FRANKFORT. Ky. (WDRB) -- People who suffer from chronic pain held a rally at the Capitol on Tuesday to send a message to lawmakers that the crackdown on opioids is causing them to suffer even more.
Teresa Cashman said a number of chronic health problems cause her to be in constant pain.
“There's pain from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed,” she said. “It's basically 24/7.”
Cashman said she has tried everything but now relies on pain medications. The problem is new laws designed to combat opioid abuse have made them harder to get.
“There are thousands of chronic pain patients that have either had their medication tapered, lowered or taken away completely,” Cashman said.
Cashman helped organize the rally outside the State Capitol to draw attention to the issue. She said the problem of access to pain medications is literally a matter of life and death.
“It's gotten to the point where chronic pain patients are committing suicide,” she said.
Cashman's husband, Wayne, has begun compiling a record of chronic pain sufferers who committed suicide. So far, his book contains 33 names.
“They just can't handle the pain anymore,” he said.
Sen. Whitney Westerfield, who has helped lead Kentucky's opioid crackdown, said lawmakers are trying to strike a balance.
“There are people that suffer with chronic pain that need to have that addressed, medically addressed," Westerfield said. "And then we have addicts that are getting access to opioids that shouldn't be getting access to them. We've got to find a way in the middle."
Cashman agrees addicts need help, but she also wants doctors to have more freedom to help people like her.
“The chronic pain community doesn't want the government to forget there's another side," he said. "And that's the side of the chronic pain patients who are suffering.”
 The "Don't Punish the Pain" rally was one of several being held nationwide.
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