Posts Tagged ‘opioids’
Medical Mistakes Happen Because of Poor Communication
Medical Mistakes in Hospitals are Rampant Mistakes in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities are rampant. Medical errors may now be third leading cause of death in United States, according to a Washington Post article. That means about a quarter of a million Americans are dying annually — not from the diseases that are bringing…
Read MoreThis Is How Prince’s Death Begins Conversation About Addiction
The Conversation Is About Compassion and Addiction When I published my recent blog, Prince and Why We Need More Compassion About Addiction, I began by saying that we didn’t yet know why Prince died. The facts weren’t in, and I didn’t want to draw conclusions until I had more information. I still don’t have all…
Read MorePrince and Why We Need More Compassion About Addiction
We don’t yet know why Prince died. The facts aren’t in, and I don’t want to draw conclusions until I have more information. That said, some entertainment media outlets (TMZ, Variety, and more) are reporting that Prince was treated with naloxone, which is the antidote for opioids including heroin, in the days before his death.…
Read MoreWill 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 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 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 MoreAbuse-Deterrent Formulations Are Part of the Solution to Overdose Crisis
Curbing The Epidemic of Drug Overdoses Dr. Robert Califf, the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, is focusing his energy on curbing the epidemic of drug overdoses. He told a panel of FDA advisors last week that abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs) may be part of the solution. However, many speakers at that panel…
Read MoreChronic Pain and the Death of a New York Times Journalist
The death of the New York Times journalist, Sarah Kershaw, reminds me painfully of too many conversations I had with my patients during the course of my career as a pain doctor, about whether or not they wanted to live. During the 30 years of my practice, countless patients told me they had no hope…
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