You have an injury, need surgery, or deal with chronic pain that interferes with your daily life. You need treatment for your pain. But you also have a history of opioid or narcotic addiction and aren’t sure how you’ll handle pain medication. Opioids are drugs that relax your brain and relieve pain. They’re also highly … Read more
By Robert PreidtHealthDay Reporter MONDAY, June 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Many patients who are prescribed opioids after surgery could get the same level of pain relief with non-opioid alternatives such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen without the risk of addiction, researchers say. “Opioids have been a routine part of postsurgical pain care for decades, but … Read more
On a beach in South Florida, hundreds of miles from home, Lori Dilley Anthony reached a turning point in her life. She’d traveled from Delaware to get help for a nearly 35-year addiction to opioids and other drugs. She’d checked into the same treatment center as her husband, who’d made … Read more
Four years ago, Peter Grinspoon, MD, slipped on ice and tore a tendon in his left thigh so badly that he needed surgery to reattach it. He was sent home with a prescription for the opioid oxycodone to relieve his pain. Yet Grinspoon hesitated to fill it, for good reason: He had become addicted to … Read more
SOURCES: Michael Weaver, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; medical director, Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD, psychiatrist, Cambridge Health Alliance; assistant professor, Harvard Medical School. American Society of Addiction Medicine: “The Definition of Addiction.” National Institute on Drug Abuse: … Read more
Chronic pain affects over one third of all Americans and many manage that pain through prescription medication. Some people worry that taking narcotic painkillers will lead to addiction. While these drugs are designed to reduce sensitivity to pain, they also create a sense of euphoria – a feeling that some people may come to crave. If … Read more
April 20, 2021 The Biden administration is considering two moves that would affect tobacco companies and American smokers, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. First, the administration may require tobacco companies to lower nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels, the WSJ reported. Nicotine doesn’t cause cancer, … Read more
Elin Wade, from Swansea, had hallucinations while using topical steroids and has called for more support for people reacting to skin treatments. She suffered bad reactions after using creams prescribed for an eczema flare-up. “I went from being a perfectly healthy 25-year-old woman to being a 29-year-old injecting incredibly potent drugs into my system just … Read more
In the first stage, patients (aged 18 to 65) were divided into two groups. One was given the combination therapy, which involved a shot of naltrexone every three weeks along with a daily dose of bupropion. The other group was given placebo shots and pills. Urine drug screening was conducted four times in each … Read more
By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — People with addiction disorders are at greater risk for COVID-19 and more likely to become seriously ill if infected, a new study finds. The researchers analyzed non-identifiable electronic health records of more than 73 million patients in the United States. People … Read more