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Will the New Opioids Restrictions Help to Reduce Overdoses?
New CDC Opioid Guidelines Politicians and some government officials tell us that the new CDC opioid guidelines will reduce deaths due to overdoses. But, based on the evidence we’ve seen so far, that is unlikely. The latest CDC report shows a continual increase in opioid-related overdose deaths despite about a 25% decrease in the…
Read MoreWho Is to Blame When Athletes Get Addicted to Heroin?
“I remember, the first pain pill they gave me, I felt really good. I actually felt very calm. I felt a sense of confidence that I never felt before. I knew it was going to be the start of something,” said a former high school football star to Soledad O’Brien on an episode of…
Read MoreThis is the Opioids Paradox for Chronic Pain Patients
Our wise elders had a saying: moderation is the key to happiness. Unfortunately, there is little moderation where opioids are concerned. They are both over-prescribed and under-prescribed for patients in chronic pain. This results in what I call the opioids paradox. Opioids Prescribed In Excess In fact, opioids sometimes are prescribed in excess. Much,…
Read MoreCan Marijuana Really Treat Pain or Is It Snake Oil?
When the news first broke about comedienne Whoopi Goldberg’s latest venture, selling products that include marijuana to ease menstrual cramps, I thought: Holy cow! Here’s an excellent example of why the DEA needs to reschedule marijuana. It appears to be a wild frontier with efforts to turn marijuana into the latest snake oil. Like snake…
Read MoreEnormous Gender and Ethnic Bias in Pain Treatment
Sometimes, it embarrasses me to be a medical professional. I honor and respect my colleagues, and typically, I’m proud to call myself a physician. But a recent Washington Post story about the enormous biases medical students have regarding pain treatment has troubled me deeply. The Washington Post story reports that a majority of medical…
Read MoreThis Is Why an Implant Cannot Stop Heroin Addiction
A recent The Daily Beast article asks the question: Can an implant stop heroin addiction? Heroin Addiction Implant The short answer is that, no, an implant cannot stop heroin addiction. The buprenorphine implant the article cites is only used once someone has already developed an opioid addiction. Therefore, the implant isn’t preventing heroin addiction, it’s…
Read MoreWhy You See The Pendulum of Addiction Fear Swinging Again
Addiction Fear “The data about the ability of opioids to cause addiction haven’t changed. But that ‘old’ news can’t compete with the fire-breathing, vote-getting, be-seen-to-be-doing-something mentality of our political and regulatory folks,” said Charles F. von Guenten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Palliative Medicine. I couldn’t have said it better. Of course, this…
Read MoreThis is the Reason Mindfulness and Meditation Transcend Religion
Mindfulness is not a foreign religion or threat to anyone’s religion, despite what some people may assume. We should remember that Walking the Labyrinth is a traditional process by which believers in Christianity can meditate. All religions have recognized the healing properties of meditation or mindfulness. Each religion may use its own symbols or mannerisms…
Read MoreWhat Is the Correlation Between Financial Stress and the Ability to Cope with Pain?
The authors of this Harvard Business Review article appropriately report an association between economic insecurity and the rise in painkiller consumption. Of course, a person’s painkiller consumption may increase for many reasons, but augmented pain due to stress certainly may be one reason. The Experience of Pain People consume painkillers primarily because of pain which…
Read MoreThis is the Way We Learn: Through Family Connections
The Importance of Family Connections This article discusses the needs of grandparents and why it is important to them that their grandchildren stay in touch. That reminds me of the movie, “The River Runs Through It,” and the impact the film had on several of my friends and me. Before I saw the movie,…
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