Naloxone, a medication used to pull individuals from the brink of an opioid overdose, can save lives. That’s the message government agencies and medical societies are broadcasting as they strengthen calls to increase access to this prescription drug, known as an opioid antagonist. Naloxone counters the effects of opioids and can reverse an opioid overdose in minutes. Opioid abuse and … Read More
The Pharmacist’s Corner: Understanding Opioid Effectiveness and Adherence Using Pharmacogenetics
By Swan Lin, PharmD Candidate, and Valerie Fishbeck, PharmD A patient walks up to the pharmacy counter with two new prescriptions for the opioid oxycodone, also known as Oxycontin. One is for a long acting form of the medication while the other is for a short-acting form; prescribing both is common pain management strategy. The patient had previously been … Read More
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: Living with a genetic rarity
Imagine not being able to pick up a pencil without your fingers hurting. Sending a letter, doing a crossword puzzle, these are just a few of the simple tasks that trigger pain in your joints on a regular basis. This can be a reality people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome face every day. Except that this pain often is felt from head to … Read More
Case Report: Common painkiller tied to ER visit, internal bleeding
A young woman’s treatment with a common prescription painkiller for her chronic bladder pain eventually landed her in the emergency room. The 24 year old had started taking the pain reliever celecoxib (Celebrex) for interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic condition that causes pelvic pain and urinary problems. This syndrome has no cure, with treatment based on trial and error. The … Read More
FDA strengthens heart attack, stroke risk warnings for NSAID pain medications
People regularly taking a common type of painkiller called an NSAID may be at greater risk for heart attack or stroke than previously thought. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strengthened existing warnings of potentially deadly heart attack and stroke risk for a class of pain medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAID labeling already warns of … Read More
Study finds opioid use common amongst disabled Medicare recipients
A recent study illuminates the prevalence of opioid painkiller use in a particularly vulnerable population: disabled Americans on Social Security disability insurance. The article, published in the September edition of the journal Medical Care, found the percentage of Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) recipients younger than 65 receiving any amount of opioid prescriptions rose from 43.9 percent in 2007 to … Read More
Chronic pain patients’ pocketbooks feel pinch of major drug-drug interactions
Chronic pain patients already have enough to worry about from adverse drug events, but a new study highlights a possibly overlooked concern – their costs. According to a recent study published by Pergolizzi et al. in the May 2014 article in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, already vulnerable chronic pain patients could end up paying 22 percent more … Read More