Archive for February 2016
Is Acupuncture Effective in Relieving Chronic Back Pain? A guest post by Matt Bailey
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment to cure body pain and has been considered a safe method to relieve body pain for decades. Acupuncture works by promoting the body’s natural self-healing process. This 3,000-year old traditional medical treatment has proven to be effective in most cases of chronic body pain. The method of acupuncture…
Read MoreAddiction Isn’t a Death Sentence
Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis of Pennsylvania is 100% correct. In a recent Reading Eagle article, he talks about changing our attitude about addiction to deal with the overdose epidemic. “The best cure for opioid addiction is seeing it as a disease,” says Tennis. Yes. Addiction is a Disease We have to see…
Read MoreThis is How Heroin and Prescription Opioids Are Different
Patrick Clarke, of Rockville, is correct in his letter to the Washington Post‘s editor. Heroin is not the same thing as prescription opioids. There’s a huge difference. I’m not talking only about the pharmacology. I’m talking about the reasons why people use heroin and prescription opioids. Heroin and Opioids Are Different Heroin is most commonly used…
Read MoreLawmakers Are Looking in All the Wrong Places
In the movie titled with their names, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid look back at an unknown posse that’s following them far more doggedly than the two outlaws would desire. At night, watching the lights of the oncoming riders, both men wonder aloud, “Who are those guys?” The next day, from a bluff where…
Read MoreWhen to Say No
An article called “7 Words That Could Have Biotech and Big Pharma Very Worried,” written by Sean Williams and recently posted on The Motley Fool, tells both sides of the story. Pressure on price for pharmaceuticals is a real concern. Affordability is important. A drug can only work if patients can afford to pay for…
Read MoreOIC Is No Joke, Bill Maher
Those who live with chronic pain may suffer from OIC (Opioid Induced Constipation). That’s not a joke, and it doesn’t lend itself to satire. Yet after the Super Bowl ran a tasteful ad to raise awareness about OIC, Bill Maher weighed in with a tweet that was shameful and offensive. These are people with serious…
Read MoreWhy Keep a Pain Journal
“Julie” mentioned that her doctor advised her to keep a pain journal, and she wanted some direction. She loves to write, but she wasn’t sure how to approach the task. Also, she was concerned that dwelling on her pain might make it worse. Wasn’t the goal to distract herself from the pain rather than to…
Read MoreFollow up to President Obama’s Opioid Funding Request
I blogged that President Barack Obama has requested that Congress earmark $1.1 billion to combat the U.S. opioid, and the fact that I support the president on that. Yet the president made no mention the need to help people in pain. The CDC and Johns Hopkins issued opioid prescribing guidelines without out a peep…
Read MorePresident Obama Requests $1.1 Billion to Combat the Opioid Abuse Epidemic
President Barack Obama’s request that Congress earmark $1.1 billion to combat the U.S. opioid abuse epidemic has turned out to be controversial. That’s not surprising, since controversy infiltrates everything related to every president and every Congress. Nothing any president does is viewed by everyone as the right thing to do. But, to me, there is…
Read MoreWill Cancer and Pain Melt Away?
Alec Ross, author of a book called Industries of the Future, writes that, in 20 years, cancer may be curable. We might just be able to “melt it away.” Frequently, I compare pain to cancer. Believe it or not, pain is far more complex than cancer. Cancer usually starts from a single DNA mutation. On…
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