Previous research was unclear whether acupuncture helps chronic pain. Two new analyses have reviewed new studies demonstrating that acupuncture does indeed relieve chronic pain in many. It may also help with opiate addiction. I've prescribed acupuncture for decades and find that roughly a third to half of my patients find real relief. And the relief can last for weeks. [...]
Vox.com has frequently published terrific articles on medical care. This post is no exception: 100 Million Americans Have Chronic Pain. Very Few Use One of the Best Tools to Treat it. The article describes the proven effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy and other non-drug approaches. These are all coping skills. They work well if you take the [...]
A new study shows opioids are no better than Tylenol for some chronic pain. A recent article in vox.com discusses a new study done on 240 patients in the Veterans Administration who had chronic pain. They compared using potent opioid pain killers like morphine, oxycodone, or Norco with just using regular over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers like Tylenol, Motrin, or Aleve. [...]
On May 9, 2017, then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price gave a speech on opioid addiction to a group in West Virginia. He decried the use of Medication Assisted Treatment with methadone maintenance or ongoing Suboxone as "just substituting one opioid for another." But this is a brain-dead statement that flies in the face of scientific reality, much like [...]
Today's New York Times has a vital article about heart infections ("endocarditis") caused by injecting drugs intravenously. In the area of Tennessee discussed in the article, some addicts return to the hospital two or more times with new infections. They are deadly. But they present the treating doctors with multiple dilemmas. What do you do if patients shoot up while in the hospital? [...]
A report in Consumer Reports describes a new study shows that many of the top-selling powders and drinks may contain concerning levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, and toxins like bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in some plastic containers and food can liners. These substances have been linked to cancer, [...]
Opioids after surgery can, paradoxically, prolong pain Giving opioids to animals to quell pain after surgery prolongs pain for more than three weeks and primes specialized immune cells in the spinal cord to be more reactive to pain, according to a new study by CU Boulder. The authors say the paradoxical findings, if replicated in [...]
I attended the American Society of Medicine Annual Conference in San Diego the weekend of April 13, 2018. Much of the focus of the conference was on new information about addiction and its treatment. Here are some tidbits: Drug dealers and addicts can contaminate virtually any substance with dangerous drugs. Commonly adulterated are CBD oil and vape [...]
Heavy drinking linked to worse PMS (Reuters Health) - Women who are heavy drinkers are at increased risk of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), new research shows. “Together with other researchers, we believe that alcohol increases PMS risk by altering the level of hormones, such as gonadotropin, during the menstrual cycle,” Dr. Bahi Takkouche, the study’s senior [...]
A long-form article in the huffingtonpost.com website, "Dying To Be Free" details the brain-dead treatment given to heroin addicts in state-sponsored programs in Kentucky: humiliation, "tear you down so we can build you up," and an exclusive focus on abstinence. People leave with shining faces after months of inpatient care only to drop dead of an [...]
In the 4/1/2018 Wired Magazine article "Addiction Rehab Is Broken. Can Technology Fix It?," author Zachary Siegal complains that the humiliation-based treatment he received is unscientific and ineffective. You bet! He suggests using iPhone apps to resolve this problem. I disagree, even though they may work for some. Zachary was a heroin addict, treated with the old-fashioned, [...]
