Understanding Suicides after Prescription Opioids are Stopped with Stefan Kertesz and Allyson Varley
Dr. Stefan Kertesz and Dr. Allyson Varley are investigators behind the world’s only study to directly examine suicides that happen after prescription opioid reduction or stoppage.
Both researchers developed ethical concern after seeing that the downturn in US opioid prescribing adversely affected patients with pain. Dr. Kertesz has led in several advocacy efforts to mitigate these traumatic changes to care. Both Dr. Varley and Dr. Kertesz also recognized that many health care agencies would not alter their policies without detailed study of individual deaths.
The study is Clinical Context of Suicide Following Opioid Transitions. The research team seeks to review 110-115 individual deaths by suicide, combining detailed interviews and medical record review, all with strict and enforceable protections of confidentiality. This study can only succeed with help from the community of survivors. The presentation for RSDSA will introduce why this study needs to be done, how it is being done, and how people from the pain and RSDSA communities could join the effort. See less
To learn more about complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), visit Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA)’s website at rsds.org.
#RSDSA #CRPS #RSD
by RSDSA
simple network management protocol
If you wish to participate in the screening survey, check https://go.uab.edu/csiopioids
Check out Dr. Kertesz’s podcast: https://pod.link/healer/episode/f233b79372506ae4c0a1c11b1539b614?fbclid=IwAR0dxRqsV5YTMcEltwK7OcMvE1G2BvMsM2MNCtS8gto2ix_Q7OIXxofpMmY
A great resource from Dr. Kertesz when meeting with your physician: https://stefankertesz.medium.com/my-doctor-says-they-have-to-lower-the-long-term-opioid-what-can-i-do-what-do-i-say-b3d35776379e
MEDICAL TORTURE is what Chronic Pain Patients are being made to ENDURE, until one just can’t do it anymore. SuicideDue2Pain is our only option. I’m 63 a Widow of a Marine w no children. I’ve been TORTURED 6 yrs in NE OHIO 🔥 I don’t have SUD OR OUD never misused my meds !! OHIO IS OPIOID HYSTERIA CENTRAL … they are truly killing me… 😭💔
I have TD and SJS on top of severe CRPS because of the meds, I shake like MJ Fox, legs twitch, have violent shakes to the right, my skin feels like i have shit crawling all over me,half my body is Freezing and the other half is on Fire, pain telegraphs back n forth, my Entire body is radiating pain, my skeleton Aches, the slightest touch,the gentle breeze is AGONIZING. When my meds wear off I become a complete cripple and can't even get up. The electro-sensitivity is beyond anything I could quickly put here
I'm Forced to see MH as part of my pain management but not even they want to listen, it's always you need More Meds and need to see our in house Shrink. I don't want Any more pills, I want my GD Life back!!! I lost my Home,Career, Family and EVERYTHING I ever worked for! My friends are all Dead, my family has died and the rest don't come around,my wife left cause she doesn't wanna be with a handicap husband they want the person I Used to be, my own brother told me to just go out with a bang, he can't handle seeing what's happened to me so I just need to live it up and go out so the rest of the family doesn't have to see me suffer.
All these people hurting, dead etc yet 99% of Dr's don't have a Fking Clue what Any of us are going through. There was a point where I didn't wanna be here but now I'm gonna stay just to piss off those that want me gone. As for Canada hell yeah their killing people in droves, I had 3 friends who aren't here anyore, they were talking about letting the State get rid of them, their online profiles are ALL deleted.
I will NOT stop my opiates, I've been on them for over a decade, they tried once and I had seizures, multiple blackouts, I went temporarily blind etc from stopping and trying other meds, I had to pull major strings to get them to back off. You Dr's don't seem to get the Living Hell we're living in. POT products are the ONLY thing that Ever helped me and gave me a better quality of life. I had to move and give up my Red Card which was like a death sentence to me.
My rsd voyage began in 2005, after a bad lower limb injury.
2 years to come up with a RSD diagnosis. Pain and loss of use eventually forced me into a medical retirement.
I was on opioid pain medication for many years to manage my severe pain.
With the reduction in availability, and my doctors actions of slowly prescribing less and less amount over time , I have now been opioid free for a year. I didn’t think it to be possible. With the right support system in place and a positive mental attitude , but above all prayers and the belief in the true ability to rid myself of this permanently, it can be done and is possible.
The compensation for CRPS has multiple CDP codes including a group code and codes by body region, however, if the CMS increased the bill rate for CRPS and that the doctors knew how to list ALL the codes appropriate to the conversation. When specialists do intake on a patient, they should have enough knowledge on how to assign these (CDP) billing codes and procedure codes to the patient's chart to set it up so they bill for all the topics they will be covering. Since CRPS can have so many variables, and there even might be unresolved conditions, by identifying the specific topics (yes! there are training classes for doctors) they could begin to see a CRPS patient as an asset rather than a resource drain the detracts from time spent with other patients. This is another area where doctors may not (probably don't) receive formal instruction on how to manage their practice by billing appropriately. You can take two specialists and one uses a general code and gets compensated at a rate for that code, the other one may see how to match the codes correctly to topics covered/time spent and make 2-5 times what the other doctor made. That allows doctors to bring in NPs and PAs to manage the more stable patients while they can come in for a few minutes, assuming the problem has been framed correctly, and get more deeply involved in the related problems. It is miserable to be told you have fifteen minutes period, or you are making me miss my lunch, or why are we always having the same conversations? Know what you are treating for, record for it, help the patient, and bill!
One more comment. I noticed an article last month where there are legislators who want to completely against opioids — read: none!
Thank you so much for all you do for CRPS sufferers.