Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain LIFE Spring 2015, Issue 11 | Page 2

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gia and/or chronic pain who has taken
prescription hydrocodone medications
(Vicodin®, Lortab®, Lortab ASA®, Hycomine®, and Vicoprofen®) to alleviate
your suffering, please consider taking
part in this very important survey. Your
voice matters. Along with several other
patient advocate organizations, the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association (NFMCPA) is interested in how
new government opioid medication regulations are affecting people with chronic pain. Deterring illegal and illicit use of
prescription drugs is an important and
mandatory campaign led by the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) to
help stop criminal drug abuse and illegal
drug prescriptions from infiltrating into
mainstream American society.
However, during their strong efforts to
create new laws limiting access to these
medications to deter illegal activities,
the DEA and law enforcement agencies
have not heard from the many people
with chronic pain conditions who need
these pain medications. This has resulted
in unintended, negative consequences to
chronic pain patients legitimately seeking pain relief. On October 6, 2014, hydrocodone was moved from a Schedule
III medication to a more tightly restricted Schedule II opioid medication. This
means that a person who is prescribed
one of these drugs is now required to:

1. Sign a contract with their doctor for their
prescription hydrocodone medications
2. Fill a 30-day hydrocodone medication with
only a hand-signed prescription from their
doctor, which ordinarily requires a monthly
medical appointment. These prescriptions
can no longer be called into the pharmacy,
emailed or faxed, nor can prescriptions for
hydrocodone drugs be refilled from an original prescription.
3. Designate which pharmacy will be used to
fill the prescription.
To give chronic pain patients a voice about this
new law, the NFMCPA created a survey with a
group of medical experts for people who have
been impacted by hydrocodone rescheduling. The
goal of the survey is to collect data to publish an
accurate assessment of the rescheduling impact
to help counterbalance stigma or limited access
to care issues that people with chronic pain face.
Hydrocodone Rescheduling: The First 100 Days
is the first in a series of three hydrocodone-specific surveys that will be conducted over the first year
of rescheduling. These anonymous surveys are
hosted on SurveyMonkey, and all collected data
results will be used for the sole purpose of this survey. Confidentiality will be promised to the extent
allowed by law. Data will be reported without any
personal identifiers and in aggregate form.
The National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association thanks you for agreeing to contribute
your personal experiences with the rescheduling
of hydrocodone.

TO TAKE SURVEY NOW “Hydrocodone Rescheduling: First 100 Days

If you are someone with fibromyal-