July 26, 2018 | According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 116 people die every day in this country from an opioid-related overdose. That’s over 42,000 people a year, more than the number of auto accident deaths or homicides. Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin and pain relievers such as fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine. The current opioid crisis in the United States began in the late 1990s and is a very complicate phenomenon but contributing to this is health-care providers prescribing prescription pain relievers for patients, not knowing the potential for addiction to these medications. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between 21 and 29 percent of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will misuse the drugs while 8 to 12 percent will develop an addiction to them. Opioid abuse will cost the United States 78.5 billion dollars this year alone, including the cost of addiction treatment and the involvement of legal authorities.

July 26, 2018 | Hydrocodone. Meperidine. Oxycodone. These are some of the more common opioids that may be prescribed to reduce pain after a major injury or surgery. Opioids can cause some serious side effects, from drowsiness to nausea and constipation. They may also cause slowed breathing and, in extreme cases, overdose deaths. Some of the other risks of taking such medications are physical dependence and addiction. Dependence refers to having symptoms of withdrawal when not taking the drug while addiction is a chronic disease that causes someone to compulsively seek out drugs even when they are harmful. Taking a medicine that was prescribed for someone else, taking more than was prescribed for you and taking a drug in a different way, such as crushing tablets and snorting or injecting them, can be a sign of addiction. Fortunately, there are medicines that can help someone recover from prescription pain medicine addiction.

July 26, 2018 | Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 times more potent than heroin. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is primarily prescribed to manage pain associated with advanced cancer. It can be administered via injection, transdermal patch or in lozenges. The non-pharmaceutical version is often mixed with heroin or cocaine because it is inexpensive and enhances the effect of cocaine. People can swallow, snort or inject fentanyl, or they can put fentanyl-spiked blotter paper in their mouths so that the drug is absorbed through the lining of their mouth. Like heroin, fentanyl works by binding to the body’s opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. When it binds to these receptors, they can drive up dopamine levels in the brain’s reward areas, producing a state of euphoria and relaxation. The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases the risk of overdose, especially if a person is unaware that a powder or pill contains fentanyl.

July 26, 2018 | Naloxone, or Narcan, is an FDA-approved medication used to reverse overdose by opioids such as heroin, morphine or oxycodone. It competes with the opioid at the brain receptor site and kicks the opioid off the receptor, reversing the effects of the overdose. Narcan is administered when a patient is showing signs of opioid overdose. The medication can be given by intranasal spray, by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection or intravenously. A doctor can prescribe naloxone to patients who are on high doses of opioids for any reason. A doctor or pharmacist can show patients, family members or caregivers how to administer naloxone. Patients and or caregivers given a prescription for naloxone should keep the item available at all times. Anyone can go to a pharmacy and ask for and receive Narcan without a prescription if they are willing to pay for the medication. Many insurance companies, including Medicaid, will cover the cost of Narcan.

July 26, 2018 | Buprenorphine is an opioid medication that is used to treat opioid addiction. Unlike other opioids, buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, which means that it prevents withdrawal symptoms when someone stops taking opioid drugs by producing similar effects to these drugs. According to Dr. Michael Mancino of UAMS’ Center for Addiction Services and Treatment, buprenorphine does produce physical dependence, although it appears to do so to a lesser degree than do full opioid agonists, and it appears to be easier to discontinue at the end of medication treatment. Buprenorphine, when given in the appropriate dosage, will suppress the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and decrease a patient’s cravings for opioids. Buprenorphine’s opioid effects increase with each dose until at moderate doses they level off, even with further dose increases. This “ceiling effect” lowers the risk of misuse, addiction and possible side effects.