opioids
Is Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction?
However, before we classify the chemical fentanyl as a WMD, we need to know what that would mean for its legitimate use during surgery, or for cancer and chronic pain patients. Access to the medication for the treatment of pain must be part of the calculus in assessing if a relatively safe and effective drug should be classified as a WMD.
Read MoreWhen Will Forced Tapering of Opioids End?
Will the DEA stop pursuing doctors who treat pain patients with levels of opioids that exceed the guideline’s recommendations? For Larry and other pain patients who have been forcibly tapered, the answer may be a matter of life and death.
Read MoreOregon’s Proposed Tapering Policy Is Still Undecided
Forced Tapering Proposal On March 14, 2019, the Oregon Health Authority Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC) had planned to vote on a proposal that could affect thousands of Medicaid patients in Oregon. The proposal would limit Medicaid coverage of opioids to 90 days for chronic pain patients. Those who have been using opioids for more…
Read MoreHow Has CDC Opioid Guideline Affected You?
Pain News Network is now conducting a survey with the intent of finding out how the CDC guideline is affecting both providers and patients.
Read MorePrevalence of Chronic Pain Increasing
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on February 22, 2019. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid prescribing quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. Some policymakers suggest that the amount prescribed in 1999 was appropriate and should remain static, and that any prescribing above the 1999 level exceeds the amount required to meet the needs of…
Read MoreAre Most Retired NFL Players Really Addicts?
We can probably attribute the use or misuse of opioids to the fact that these retired football players were trying to mitigate severe pain.
Read MoreHow Government Shutdowns Worsen the Opioid Crisis
Government shutdowns increase the likelihood that opioids could find their way past our borders. And our ability to treat people with opioid addiction may also be compromised.
Read MoreHollywood Romanticizes Addiction
We all love good storytelling. Cinema can mirror the real world or create a universe of its own. Movies can transport us to another world, beyond ordinary consciousness and emotions. It can be an agent for positive cultural change, or it can spread false narratives that are largely adopted by society. It can help solve…
Read MoreEyes Wide Open
So Much I Don’t Know The New York Times article by Alex Berenson, “What Advocates of Legalizing Pot Don’t Want You to Know,” reminds me of Sabrina Carpenter’s song, “Eyes Wide Open,” that includes these lyrics: “Better keep my eyes wide open/There’s so much I don’t know.” There may be “so much I don’t know”…
Read MoreA Daughter’s Pain and Healing
This is an article by Reggie W. Greening. I offer it with the author’s permission for informational purposes. The author and I have no financial involvement. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE HIS OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT MY VIEW OR MEDICAL ADVICE. Some people with pain have benefited from alternative therapies. In my…
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