FORT MYERS, Fla-- Doctors in Florida could soon be required to prescribe you less pain pills in an effort to combat the state's opioid crisis. Senate Bill 8 is currently in committee but if approved, doctors would be limited on the number of days they can prescribe you an opioid for acute pain from 7 days down to 3.
In the meantime, some doctors and wellness clinics in Southwest Florida are pushing natural remedies to replace opioid use and the same methods to even treat opioid dependence and addiction.
One of those treatment options is using a magnesphere chair.
"The great thing about the magnesphere chair is you are going to feel something immediately," said Yollow Wellness owner Wendy Law.
Yollow Wellness in Fort Myers said the chair, as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy has helped patients for a variety of aliments including pill addition.
"Some people come in here they are on 30 to 60 different chemical drugs in a day, so our goal is to help minimize that and restore their life back to them," said Law.
The treatment is FDA-approved for relaxation, but it's considered an alternative form of treatment so it's not covered by insurance. That means you have to pay for each session out of pocket.
"About 30 treatments optimally is where they get to feeling good again and they feel like they've gotten rid of that craving," said Law.
While not every doctor is on board with using alternative methods for pain, Dr. Ronald Gardner, a orthopedic surgeon in SWFL believes these types of treatment are the answer to end the growing abuse of opioids in Florida.
"We probably were a little too liberal in the prescribing of narcotics along the way," said Dr. Gardner.
Both Dr. Gardner and Law are optimistic about SB8 currently being reviewed in Tallahassee. The two believe if passed, this could help patients wanting more natural options to treat addition or ailments that typically require pain pills.
SB8 currently states it would stop doctors from prescribing more than 3 days wort of opioids to treat acute pain, require the state to share a database of prescriptions with other states and doctors to check the database before prescribing any opioids.The bill also requires new training for proper prescribing techniques.
For more details on SB8: CLICK HERE
