Archives for August 2016

Using Pulses Instead of Pills to Control Pain

By Guest Blogger Russ Izzo

A growing number of people suffering from all kinds of debilitating pain are experiencing relief from TENS therapy, which stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

This type of therapy may seem relatively new, but it’s actually been around for quite some time. If you can cast your mind back to around 2500BC, that’s when the Egyptians were using the electric currents from of electric eels to try and ease their various pains. We’ve certainly come a long way since then, and no competent mind is going to recommend you go slapping such a creature onto your skin. Today, electric current as a pain reliever comes in the form of small and affordable devices that are easily used — and definitely won’t deliver a shocking zap.

Pachyonychia Congenita: What It Is and Why It Matters To Me

Pachyonychia Congenita (or PC) is not just another chronic disabling pain problem for which there is no cure. This disease is personal, because my younger brother was born with it. His name is Lyle.

Most people have never heard of PC. It is another one of the invisible chronic pain disorders that causes incredible suffering, which no one who doesn’t have the disease can imagine. There has been almost no research into finding a cure, because so few people know about it. Therefore, I’d like to change that and make people aware of it.

Why You Need to Know About the New Prescription Drug Monitoring Act

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar co-introduced the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) which was signed into law by President Obama last month. Now she’s co-introduced the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act which would mandate that doctors use prescription drug monitoring programs when prescribing painkillers to a patient for the first time.

What are Prescription Monitoring Programs (PMPs)?

Prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) create a central repository of prescription records. The information is stored in online electronic databases that allow easy access to authorized individuals or agencies such as law enforcement and drug control agencies, practitioner licensure boards, medical examiners, drug courts and criminal diversion programs, addiction treatment programs, public and private third-party payers, medication dispensers (e.g., pharmacies) and prescribers, and other healthcare providers.

The Other Side of the Pain Story by guest Richard L. Martin

The Other Side of the Pain Story

By Richard L. Martin, BSPharm (retired)

I was a hospital pharmacist for twenty-five years. The last four years in practice, I was involved with the cancer ward helping oncologists, recommending pain medications, adjusting pain medications, and safely switching patients from one medication to another. Even though it’s been some fifteen years since I worked in the hospital, I still have at least a rudimentary knowledge of prescription pain management. I am now sixty-four years old.

Preparing for an FDA Advisory Committee Meeting: What You Need to Know

Mark Twain is quoted as saying: “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”

What Is an FDA ADCOM?

Pharma and device companies seeking approval for their products are often required to present their data to an FDA advisory committee meeting (ADCOM). They have a limited time in which to tell their story. Therefore, Pharma must know how to “write the short letter.” This requires them to condense years of research into messages that can convey the most salient, and most pertinent, data to a jury of scientists.

The Reasons for The Criminalization and Stigmatization of Addiction

Inconsistent and Specious Laws Criminalizing Addiction

In my blog, “Is Suboxone the New Kleenex®?,” I attempted to clarify which opioids are used to treat addiction as well as pain, depending on their brand name or where they are being prescribed. A recent article in MEDPAGE TODAY titled “Suboxone Underused, Opioids Overused in Medicine” added some confusion to the already complex discussion of opioids.

But there’s a lot more complexity to explain. Specifically, I want you to be aware of how the inconsistent and specious laws have contributed to irrational drug polices that have harmed, and continue to harm, millions of Americans.

The Painful Truth is a Finalist in 2016 CIPA EVVY Awards

CIPA EVYY Award Finalist

I’m pleased and humbled to announce that my book, The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why It Matters to Each of Us, has been selected as a finalist in the 2016 CIPA EVVY Awards. It holds that spot in the Health/Diet/Fitness category.

The Painful Truth is in good company. Winners of the 2015 CIPA EVVY Awards can be found here.

Named after CIPA founder, Evelyn Kaye, the CIPA EVVY Awards is one of the longest-running book awards competition on the Indie publishing scene. It is sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA), along with the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation (ELF).