Post by Admin on Jul 19, 2009 11:12:45 GMT -5
July 19, 2009
Nearly 32 years separate the eerily similar deaths of two kings named Presley and Jackson.
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The official coroner's report listed cardiac arrhythmia as the cause of Elvis Presley's death in 1977. It later was determined that drug abuse, including prescription pain medications, may have been a contributing factor.
Since Michael Jackson's death June 25 of cardiac arrest, a number of stories also have emerged detailing his alleged addiction to prescription pain medications.
They are far from alone.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drugs account for the second most commonly abused category of drugs, behind marijuana and ahead of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. The most recent nationwide data available found overdose deaths involving prescription pain relievers increased 114 percent from 2001 to 2005.
Last year, Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of pain medications, and Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007 of acute combined drug intoxication, which included painkillers.
There are lessons to be learned.
"With the whole Michael Jackson story, when you take a bunch of different prescription pain medications and each pain medication is designed to help a specific muscle or a specific part of the body … it's a full system shutdown basically," said Daniel Scoville, a continuing care specialist with ThedaCare Behavioral Health, which helps map out a plan of recovery for patients with all types of addiction. "Based on what I've heard in the news, that's what it sounds like happened."
The Drug Enforcement Agency's Office of Diversion Control estimates of the 7 million Americans who abuse prescription drugs, 5.2 million are involved in some kind of improper use of pain relievers such as OxyContin or Vicodin. Again, celebrities put a face to the problem.
Last month, Paula Abdul revealed a 12-year addiction to painkillers. Rush Limbaugh was charged in 2006 on a charge of committing fraud to obtain painkillers from several doctors. Matthew Perry, Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, Nicole Ritchie, Cindy McCain and Brett Favre all have been treated for addiction to prescription pain medication.
Getting prescribed medication for pain doesn't mean you're destined for addiction, said Nancy Homburg, a family practice physician and medical director for Affinity Hospice. Cigarettes and even alcohol might be more habit-forming than some of the opioid medications.
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But it can be a slippery slope.
"(And) almost everybody that uses the medications over along period of time will get physical dependence, which means if you would suddenly take the medication away they would have some withdrawal effects," she said. "But that isn't the same as being addicted. Everybody that is on opioids for a period of time develops some tolerance and can tolerate a bigger dose than you or I could if we never had those drugs before.
"But actually only a small percentage of people will develop addiction and that's related to your particular neurobiology, your genetics and social, emotional and environmental factors all play a role."
Although pain medications are very good at touching a good part of chronic physical pain, when matters are more emotional, social or spiritual, meds can't make that better. They can be a part of the treatment but aren't the whole treatment, which needs to be tailored to the individual.
"It seems to me, (Michael Jackson) was looking for pain medication to answer the pain he felt that was more than likely in some of those other arenas," Homburg said. "It struck me he was clearly an individual that had a pretty lonely life and that there were clearly complications just in terms of what was happening with him socially and emotionally."
Pain is complex
In short-term situations where a patient goes to a doctor with something as routine as a sprained ankle or acute back pain and only a couple of weeks' worth of painkillers are prescribed, Homburg said doctors don't go into great detail with possible warnings.
Chronic pain poses a different response.
"We have a whole program that we try to go through in terms of completely accepting the pain and what's going on," she said. "We like to make sure we understand what all is involved in their developing the pain in the first place. What the history is; we like to know a little more about who that person is as an individual and their risks for using opioid medication".
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Nearly 32 years separate the eerily similar deaths of two kings named Presley and Jackson.
Advertisement
The official coroner's report listed cardiac arrhythmia as the cause of Elvis Presley's death in 1977. It later was determined that drug abuse, including prescription pain medications, may have been a contributing factor.
Since Michael Jackson's death June 25 of cardiac arrest, a number of stories also have emerged detailing his alleged addiction to prescription pain medications.
They are far from alone.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, prescription drugs account for the second most commonly abused category of drugs, behind marijuana and ahead of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. The most recent nationwide data available found overdose deaths involving prescription pain relievers increased 114 percent from 2001 to 2005.
Last year, Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of pain medications, and Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007 of acute combined drug intoxication, which included painkillers.
There are lessons to be learned.
"With the whole Michael Jackson story, when you take a bunch of different prescription pain medications and each pain medication is designed to help a specific muscle or a specific part of the body … it's a full system shutdown basically," said Daniel Scoville, a continuing care specialist with ThedaCare Behavioral Health, which helps map out a plan of recovery for patients with all types of addiction. "Based on what I've heard in the news, that's what it sounds like happened."
The Drug Enforcement Agency's Office of Diversion Control estimates of the 7 million Americans who abuse prescription drugs, 5.2 million are involved in some kind of improper use of pain relievers such as OxyContin or Vicodin. Again, celebrities put a face to the problem.
Last month, Paula Abdul revealed a 12-year addiction to painkillers. Rush Limbaugh was charged in 2006 on a charge of committing fraud to obtain painkillers from several doctors. Matthew Perry, Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, Nicole Ritchie, Cindy McCain and Brett Favre all have been treated for addiction to prescription pain medication.
Getting prescribed medication for pain doesn't mean you're destined for addiction, said Nancy Homburg, a family practice physician and medical director for Affinity Hospice. Cigarettes and even alcohol might be more habit-forming than some of the opioid medications.
Advertisement
But it can be a slippery slope.
"(And) almost everybody that uses the medications over along period of time will get physical dependence, which means if you would suddenly take the medication away they would have some withdrawal effects," she said. "But that isn't the same as being addicted. Everybody that is on opioids for a period of time develops some tolerance and can tolerate a bigger dose than you or I could if we never had those drugs before.
"But actually only a small percentage of people will develop addiction and that's related to your particular neurobiology, your genetics and social, emotional and environmental factors all play a role."
Although pain medications are very good at touching a good part of chronic physical pain, when matters are more emotional, social or spiritual, meds can't make that better. They can be a part of the treatment but aren't the whole treatment, which needs to be tailored to the individual.
"It seems to me, (Michael Jackson) was looking for pain medication to answer the pain he felt that was more than likely in some of those other arenas," Homburg said. "It struck me he was clearly an individual that had a pretty lonely life and that there were clearly complications just in terms of what was happening with him socially and emotionally."
Pain is complex
In short-term situations where a patient goes to a doctor with something as routine as a sprained ankle or acute back pain and only a couple of weeks' worth of painkillers are prescribed, Homburg said doctors don't go into great detail with possible warnings.
Chronic pain poses a different response.
"We have a whole program that we try to go through in terms of completely accepting the pain and what's going on," she said. "We like to make sure we understand what all is involved in their developing the pain in the first place. What the history is; we like to know a little more about who that person is as an individual and their risks for using opioid medication".
Page 3
Page 4
