If this wasn’t such a serious topic, I’d say “what’s new?” but it is serious. Seniors who take sleeping pills and/or antidepressants are at a higher risk of falling and sustaining a serious injury than those who don’t take those drugs.
Other medications that can increase the fall risk include blood pressure pills (they can make blood pressure go too low sometimes), so-called water pills (these diuretics can make so the senior rushes to the bathroom before having an accident and then falls or they have to get up in the middle of the night, which is a dangerous time for …read more

One of the great things about this blog is when readers leave comments that help me learn more about what I write about and that visitors to Help My Hurt can read as well. Here’s another example.
On July 10, I wrote a piece called Narcotic and opioid myths – it’s time to smarten up, in which I dispelled some myths that are attached to that particular class of drugs. One reader took me to task, feeling that I must be funded by a pharmaceutical company to make these claims. While I probably could have answered her better, I was very …read more

Image details: Thinkstock Single Image Set served by picapp.com
N is also for…
Neuropathy: Pain caused by the nerve endings is called neuropathy. The most common neuropathies are diabetic neuropathy, a long-term effect of diabetes, and postherpetic neuralgia, which some people develop after having shingles.
NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, (NSAIDs) are pain relievers that include acetomeniphen (Tylenol), ASA (Aspirin), and ibuprofen (Advil). There are also some stronger, prescription NSAIDs. These medications provide pain relieve by reducing the inflammation.
Narcotics: Narcotics are controlled drugs such as codeine, morphine and fentanyl. These are pain relievers that work by altering the pain messages sent to the brain.

~~~~

It’s time people started understanding the realities of narcotics and opioids, much-needed medications for so many people.
I don’t think the true action and benefit of narcotics and opioids (controlled prescription drugs) have ever been truly understood. And then, when the US government started its war on drugs, the people who needed the medications the most were the ones who found that they couldn’t get them.
What are the drugs in this group? They are the drugs like oxycontin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, Demerol, and so on.
Click here to read more.
~~~~

Uncontrolled pain makes life very difficult sometimes. Feeling that your doctor isn’t helping manage it properly is frustrating. Besides changing doctors or trying to educate your doctor about what you need, there isn’t much you can do.
One of the problems with doctors and adequate pain control is the fear of using opioids or narcotics. The fear stems from concern that patients may become addicted but it also stems from doctors not really understanding what opioids to prescribe, at what doses to prescribe them, and how often they can be given.
To address this, The Federation of State Medical Boards Research and …read more

A quick drive-by post; I thought it was an important issue to bring up.
This article, ER doctors give whites narcotics more often: study, was written based on the findings of a study published in the Jan. 2nd issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. (If you want to read the technical side, you can read the abstract here.)
Has this been your experience?