Melton woman campaigns for right to take pain relievers

Hundreds of people have signed a Melton woman’s petition to oppose major changes to the way patients like her with chronic pain are treated.
Claire Swain, who is campaigning against proposed changes to how patients with chronic pain are treated, with husband, Roy EMN-201008-130337001Claire Swain, who is campaigning against proposed changes to how patients with chronic pain are treated, with husband, Roy EMN-201008-130337001
Claire Swain, who is campaigning against proposed changes to how patients with chronic pain are treated, with husband, Roy EMN-201008-130337001

Claire Swain had to give up her job as a health professional specialising in mental health as a result of the debilitating effects of a neurological disorder.

She says she spent many of her days ‘curled up in a ball in pure agony’ until her symptoms were significantly eased after she was prescribed with Oramorph, a strong morphine-based painkiller.

Claire has also been taking an anti-epileptic drug called Topiramate, which has drastically reduced her migraines from daily to once a month.

But she is distraught that NICE, the National Institute for health and Care Excellence, which governs how the NHS provides care and treatment in England and Wales, is now proposing to ban these drugs from being prescribed as part of an overhaul of chronic pain treatment.

A draft paper for consultation into the proposals highlights the risk of patients getting addicted if they are prescribed opioid-based medicines like those Claire has been taking.

But she fears she will be consigned to live the rest of her life in pain if the changes are adopted and has launched an online campaign to highlight the impact they will have on people like her.

Claire told the Melton Times: “The NICE guidelines are proposing cruel changes that will dramatically reduce my quality of life and it will be the same for many like me.

“There are many chronic pain patients out there, including myself, where their quality of life has improved since being prescribed opioid medication.”

Claire is mostly house-bound now due to the severity of her symptoms, which include chronic fatigue and mobility difficulties, as well as chronic pain.

She says her GP in Melton has been very supportive and her neurologist and pain consultant had arranged for her to have ‘Chronic Pain Infusion therapy’ as a next step to control pain levels before it was put on hold due to the strain on health services caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

However, this therapy would also not go ahead if the new guidelines are approved.

A whole raft of medical treatments will no longer be allowed for chronic pain patients, who will then only have psychotherapy, acupuncture, anti-depressants and exercise as option to ease symptoms.

Claire has tried some of those but added: “Those treatments provided me with no pain relief and did not support my ability to function.”

The consultation report published by NICE states, on the proposal to take opioids off the list of recommended drugs for sufferers: “Based on their experience, the committee agreed that even short-term use of opioids could be harmful for a chronic condition.

“The lack of evidence for effectiveness of opioids, along with evidence of long-term harm, persuaded the committee to recommend against opioid use for people with chronic primary pain.”

Go online at www.change.org/p/national-institute-for-health-and-care-excellence-stop-the-proposed-cruel-changes-to-chronic-pain-nice-guidelines if you would like to sign Claire’s petition.

Log on at www.nice.org.uk/guidance/GID-NG10069/documents/draft-guideline to see a list of the proposed changes.

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