Prescription Meds
Vicodin Addiction
Millions of patients are prescribed painkillers like Vicodin following a surgery or procedure, but the widely-used medication has serious long-term use risks, including addiction, dependence, and the potential for major health problems. Known generically as hydrocodone, Vicodin is a narcotic painkiller that has gained popularity with the rise in pain clinics nationwide. Physically, a Vicodin ...
Pain, Injuries leave NFL Retirees Battling OxyContin and Other Painkiller Addictions
A new study reports that the use of opioid painkillers amongst former NFL players is on the rise. Financially, there is a lot riding on sporting events, and one injury can ruin a person’s career. Even in the midst of dealing with serious injuries, professional athletes are feeling the pressure to perform. Drugs from the ...
Kelly Osbourne Says Warding off Relapses is a Daily Commitment for Many Addicts
The addiction started early, said celebrity Kelly Osbourne, and almost cost the star her life. Actress Kelly Osbourne, daughter of world-famous rocker Ozzy Osbourne, said her addiction to pain medications began following a relatively minor surgery as a teenager. She was prescribed the prescription pain medication Vicodin in liquid form, and soon an addiction formed [...] ...
How to Stop Abusing Painkillers
While it may have started innocently enough, once you’re hooked on painkillers the road back to normal can be rough – and lengthy. In many cases, a person doesn’t even realize they’ve become dependent on the substances until they run out of the source – pills, access to prescriptions, no street hook-up or friends willing ...
How OxyContin Became One of America’s Most Abused Drugs
In 1996 Purdue Pharma introduced a new painkiller called OxyContin. Within just four years, sales of the drug went from $48 million to $1.16 billion. By 2004 OxyContin was a leading drug of abuse in the United States. How did this happen so fast? It was a perfect storm – a combination of astute marketing [...] ...
Maine plagued by painkiller habit
Maine leads the nation – by far – in the percentage of residents being treated for addiction to painkillers, according to new federal data covering 1998 to 2008.
The distinction comes as no surprise to Maine law enforcement officials or addiction specialists, who say a growing epidemic of abuse of OxyContin and other pain medications is driving crime and filling a growing number of ...
Addiction to Painkillers a Dirty Secret in Professional Sports
The aggressive nature of contact sports takes its toll on the body, leaving many players to cope with chronic aches and pains. In order to manage sports related injuries, the use of painkillers such as Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Percocet has become more common. Financially, there is a lot riding on sporting events, and one injury ...
Pain Clinics Contribute to Prescription Drug Problem
The idea of a pain clinic is to provide the necessary treatment to individuals suffering with chronic pain. The problem is that they also create an opportunity for the foundation for addiction. A recent WBIR article focused on this growing problem. One individual highlighted the reality associated with pain clinics and addiction. While she experimented ...
Prescription Drug Abuse by Older Adults
The typical image of a drug user is typically not the retirement set. Though most people picture young adults as the general image for a person abusing drugs, there is a growing problem among adults aged 50 or older, with many older adults abusing pharmaceutical drugs. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and ...
Tennessee Seeing Success in Using Prescription Database Tool to Fight Prescription Drug Addiction
Each state is considering its own measures to stop illegal prescription drug abuse. In Tennessee, however, significantly increased usage of a national prescription database tool means it may not be as easy as it used to be to get prescription drugs – especially hydrocodone. The database tool, which is shared across the country, is being ...
Adderall Becoming Abused Drug on College Campuses, With Dangerous Side Effects
The ability to focus intensely and stay awake for hours could be considered a study requirement on many college campuses – but recently more students have been reported to abuse the stimulant drug Adderall, with serious potential for consequences. A 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey said that students in the 18 ...
More Pregnant Mothers May Be Abusing Prescription Drugs
A new and tragic twist to the problem of prescription drug abuse is affecting the lives and health of what could be considered the youngest victims – babies who are born already addicted to opiate drugs, or prescription pain killers. According to recent research, the level of newborn babies born with prescription drug abuse addiction ...
Drug treatment options limited for some
There are limited treatment options, especially for women, for those who seek help with a dependence to prescription drugs.
As evidenced by last week's drug roundup by the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, prescription drugs have at least reached the par of cocaine and marijuana as drugs of choice in Richmond County.
It is unknown how many of the 34 individuals arrested for ...
Buprenorphine Expands Access to Addiction Treatment
In 2010, addicts' drugs-of-choice are often found in a bottle with a child-safety lid and a local drug store label. That's the take-home message repeated in reports from local and national public health officials and drug enforcement agents.
Since there are medicine cabinets in SoHo lofts, west Texas cabins, Tampa condos, as well as trailers in Appalachia, the epidemic of ...
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis Discusses Prescription Drug Addiction, and Recovery
Addiction to prescription pain medications continues to come into the light, especially as more and more celebrities confess their problem. Prescription drugs are considered a possible factor in the death of Michael Jackson, and have become part of news stories surrounding actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who wrote in a published blog that she became hooked ...
Treatment Admissions with Abuse of Prescription Pain Relievers
The nonmedical use of pain relievers has become an increasing problem, with use of prescription pain relievers second only to marijuana in 2008 for illegal drug use. The Treatment Episode Data Set collects information about the primary substance of abuse when individuals are admitted to treatment facilities. A recent report from TEDS data compares characteristics [...] ...
Addressing the Complexities of Chronic Pain
As a specialist in the field of pain medicine since the 1970s (Dr. Gagné), and a clinical psychologist treating chemical dependency and personality and mood disorders since 1980 (Dr. Weedn), it’s hard not to be amazed how far the field has come and yet how perplexing it remains mired in its central conundrum: the tendency [...] ...
A Wave of Addiction and Crime, with the Medicine Cabinet to Blame
Police departments have collected thousands of handguns through buy-back programs in communities throughout the country. Now they want the contents of your medicine cabinet.
Opiate painkillers and other prescription drugs, officials say, are driving addiction and crime like never before, with addicts singling out the homes of sick or elderly people and posing as potential buyers at open ...
Winners, losers in drug fight
There have been wins and losses in the fight over prescription-drug addiction. Here is a brief look at recent developments:
GOOD NEWS
Gov. Deval Patrick recently signed “An Act Adding Safeguards to the Prescription Monitoring Program and Furthering Substance Abuse Education and Prevention.” The law strengthens the state's prescription drug monitoring program by making it more ...
Drugged Driving: An Emerging Epidemic
By now, everyone knows that it is dangerous to drive a motor vehicle (car, truck, bus, boat, etc.) after drinking alcoholic beverages. Just how dangerous it is depends largely on how that particular amount of alcohol affects that particular driver. Some rare individuals can have several drinks and yet be able to drive perfectly fine. [...] ...
Suffering with Chronic Pain is a Choice – Not a Necessity
Whenever you experience pain, it is always important to ask: “What is my pain trying to tell me?” Remember, pain is trying to tell you that something is wrong, that you should find out exactly what it is, and find a way to address it—not mask it.
Our pain system is a crucial component of our [...] ...
Millions go to drug addiction pill in tight times
Kentucky is spending millions of Medicaid dollars on a prescription drug used to help people with drug addictions while refusing to pay for the counseling necessary to complete the treatment.
Because of the cost, Kentucky's $5.5 billion-a-year Medicaid program for the poor and disabled does not cover most substance abuse treatment.
Suboxone, a narcotic used to help addicts ease drug ...
Ativan’s Sedative Properties Can be Quickly Addictive
Millions of people experience levels of anxiety that are life disrupting, and Ativan is a prescription drug becoming more common for these patients. Officially known as Lorazepam, Ativan can also be used for sleeplessness, withdrawal from alcohol addiction, children’s seizures and for helping with the side effects of chemotherapy. Because the drug slows a person’s ...
Study Identifies Risks for Painkiller Addiction
The mystery of why some people are more likely to become addicted to opioid painkillers has been partially unraveled by the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania.
Its researchers found that the group most vulnerable to addiction has four main risk factors in common: age (being younger than 65); a history of depression; prior drug abuse; and using psychiatric medications. Painkiller ...
Prescription Drugs and Pain: the Self-Defeating Loop
Prescription drugs and pain seem to go together like baseball and hot dogs, but unlike the latter, the former is anything but healthy – when used indiscriminately or for too long. The fact is that overuse of prescription drugs can put you into a self-defeating loop. Here’s what can happen. You have pain, so you ...
Painkillers such as Percocet can push everyday people into risky addiction
Prescription drug abuse is a staple of daily papers and gossip rags alike -- from high-profile celebrity overdoses and massive Oxycontin busts to teen "pharm parties" -- but I never really gave the issue much thought. That is, until my doctor gave me a script for Percocet after my C-section surgery, along with a stern warning to taper off the opioid as soon as possible.
The truth is, if I ...
Seabrook prescription drug collection program inspires bill
The success of Seabrook Police Department's first-in-the-state prescription drug take-back program has sparked New Hampshire's congresswoman to file a bill to take it nationwide.
Yesterday, New Hampshire's First District Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, D-Rochester, met with Seabrook police to announce the filing of her bill. Shea-Porter, the vice chairwoman of the House's ...
Percocet: A Highly Addictive Pain Killer
Percocet, praised for its ability to relieve pain, is also one of the most widely abused prescription drugs in the U.S. A powerful combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen, millions of people use Percocet for increasing their quality of life when suffering chronic pain. However, it can be quickly addictive – prompting physicians and patients to ...
Doctors' role in the prescription abuse crisis
There is general agreement that misuse and abuse of prescription drugs in the U.S. by all age groups has increased significantly in the past decade, with the death rate from overdose now exceeding that from illicit drugs, including heroin, cocaine, hypnotics and stimulants combined. Among teenagers, painkillers are the most commonly abused drugs after tobacco, alcohol and marijuana. Each day, an ...
What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet? Lock the Box!
Each and every one of us has the potential to be a drug dealer. Many of us may already be one, or may have been one in the past. How can that possibly be, you ask? Well, you may very well be a fine, upstanding citizen with a nine-to-five five job who drives a Volvo, [...] ...
OxyContin prescription drug abuse "a silent, growing problem" among youths
Next to its tarry opiate cousin, "hillbilly heroin" appears clean and trustworthy — pastel tablets neatly engraved with the dosage digits of modern medicine.
But oxycodone packs a painkilling wallop with a strong addictive force. It hooked Rush Limbaugh, and these days it has gained a firm foothold in the youth party scene — with grim consequences.
A combination of OxyContin — the ...
Prescription drug epidemic spreads to babies
Dr. Mary Newport sees the symptoms more and more in the babies she treats: oddly stiff limbs, severe tremors, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, crying that never stops.
The common denominator: Their mothers were taking prescription drugs, mostly painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin, and antianxiety drugs like Xanax during pregnancy.
Some of the moms had no idea these medications would hurt ...
Pain Med Addiction Up 400 Percent in Last Decade
In 1998, 2.2 percent of people seeking treatment reported abusing prescription pain relievers, but that number has climbed steadily over the years. In 2008, nearly 10 percent reported abusing common prescription drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin or morphine, according to the study released Thursday.
Peter Delany, director of the Office of Applied Studies at SAMHSA, who conducted the study, ...
Prescription Drug-Related Deaths Rise in Florida
The Sunshine State may be facing a new wave of drug addiction—the legal kind. Drug-related deaths in Florida rose alarmingly in 2009, leading experts to believe there is a new addiction trend.
Prescription drug-related deaths rose 20 percent in Florida last year over 2008. A report released by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission last week showed that prescription drugs contributed to ...
Swapping Out Addictions: Prescription Drugs During Recovery
Numb the pain! Take it away! I can't deal with it! These are the underlying thoughts of addicts while indulging in their addictions. That is the mindset they carry with them into recovery. But, before they go into withdrawal many are given prescription drugs to make the transition easier, i.e.; to take the pain away or make it more tolerable. As a recovering addict I know what comes next. If ...
Secret program lets nurses get drug treatment on the job
Nurse Kenneth Matsko brushed aside a doctor's misgivings at finding him asleep in the operating room.
Matsko said he was tired because he had just eaten a turkey sandwich. The tryptophan, you know?
But the doctor soon discovered bloody gauze, hypodermic needles and other signs that Matsko, a nurse anesthetist, had injected himself with a powerful sedative during a procedure with a ...
Study Shows 111 Percent Increase in Emergency Department Visits Involving Nonmedical Use of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers in Five-Year Period
From 2004 to 2008 the estimated number of emergency department visits linked to the nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers rose from 144,644 visits to 305,885 visits a year.
Visits to hospital emergency departments involving nonmedical use of prescription narcotic pain relievers more than doubled, rising 111 percent, between 2004 and 2008, according to a study by the Substance Abuse ...
ER Visits Soaring for Prescription Painkiller Misuse
By Steven Reinberg
THURSDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Recent years have seen a steep rise in U.S. emergency department visits by people abusing prescription pain drugs such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Dilaudid, a new report finds.
In fact, between 2004 and 2008 the abuse of opioid medications like these increased more than 111 percent overall, and a whopping 29 percent during 2007-2008 ...
Waismann Method survey finds chronic pain the leading cause for prescription painkiller use
Beverly Hills, CA — According to a recent survey conducted by the Waismann Method of opiate detoxification, doctors prescribing medication for the treatment of chronic pain were found to be the leading source of prescription painkiller use. Approximately 88 percent of all respondents stated they began taking prescription painkillers for chronic pain relief, with an astounding 70 ...
Teen Drug Abuse Increasingly Focused on Prescription Drugs
While many a teen is familiar with a pharm party – one in which kids gather and share the drugs they find in their own medicine cabinets to try and experience a high – there are still others who have a true problem. According to a recent WebMD report, a new study finds many high ...
Researchers define traits associated with prescription drug disorders in a primary care setting
Researchers have identified clinical characteristics associated with prescription drug use disorder in primary care patients with chronic pain. The study found that by identifying characteristics of prescription drug abuse, primary care clinicians can identify those at risk and provide appropriate treatment. ...
In A Primary Care Setting Researchers Define Traits Associated With Prescription Drug Disorders
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified clinical characteristics associated with prescription drug use disorder (PDUD) in primary care patients with chronic pain. The study found that by identifying characteristics of prescription drug abuse, primary care clinicians can identify those at risk and provide appropriate treatment... ...
APhA Partners With ACPA And Cephalon The To Expand National Initiative On The Safe And Appropriate Use Of Prescription Medicines
Cephalon, Inc., (Nasdaq: CEPH) announced that it has partnered with the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to broaden the company's When Good Medicines Become Bad DrugsSM program. This national education campaign provides patients, caregivers and the public with information about the abuse of prescription medications that affects as many ...
