How Can I Get Off These Bloody Pain Medications?
A recent publication by Health and Human Services (HSS) reports that opioid prescriptions in the US peaked at 255 million in 2012 and decreased to 191 million in 2017. Prescribers—and the rest of the world—have become well aware of the unanticipated...
My Patient’s Most Shameful Secret
One of the most troubling aspects of my job as a medical addiction professional reared its head last week as I entered the exam room for a follow-up visit with Gordon.* Gordon has had a very successful career in banking. He is the 64-year old divorced father of three...
Help Me, Please! My Doctor Won’t Stop Prescribing Pain Medication
This was the call I received from a woman who was desperate to get off her opioid pain medication. To protect her privacy, her name has been changed for the purpose of this post. Janine is a 52-year-old woman who had her first surgery in her late twenties for a...
A Moral Failing Or A Brain That Needs Healing?
For those of you interested in learning more about how addiction specifically affects the brain, I encourage you to watch Dr. Kevin McCauley’s movies and YouTube presentations. Dr. McCauley was an Air Force surgeon who became addicted to pain medications after he went...
