> Patients have told me it's become increasingly difficult to get prescriptions for quite modest doses of opioid agents they've used for years without dose esca

> Patients have told me it's become increasingly difficult to get prescriptions for quite modest doses of opioid agents they've used for years without dose escalation. The tendency to throw babies out with the bathwater is not unique to this situation, but no less problematic. I have experienced this as well. Not only are doctors now reluctant to prescribe opioids, but you as a patient are suspected to be a drug-seeking addict by everyone in the chain: doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. People complaining that it's too easy to get pills clearly haven't had to manage a chronic pain condition in the past couple of years.