it? Nothing but making deals and making sure they get their Pork Projects.

President Bush decides we need to have a war on drugs, but despite their best efforts the DEA hasn't been able to steem the flow of illegal drugs or narcotics so when the DEA, which was run by Asa Hutchinson gets called on the carpet by some congressional committee, poseing for a C-span Camera what happens? The DEA starts going after the few Physicians who are trying to help people like me make it through the day.

If a person has the diagnosis to back it up and a Doctor writes a prescription for the medication it is not a Narcotic. It is a Schedule II controlled substance approved by the FDA for the treatment of Chronic pain. So what in the hell is the DEA doing in the Medical business. You would think they would have their hands full going after the drug smugglers who are still bringing record amounts of illegal drugs into this country for our Children to get their hands on. I have never taken an illegal drug in my life nor do I believe that people who are truly in Chronic Pain do either.