CreakyJoints Response to Advertisement Controversy
12 February 2016 - 3:56AM
Business Wire
Vermont Governor Conflates Opioid Side
Effect with Addiction
The majority of Americans who use opioids use them responsibly
and legitimately to manage their chronic pain. Today’s statement by
the Governor of Vermont incorrectly conflates the issue of opioid
addiction with a very common side effect of opioid use,
opioid-induced constipation (OIC). People seeking treatment for OIC
from one of the three available prescriptions are very unlikely to
be addicts seeking opioids for a high. Rather, they would be asking
for relief from a problem resulting from medical treatment. Some of
these therapies have been available by prescription for nearly ten
years, and no credible evidence exists that links these drugs to
opioid abuse
One of CreakyJoints’ missions is to start conversations about
conditions related to chronic pain, particularly as it relates to
all forms of arthritis. Many of our members use opioids as part of
their pain management treatment strategy which they developed with
their doctor. We’ve seen that it makes a positive difference in
their lives. Working with other partner advocacy groups, our
involvement with OIC is Different is meant to encourage patients to
discuss this condition with their doctors and understand that there
are resources available for support, such as our website,
www.creakyjoints.org/oic
Opioid addiction and misuse is a very real problem in the United
States. However, chronic disease patients cannot be classified as
junkies or abusers. Rather, they are patients in need of solutions
to help them manage their quality of life. It’s time to find better
therapeutic solutions for people combatting pain, and better
services for addicts.
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW
- Seth Ginsberg, President and Co-Founder
of CreakyJoints and the Global Healthy Living Foundation
- Stephen Marmaras, Director, State and
National Advocacy, Global Healthy Living Foundation
- Mickey Goodwin, OIC patient, Global
Healthy Living Foundation patient advocate from Lubbock, TX
About CreakyJoints
CreakyJoints®, now in its 17th
year, has evolved into the go-to source for more than 100,000
arthritis patients and their families world-wide who are seeking
education, support, advocacy and patient-centered research.
Co-founded in 1999 by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social
entrepreneur Louis Tharp, CreakyJoints is part of the Global
Healthy Living Foundation, whose mission is to improve the quality
of life for people with chronic illness. For more information and
to become a member (for free), visit www.CreakyJoints.org.
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For CreakyJointsJessica Daitch, 917-816-6712