Dr. Mary Lynch, like Dr. Webster, understands that opioids aren’t the first line of treatment. Dr, Lynch only turns to opioids once the level of pain is intolerable, or the quality of life is compromised. In her experience, the chances of a patient developing a long-term addiction to opioids are quite low. She believes that opioids do…
Read MoreMother Jones reports, “On a listening tour about the opioid epidemic in West Virginia on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price stressed the urgency of tackling the staggering overdose problem, saying ‘we’re losing people every single day across the nation, so we don’t have time to wait.’ ” Secretary Tom Price’s View…
Read MoreTurn the Tide Campaign Brings Unintended Consequences It began just about a year ago, when the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain provided “recommendations for primary care clinicians who were prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.” The emphasis is mine. The goal, as the…
Read MoreJessica Hegg is the content manager at ViveHealth.com. Interested in all things related to living a healthy lifestyle, she works to share valuable information aimed at overcoming obstacles and improving the quality of life for others. I hope you’ll find her article helpful. — Lynn R. Webster, MD Ever wonder what’s really happening in…
Read MoreEvery time I hear about an opioid-related overdose death, I can only feel empathy for the family of the decedent. Whether it’s the result of using street drugs that are laced with fentanyl or carfentanil, as in the case of a 21-year-old woman from Virginia, or a person in pain who accidentally overdoses, each death…
Read MoreAccording to Martha Bebinger of WBUR, “About 75 percent of the state’s men and women who died after an unintentional overdose last year had fentanyl in their system, up from 57 percent in 2015 (PDF). It’s a pattern cities and towns are seeing across the state [of Massachusetts] and country, particularly in New England and…
Read MoreBasketball fans are undoubtedly aware of an incident that took place during March Madness this year. It went like this. March Madness Goes Wrong Gonzaga was playing Northwestern. Gonzaga was up by 5 points with 4:54 minutes remaining in the game when the Northwestern Wildcats’ Dererk Pardon attempted to put the ball through the…
Read MoreThis article was originally published in the Salt Lake City Tribune. A Process Called Step Therapy Gary developed excruciating pain in his shoulder and arm following a cervical disc herniation several years ago. He was athletic and otherwise in good health, but the pain is now disabling. For years, Gary was prescribed pregabalin for…
Read MoreOpen Letter to Stat News In Stat News, David Armstrong’s article on March 24, “TV documentary on pain treatment funded by doctor with industry ties,” misrepresented the purpose of the film, “The Painful Truth“; ignored several of my detailed answers to his questions; and unfairly criticized my professional associations. Armstrong suggested that the TV documentary…
Read MoreA July 8, 2016 Baltimore Sun article was titled, “Painkiller panel drops experts linked to pharma industry.” This story described how Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson, who teaches in the School of Pharmacy and specializes in hospice and end-of-life care, was removed from an FDA medical advisory panel. Three other doctors were similarly dismissed from the…
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