Lynn R. Webster Archives - The Painful Truth

Repeating the Mistakes of the Past

I’m pleased to present a blog written by Megan Nalamachu who is a bright, articulate high school student.

Her father, Dr. Srinivas Nalamachu, is a treasured colleague and friend. He proudly sent me his daughter’s well-researched work, because he believed I’d be interested in it. He was correct. Megan did a wonderful job rendering a powerful piece that, in my opinion, is well worth sharing.

My usual disclaimer applies. Megan’s article reflects her own views. They are not necessarily my own, nor do they represent medical advice.

Megan Nalamachu, it’s a privilege for me to publish your work. Thank you for your contribution.

Why Fentanyl Is So Deadly

According to Martha Bebinger of WBUR, “About 75 percent of the state’s men and women who died after an unintentional overdose last year had fentanyl in their system, up from 57 percent in 2015 (PDF). It’s a pattern cities and towns are seeing across the state [of Massachusetts] and country, particularly in New England and some Rust Belt states.”

This is Why DEA Action Continues Catch-22 of Marijuana Research

A 57-year-old firefighter with chronic neck and back pain left a comment on my blog to ask:

If they can send a man to the moon, why can’t they make a medication with no side effects that is not addictive and that can control pain?

My response is that we do have the ability, but not the will. To find safer, more effective analgesics, we first must prioritize the search, but have failed to set a national policy to do so. The search will take time and commitment, because psychoactive properties, which may prove harmful, have been difficult to isolate and eliminate from compounds that also have sufficient analgesic properties to relieve severe pain.

Solving the Opioid Crisis Won’t Be “Cheap, Quick, or Easy”

“Last Week Tonight” is a late-night television show that satirizes the news. Therefore, you probably wouldn’t expect the show’s host, John Oliver, to make the news. Yet he did (see Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Slate, and more) when he did a segment about the opioid crisis.

Using Humor to Discuss the Opioid Crisis

Oliver tackled a difficult topic. He used humor to discuss the controversy of opioids, addiction, and overdoses. Of course, Oliver is not a physician or a scientist, so fact-checkers might have expected to find errors in his broadcast. However, in my opinion, his content was largely accurate and, therefore, I believe that every American should see the video.

Will the Opioid Epidemic Ever End? A Closer Look

“Abuse of opioid painkillers and heroin has been spreading throughout the U.S. population, from inner-city youths, jobless rural residents and high school students to wealthy suburbanites, young professionals and pop stars,” according to Peter Katel‘s recent CQ article, “Opioid Crisis: Can recent reforms curb the epidemic?” He continues, “More adults use prescription painkillers than cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or cigars combined, according to a federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report released in September.”

Join me on reddit.com tomorrow

I will be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) tomorrow at 3 pm EST on Reddit.

Check out reddit.com/r/iama, and ask me a question.

Most Opioid Addictions Start In Teen Years: What you Need to Know

Ninety Percent of All Drug Addictions Start in the Teens

“Ninety percent of all drug addictions start in the teens — and 75 percent of prescription opioid misuse begins when (mainly young) people get pills from friends, family or dealers — not doctors. Opioids are rarely the first drug people misuse.”

This is an incredibly important idea, and I want to credit Maia Szalavitz for having the courage to state it in her recently published article, “What Science Says to Do If Your Loved One Has an Opioid Addiction.” (As an aside: Szalavitz is the author of the recently published book, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, which I hope you’ll consider adding to your reading list.)

Why You Need to Sign the White House Petition for National Pain Strategy

I’m pleased to say that I’ve signed the White House Petition that was recently launched by the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association (NFMCPA) with Consumer Pain Advocacy Task Force (CPATF). The petition asks the White House to implement and fund the National Pain Strategy (NPS) toward a better future for people with debilitating, life-altering chronic pain.

I ask you to consider signing the White House Petition as well.

What the Latest @NatCounterPunch Opioid Article Doesn’t Want You To Know

I was troubled to see a recent story in the online publication, Counterpunch. It starts off by declaring the root cause of the opioid crisis is Pharma’s contribution to professional societies for “educational” programs. Counterpunch reports that the funding was provided to advocate for “more aggressive identification and treatment of pain.” Ironically, the tag line to the online media site is “Tells Facts, Names and Names.”

So let me discuss some of the facts that the Counterpunch reporter omits:

Opioid Educational Programs

The reporter states that “20,000 pain-related ‘educational’ programs were sponsored by Purdue Pharma,” and that the company “launched a multifaceted campaign to encourage long-term use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain.”

This Is the Hazelton Betty Ford Institute’s Statement on Opioids

In a new press release posted by the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy, “The Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy commends new steps taken by the American Medical Association (AMA) to help combat the national opioid crisis, and encourages continued action in the year ahead.”

According to the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute, those new steps include removing pain as a vital sign. In other words, the AMA and Hazelden believe it is better not to try to quantitate pain assessment because doctors may feel they have to prescribe an opioid if the patient reports they are in significant pain. They contend that line of thinking has contributed to the opioid crisis.