Word: opioid
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...what can be done to get problem gamblers to quit? Medication, in theory, may help. Psychologists like G. Alan Marlatt of the University of Washington are interested in the potential of so-called opioid antagonists, drugs that might partially disrupt the neurochemistry that produces feelings of well-being, thus denying gamblers the kick they seek...
...opioids made a comeback in the 1980s, after patient groups and physicians focused attention on the problem of under-treated pain. Research showed that addiction did not necessarily result from aggressive, well-managed opioid therapy. In the 1990s, as the specialty of pain management grew in hospitals and universities, opioid use spread from cancer and end-of-life patients to the chronic-pain victims of industrial accidents, car crashes and conditions such as migraines, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis...
...local internists began to prescribe stronger pain-killers for regular patients, some of those drugs--no one has reliable figures--began to flow into the black market, whether through pharmacy and warehouse theft, Internet sales or the scamming of legitimate doctors. When OxyContin, a time-release version of the opioid oxycodone, was introduced in 1995, drug addicts learned to grind up the pills to get a quick, intense high; in pockets of Appalachia, Maine and Ohio, OxyContin became the drug of choice. Meanwhile, celebrity abusers--including Rush Limbaugh and Courtney Love--sparked a flurry of publicity, leading politicians to push...
...Montana neurologist, remains under investigation. He describes himself as a cautious prescriber. A graduate of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, he also trained with the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He required that his patients sign a four-page, 21-item contract before getting any opioid treatment, pledging, for example, that they had never received a diagnosis of substance abuse or been involved in drug dealing, that they would not seek to replace lost medication or obtain early refills and that they would buy their drugs from only one designated pharmacy. Monthly checkups and extensive tests--including...
...Nelson's patients have suffered acute narcotic-withdrawal symptoms, as he was unable to wean them gradually. Others, unable to cope with their pain, lost their jobs. They have staged demonstrations and press conferences in downtown Billings and mounted petition drives. As one of the few Montana doctors offering opioid therapy, Nelson was "like the Mother Teresa of medicine," says Jeannie Huntley, a marketing consultant who suffered brain and neck injuries from a car crash...