Archives for February 2017

Do Patients Need Opioids Following Dental Procedures?

According to Fox News, “The American Dental Association recently reported dentistry is responsible for prescribing 12 percent of all instant-release opioids.” The article quotes Dr. Mojgam Fajiram, DDS, of Sutton Advanced Cosmetic Dentistry, who claims the dental industry gives out opioid prescriptions much too quickly “just to treat chronic pain.”

Treating Pain from Dental Procedures

In any case, Dr. Fajiram doesn’t seem to think that “just” treating pain is a good enough reason to provide a patient with an opioid prescription. “In fact, taking a combination of acetaminophen and ibuprofen will decrease the inflammation without the adverse effects of vomiting, headache and nausea — and abuse,” according to him.

As CDC Guidelines Approach One-Year Anniversary, Questions Loom

“Next month will mark the one year anniversary of opioid guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – guidelines that discourage primary care physicians from prescribing opioids for chronic non-cancer pain,” writes Pat Anson in the February 15, 2017 edition the Pain News Network newsletter.

My Expectations for CDC Opioid Guidelines One Year Ago

As I explained in my April 20, 2016 blog, Will the New Opioids Restrictions Help to Reduce Overdoses?, politicians and some government officials told us at the time that the new CDC opioid guidelines would reduce deaths due to overdoses. Based on the early evidence, I thought it was unlikely that the CDC’s guidelines would accomplish this goal. It was my belief that the guidelines would not help solve the opioid crisis. However, they would place people with pain at higher risk of suffering.

Constipation Isn’t a Fitting Punishment for People With Pain

Deb was in a near-fatal car accident. Her arms, legs, and pelvis were severely injured and would require multiple surgeries. She relied on opioids to ease the pain. Along with her other day-to-day medical challenges and constant setbacks, she suffered from constipation which her doctor attributed to her use of painkillers. But he offered no treatment or advice, nor did any other members of the hospital’s medical team. With all of Deb’s serious health problems, constipation wasn’t on the list of issues the team felt obligated to address. The medical team, therefore, allowed Deb to suffer, perhaps needlessly, from a common and potentially treatable side-effect of opioid use: constipation.

Hurting Pain Patients Is Not the Way to Solve the Opioid Crisis

“The insurance industry appears to have played a major role in the development of a new strategy by the federal government to combat the abuse of opioid pain medication,” writes Pat Anson, editor of Pain News Network. This Orwellian act by powerful insurance companies in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposes to deputize pharmacists “to report suspicious activity by doctors who prescribe opioids to Medicare and Medicaid patients (see ‘Medicare Takes ‘Big Brother’ Approach to Opioid Abuse’). Individual profiles of patients, their behavior, and opioid use would also be created and shared among insurance providers.”