In November, the agency released new guidelines, encouraging physicians to focus on the individual needs of patients. The recommendations left many patients grappling with the mental and physical health consequences of rapid dose tapering or abruptly stopping medication they’d been taking for years, which carries risks of withdrawal, depression, anxiety, and even suicide. “But the federal crackdowns and guidelines have created collateral damage: patients left high and dry.”īorn of an effort to fight the nation’s overdose crisis, the guidance led to legal restrictions on doctors’ ability to prescribe painkillers. “We had a massive opioid problem that needed to be rectified,” said Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis Advisors, a consulting firm that analyzes prescription drug pricing. The CDC recently updated those recommendations to try to ease their impact, but doctors, patients, researchers, and advocates say the damage is done. Many have struggled to get opioid prescriptions written and filled since 2016 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspired laws cracking down on doctor and pharmacy practices. Layman is one of the millions in the U.S.

Young children are increasingly victims of opioid epidemic, study finds View of baby's feet with a hospital security tag on Sally Anscombe/Stone RF/Getty Images

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