homme page

Sunday 25 June 2017

The Right Opioid Dosing And Avoiding The Addiction Trap


By Kevin Graham


The miracle of opioid pain relief is fatally limited by tolerance, addiction, and respiratory depression. Buprenorphine, when combined with a mu agonist, results in game-changing effects. Patients experience potent, dose-related analgesia from the agonist, but have NO euphoria. The therapeutic window is widened. Patients unable to control their use of a mu agonist alone gain that control when on buprenorphine. And most exciting, buprenorphine indefinitely anchors tolerance, maintaining analgesia WITHOUT DOSE ESCALATION. This finding offers huge implications for pain management and opioid dosing.

Opioid medications are prescribed for patients with painful conditions and the response is typically excellent pain relief. There are side effects which may include constipation, tolerance, depression, and sedation. With chronic pain affecting 15% of the US population, doctors are prescribing narcotic medications with alarming frequency.

Because of methadone's slow release, individuals who seek a fast high might take a dose, not get a high then consume more. By the time they get high, in a few instances, they've already consumed too much. Odds of revival are a lot lower for overdose of methadone than for additional opiates because of the long lasting nature of the drug. If you believe somebody has overdosed on this drug, contact 911 and immediately get them emergency assistance.

Research shows narcotic use is higher among the less educated and unemployed. A recent report in the American Journal of Medicine specifically looked at fibromyalgia patients receiving opioids for their pain. There was an increased incidence of unemployment, disability payments, and history of substance abuse. Also, the statistics showed overall lower education and an increased incidence of unstable psychiatric disorders. The study was not small and contained over 450 patients, so the results were most likely valid despite potential statistical variances.

Interestingly, there were 2 factors that lead to the continued usage. One was if the patient had been prescribed the drugs before, and the other was if the patients were prescribed doses in excess of 120 milligrams of morphine. Of note, that is a hefty dose.

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is a condition that can result from long-term opioid use. It represents a heightened perception of pain and can make one feel worse with more pain sensation. The solution to this problem is a decrease or discontinuation of the medication which should be accomplished under medical supervision. The discontinuation can result in less pain than while on the medications.

Sleep is affected significantly by opioids. A large review of studies was published in Postgraduate Medicine looking at the effect of narcotics on sleeping patterns. What popped out? Well, opiate users displayed significant incidence of insomnia, arousals, and wakefulness.

A tolerance will develop as the body gets used to methadone treatment that will require methadone users to consume higher doses to experience their high. As very high doses don't offer the same effects, users are going to move forward with harder drugs.

The objective in utilizing opioid replacement therapy includes removing the uncomfortable day-to-day withdrawal which interferes with an individual's capability of normally functioning. The level of opiate withdrawal sickness differs from one person to another as does the severity of each individual's addiction.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

;