Archive for March 2020
How Fear Can Kill
Fear is a primordial emotion that can protect humans from danger, but it can also be destructive.
Read MoreWhen Anger Is Destructive
People can be forgiven for getting angry in the moment. If they have experienced a personal loss from prescription opioids, it’s reasonable for them, in their grief, to blame opioids or the doctor who prescribed them. But it’s harder to accept their vengeances when they draw a false equivalency between prescription opioids and illicit drugs.
Read MoreWe Are At War: People With Chronic Pain Must Prepare
Think of COVID-19 as another natural disaster, and anticipate the same potential problems. Begin your planning immediately by talking with your doctor.
Read MoreAlternatives to Conventional Opioids
My colleague, Richard Rauck, M.D., Pain Fellowship Director at the Wake Forest University of Medicine, and I presented a Continuing Medical Education (CME) symposium at the meeting on atypical opioid options. We discussed the strengths and weakness of three atypical opioids—tramadol, tapentadol, and buprenorphine—that clinicians may consider for the appropriate patients.
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