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Category: Pain Management

The journey from pain relief to addiction

The journey from pain relief to addiction

(ĐTĐ) – New research reveals that Australians are consuming more prescription drugs than ever before. Among the most dangerous and addictive families of drugs are opioids, strong pain killers used for people with injuries and drug dependencies. Increasingly the drugs seem to be being abused, as Shevonne Hunt writes.   Simon Millington did not have a history of drug abuse when he was first prescribed pain killers. He was 18 when he was in a terrible car accident and was…

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What is Massage Therapy?

What is Massage Therapy?

(ĐTĐ) – Think back to the last time you bumped your elbow walking through a doorway. After shouting “Ow!” what was the first thing you did? Likely, you instinctively rubbed the sore area to ease the pain. This is the idea behind massage therapy – relieving pain and promoting wellness through touch.   Massage therapy is the manipulation of soft tissue in the body. Patients seek massage therapy for a wide variety reasons, including pain management, depression, anxiety, and rehabilitation…

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Ask the Pharmacist: What Will Hydrocodone Rescheduling Mean for Pharmacies?

Ask the Pharmacist: What Will Hydrocodone Rescheduling Mean for Pharmacies?

(ĐTĐ) – On October 6th, all hydrocodone combination products will be reclassified in the U.S. as a Schedule II drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. For all of those involved in dealing with chronic pain — prescribers, pharmacists, and patients — the impact could be more than minimal.   For the Pharmacist and his/her staff at your local pharmacy, it means that these drugs now have to be kept in a locked safe and a perpetual inventory has to be…

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New Drugs May Help Prevent Migraines

New Drugs May Help Prevent Migraines

(ĐTĐ) – Two experimental drugs may help prevent migraines in people who suffer multiple attacks a month, according to preliminary findings from a pair of clinical trials.   The drugs, one given by IV and one by injection, are part of a new approach to preventing migraine headaches. They are "monoclonal antibodies" that target a tiny protein called the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) — which recent research has implicated in triggering migraine pain. In one study, patients saw a 66…

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Are Medication Overuse Headaches Associated With NSAIDs?

Are Medication Overuse Headaches Associated With NSAIDs?

(ĐTĐ) – Question: Are medication overuse headaches associated with use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs?   Response from Jenny A. Van Amburgh, PharmD, CDE (Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs; Associate Clinical Professor, School of Pharmacy, Northeastern University; Director, Clinical Pharmacy Team Director, Residency Program, Harbor Health Services, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts): Medication overuse headache (MOH), previously called "rebound headache," is a secondary chronic daily headache associated with an overused therapeutic agent in a headache-prone patient.[1] MOH is a headache that is present…

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Greater Use of Meds to Halt Opioid Overdose Epidemic Urged

Greater Use of Meds to Halt Opioid Overdose Epidemic Urged

(ĐTĐ) – US addiction experts are urging expanded use of medications to combat the "opioid overdose epidemic" plaguing the country.   In a commentary published April 23 (2014) in the New England Journal of Medicine, National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) director Nora Volkow, MD, and colleagues from other US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies call upon healthcare providers to expand their use of medications to treat opioid addiction and reduce overdose deaths. In addition, they describe…

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NSAIDs Double Bleeding Risk With Anticoagulants for DVT/PE

NSAIDs Double Bleeding Risk With Anticoagulants for DVT/PE

(ĐTĐ) – Patients receiving an anticoagulant for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) who take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or aspirin for pain or headache, even for a few days, are at heightened risk for a major bleed, according to a new study published online April 14, 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine [1].   The researchers examined bleeding risk from aspirin or an NSAID (other than aspirin) in patients in the EINSTEIN-DVT and EINSTEIN-PE trials who were…

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Treating Pain With Acupuncture

Treating Pain With Acupuncture

(ĐTĐ) – Acupuncture is a type of traditional medicine that first began back in the East. It’s thought that it might have begun around 3300 BCE. Although the exact time is uncertain.   It’s thought that energy flows through our body in a specific pattern. When this route is disrupted, vital organs aren’t receiving oxygen and other essential nutrients. This is what causes disorders to occur. So an acupuncturist will apply either needles, heat or lasers to specific areas of…

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Effects of Chronic Alcohol Abuse on Pain Management

Effects of Chronic Alcohol Abuse on Pain Management

(ĐTĐ) – Many people turn to alcohol to solve problems. Alcohol is more than a way to relax or a way to forget hard times for some of these people. They use it in an attempt to self-medicate for a number of situations: sadness, insomnia, stress, and in some cases, even pain relief. Since pain and stress often exacerbate each other, it’s not hard to see why approximately 28% of chronic pain sufferers use alcohol in an attempt to manage…

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Amitriptyline for Treating Fibromyalgia: A Help or Hindrance?

Amitriptyline for Treating Fibromyalgia: A Help or Hindrance?

(ĐTĐ) – There are numerous treatments available for the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is classified as a disorder of pain processing due to abnormalities in the ways in which pain signals are processed in the central nervous system.   Patients suffering from fibromyalgia often complain of depression, insomnia,irritable bowel syndrome, painful and tender points or “trigger points.” Tender points are pain points or localized areas of tenderness around joints, but not the joints themselves. These areas of tenderness or…

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