I was afraid to read this because I’m really sick of the stigma of chronic pain.

I got one of those “did you know there are other treatments for pain besides opioids” letters from medicare yesterday. Seems like a tolling attempt when the stuff they list (like massage and acupuncture) aren’t usually covered by Medicare. None of us can afford regular out of pocket massage.

This is a regular thing that they send, but the terrifying difference is that this letter had a paragraph about how part D plans can change the formulary at any time throughout the year.

I think they’re warning me that they’re going to stop covering pain medication for chronic pain. And the timing of this article being sent out again makes me even more suspicious.

“Editorial
February 17, 2025
Integrating Buprenorphine Into Chronic Pain Treatment—Putting the Choice in VOICE”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2830025

#JAMA #ChronicPain #MedicarePartD #ableism #eugenics #Buprenorphine

Bluesky

Bluesky Social
Adjunctive ketamine vs. buprenorphine in co-occurring major depressive disorder and opioid use disorder: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial assessing anxiety symptom severity and craving intensity (Mansoori, et al, 2025) #ketamine #addiction #recovery #opioids #depression #anxiety #ketaminetherapy #buprenorphine #psychedelic #psychedelics #psychedelicresearch #mentalhealth https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40247293/
Adjunctive ketamine vs. buprenorphine in co-occurring major depressive disorder and opioid use disorder: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial assessing anxiety symptom severity and craving intensity - PubMed

IRCT20211214053411N1.

PubMed
The final rule charts a path forward to allow providers to prescribe #buprenorphine to patients they haven’t seen in person. #Opiods #Telemedicine https://buff.ly/3DYUI4w
DEA, HHS finalize rule allowing telehealth drug treatment - Roll Call

Rule will make permanent the temporary waivers easing access to buprenorphine via telehealth that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roll Call
I am thrilled to announce that I have been honored with a Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 2025 Winter Conference on Brain Research! I will have the privilege of presenting preliminary data from our American Foundation for Suicide Prevention-funded clinical trial, which explores the use of low-dose #buprenorphine to extend the antisuicide and antidepressant effects of #ketamine for treatment-resistant #depression.
new preprint from collaboration with Vikki Abrams @YaleMed and Kim Yonkers @UMassPsychiatry Impact of #buprenorphine on human placental membrane inflammation associated with preterm birth www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Buprenorphine Induces Human Fe...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39210398/ Ketamine-assisted buprenorphine initiation: a pilot case series (Grande, et al, 2024) #ketamine #buprenorphine #opioidwithdrawal #psychedelic #psychedelics #ketaminetherapy #mentalhealth
Ketamine-assisted buprenorphine initiation: a pilot case series - PubMed

Ketamine at a sub-dissociative dose allowed completion of buprenorphine initiation in the outpatient setting in the majority of patients who reported trying it. Further research is warranted to confirm these results and develop reliable protocols for a range of treatment settings.

PubMed

Those who have been following me know that I talk (sometimes) about my chronic pain, intractable and severe, and the trauma that I have developed from dealing with the medical system and doctors.

It is important to understand that, while my level of pain is usual, this kind of treatment by pain patients is so common that it is developing into a crisis.

In this article, the guy talks about people who have been given the diagnosis so that they can be moved to buprenorphine, which is what was done with me. My new treatment regimine (which, contrary to what they said was not going to be a quick fix but in 2-3 months might provide the benefit I got from the infusions) is my only potential escape from the treatment purgatory in which they have placed me.

Even with this, though, doctors were clear that even mentioning "opioids" almost made them kick me out.

https://www.kevinmd.com/2024/05/the-hidden-dangers-of-mislabeling-pain-patients-a-medical-crisis.html

#ChronicPain #Pain #Opioid #Butrans #Buprenorphine #NEISVoid #PTSD #Medicine #Medical #USPol

The hidden dangers of mislabeling pain patients: a medical crisis

The mislabeling of pain patients as addicts in the American medical community, driven by good intentions and greed, has led to harmful consequences and the unjust targeting of doctors.

KevinMD.com