Well that doesn't answer the question of where the official announcement is but ...

Tramadol is now often prescribed as a much SAFER alternative to a lot of the former destructive and addictive drugs used to alleviate pain.

Addiction to prescribed pain meds is a real problem.
And even more of a problem is the often fatal gastro intestinal conditions brought on by the continual use of them.

So the alternative is to leave folk with unbearable pain for you

Not really BUT patients have more power here than in the UK as there is no National Health Service and you can sack a dr without the consequences of doing that that there are in the Uk. kick one and they all limp

I was what they call a "peripatetic patient"when I lived in the Scottish islands. ie they have to take you on but after six weeks they can dump you and the health board has to reallocate you. By then I had succeeded in getting one dr to a tribunal, the first time in that region. also I had got myself off all meds including valium .. they were allocating me to islands with no connecting boat services eg one small plane a week; I was semi bedbound .

Utterly corrupt.

M.E is I think less stigmatised here and I use a dr only for what I need and I tell them what I need. They no longer control my income either! And I sort the M,E myself as they have not a clue and am very self sufficient. Three years ago I fell downstairs and as my foot was all colours and painful THEN I went to a and e and that was fine. But not for anything systemic; google has long been my friend and there are excellent support groups online also.

Don't give a damn what anyone thinks now. I KNOW they are wrong and just walk y and live my life

Respect to you,but although I have been a fighter all my life,now that my body is giving up the ghost,if I get wound up the fatigue just steps n and knocks me out,so the end result is that I may want to take the world on,but my body now has the last say,I remember the Dal Llama before he was taken away by the chinese,he got a message through via a radio ham,and he said the mind is stronger than the body,my body may become weak,but my mind will fulfil its promise.Gemini54

We have a town near us that is happy, clappy and very "alternative" where all the Mums were refusing to get their children immunised.
The situation got very serious there this winter, there was so many cases of measles because the children were being left at risk.
If the means are there to prevent disease, in dogs or children then I avail myself of them.

Hi Nippy,Not sure what age you are,but I remember clearly in boarding school,if someone in our class got measels or chicken pox they would put the one sharing the desk in the sick bay,so that we would catch it,and I think that happened in families,but what happens if after all this,that some people may be right and kids get attention deficit,because at first they thought it was Autism, but there quite a few levels of Autism,maybe this attention deficit is a form of Autism,but I do not really know.It is a very desperate situation for mothers if you dont or you do you could end up with a very sick child Gemini54

Hi I am really sorry you are having a crap week,but sometimes you may get 1 week thats absolutely awful then its like you are compensated and get 2 weeks quite good,and when that happens We have one day to do something special and store up good memories when things are crap.When the pain comes I just want to go away on my own and nurse it,do not want to eat but do have plenty of fluid,nor do I want people to make a fuss,but somehow it works for me,I find being alone helps you to focus and get over the pain.So hopefully tomorrow will be a brand new day and you will feel better in yourself.Gemini54