chronic pain
“First, Do No Harm” Doesn’t Mean “Avoid Opioid Therapy”
A mischaracterization of the phrase “First, do no harm” must not prevent providers from caring for people, or prevent policymakers from allowing physicians to treat their patients. That treatment must include providing patients with medication that can adequately provide pain relief with acceptable risk.
Read MoreNew Podcast Discusses Current Issues Involving Pain and Politics
Dr. Ziegler is an advocate for people in pain. A Purdue University professor emeritus, Dr. Ziegler has also worked as a lawyer, police officer, detective, DEA agent, and humorist. I don’t know how he puts these experiences together, but I’m grateful that he is willing and able to leverage all of his skills and knowledge in a remarkable way to produce entertaining and informative podcasts.
Read MoreWhite Privilege and People in Pain
If I had been of a different race, would I have been treated with the same compassion? Research today suggests I probably would not have been.
Read MorePeaceful Protests and Prejudice
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on June 6, 2020. The Salt Lake Tribune recently published a story that distressed me. It said that Scott Senjo, a criminal justice associate professor at Weber State University in Utah, tweeted threats at those who were peacefully protesting the alleged murder…
Read MoreWhen Is Healthcare Noble?
What is it about certain medical conditions that results in unprecedented concern, a willingness to muster all resources, and an outpouring of selflessness from practitioners and the public alike? Why are healthcare professionals willing to risk their lives for coronavirus patients, but not their reputations to treat chronic pain?
Read MoreHow Is COVID-19 Affecting You? Please Take a Survey
These are hard times. Our emotions are intense and frayed, and often it’s helpful to share those feelings. Pain News Network, in collaboration with chronic pain advocate Barby Ingle, has published a survey you can take to share how the pandemic has affected you thus far.
Read MoreThe Victim of a Created Crisis — Left Behind
There have been just north of 68,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2018. The largest new healthcare crisis in America.
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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