A Text Message in the Middle of the night. Do you give thrombolytics?
I awoke in the morning and discovered a text with this ECG that was sent 6 hours prior by a former resident:" 60 year old with classic chest pain. The cath lab is occupied for the next 90 minutes. Cards says " not a STEMI " . Thinking of giving lytics. "What do you think?What do you do?I texted back: " Sorry for delay! Was sleeping. This is OMI!! Did you give lytics? Proximal LAD. Great catch! "There is 0.5 mm of ST Elevation in V3-V6. The T-wave in V4 is far too large for the QRS. The LAD occlusion formula would be very high due to the extremely small R-wave in V...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - July 16, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Senators Manchin and Braun Are Attempting to Practice Medicine Without a License —And Fighting the Wrong War
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mike Braun (R-IN) are still trying to address the fentanyl and heroin overdose crisis —soon to be joined by a methamphetamine and cocaine overdose crisis—by denying chronic pain patients access to pain relief. They have just introduced a bill they call The FDA Opioid Labeling Accuracy Act, which would “prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from allowing opioids to be labeled for intended use of ‘around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment’ until a study can be completed on the long-term use of opioids.”Set aside the fact that most pain specialists agree that, in some...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 12, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
New Evidence From British Columbia Provides a Strong Case for Harm Reduction Strategies
A study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction by researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use found that harm reduction strategies were responsible for the province ’s opioid-related overdose death rate being less than half of what it otherwise would have been between April 2016 and December 2017.The researchers noted that 77 percent of opioid-related overdose deaths during that time frame involved illicit fentanyl. Vancouver has long been a major port of entry for fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, produced in China and other parts o...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 8, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
When Police Officers Are On the Job … and On Drugs
A police officer who is using opioids illegally is breaking the very laws that he or she has sworn to uphold. This makes it even more difficult to reach out and get help for an addiction that may be spinning out of control.
No one ever said being a police officer was easy. The job alternates between crushing boredom, bizarre situations, and unimaginable danger.
When you’re a cop, much of the population that you’re paid to protect is afraid of you. You’re always being judged, whether it’s in the media or when you go to the corner store. Your hours are usually pretty awful, which means you don’t get to spend as muc...
Source: World of Psychology - July 6, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Guest Author Tags: Addiction Publishers The Fix Drugs Law Enforcement opiods Police Officers Source Type: blogs
Alcohol: Is It The Gateway Drug?
The Gateway Drug Theory
According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, The Gateway Drug Theory suggests that licit drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, serve as a “gateway” toward the use of other, illicit drugs. Many people usually correlate this theory with prescription medication becoming a gateway to other dangerous opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, but there is some research to suggest that alcohol can be a gateway drug as well.
Some of the many gateway drugs include:
Alcohol
Marijuana
Prescription medication
Tobacco
How is Alcohol a Gateway Drug?
Alcohol is legal and ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - July 2, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Alcohol alcohol abuse alcohol treatment alcohol treatment center alcoholism gateway drug Source Type: blogs
CDC Provisional Drug Death Numbers Show Slight Improvement. Credit Harm Reduction.
Provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest the annual overdose death rate may be levelling off or even slightly declining. The data predict a drop in the death rate to 69,096 for the 12-month period ending November 2018, down from 72,300 predicted deaths for the 12-month period that ended November 2017. These provisional findings represent a 4.4 percent drop in the national overdose rate. The drug overdose death numbers include deaths due to natural and semi-synthetic opioids, synthetic opioids other than methadone (fentanyl and its analogs), methadone, methamphetamines and ot...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 26, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
The War on Meth Is Back. Big Time
Today ’s Seattle Times reports on the surge in methamphetamine-related deaths, noting there are more meth-related deaths than at the height of the last “meth wave” in the early 2000s. The era of the American meth lab is over a decade gone, yet pure, cheap meth is back and bigger than ever in Western Washington. When Seattle residents point to needles proliferating on sidewalks, they usually say heroin ’s to blame; however, a bigger proportion of those needles in recent years is actually from people injecting meth, according to King County syringe exchange surveys.Death rates in King County have increased four-...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 18, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
China's Ban on Fentanyl Drugs Won't Likely Stem America's Opioid Crisis
Given China ' s recent decision to ban the unauthorized manufacture of fentanyl, authorities there appear to recognize a growing problem. But China cannot solve the U.S. opioid problem. The United States could do more to reduce demand for opioids as well as drug users ' exposure to these powerful drugs. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - May 21, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Bryce Pardo; Beau Kilmer Source Type: blogs
The Coming " Stimulant Crisis? "
Earlier this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), reported that from 2015-2016 deaths from cocaine and psychostimulants (such as methamphetamine, Ritalin, dextroamphetamine) increased 52.4 percent and 33.3 percent respectively. In 2017, the CDC reported a total overdose rate of 70,237, and cocaine was involved in 19.8 percent of those deaths while other psychostimulants were involved in 14.7 percent. Opioids, primarily synthetic (fentanyl and fentanyl analogs), were found in 72.7 percent of the cocaine deaths and 50.4 percent of the other psychos...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 21, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Why is Heroin Disappearing?
You might think the correct answer is “fentanyl,” as thispiece in the New York Times suggests. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid roughly 50 times stronger than heroin.That answer, however, is incomplete.For legal goods, more and less potent versions co-exist, and consumers choose the potency level that suits their preferences (e.g., wine coolers versus whiskey).Likewise, for legal goods, expensive and inexpensive versions co-exist, but at different prices (e.g., Two Buck Chuck versus Chateau Blah-Blah-Blah 1886).And, for legal goods, people rarely overdose on even the most potent versions, because they have accurate in...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 18, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey Miron Source Type: blogs
Options to Opioids: How to Manage Chronic Pain Without Prescribing Pain-Killers
You're reading Options to Opioids: How to Manage Chronic Pain Without Prescribing Pain-Killers, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
While there is considerable debate as to how much blame doctors should be assigned for the ongoing opioid crisis, there is little doubt they can do something to curtail it -- that instead of prescribing drugs that have been found to be highly addictive they can resort to alternate forms of pain management.
Doctors’ prescription of powerful painkillers like OxyContin is frequentl...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - May 14, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: DrStanleyMatthew Tags: health and fitness addiction health and wellness opioids self improvement Source Type: blogs
What are the Different Drugs Used for Heroin and Opioid Detox?
Understanding Heroin and Opioid Detox
When someone is struggling with addiction to heroin or opioids, it can be almost impossible to quit cold turkey. This is due to unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, as well as intense drug cravings. When someone quits cold turkey, they will have to experience all these debilitating withdrawal symptoms and manage strong cravings on their own. This is extremely hard to do without the assistance of medication during heroin and opioid detox.
According to Medline, about 948,000 people used heroin during the past year. In the same year, about 11.5 million people were nonmedical users of narcotic ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - May 7, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Painkiller Substance Abuse drug detox heroin heroin addiction heroin users luxury heroin rehab medical medical det Source Type: blogs
Fentanyl as a WMD? The War on Opioids Reaches a New Level of Misinformation
“This is like declaring ‘ecstasy’ as a WMD,” an anonymous source from the Department of Defense counter-WMD community commented incredulously. This source was quoted by a Task and Purpose reporter investigating a Department of Homeland Security internal memo discussing designating the synthetic opioid fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. This is just the latest example of how misinformation and hysteria inform federal and state policy regarding the overdose crisis. Policy makers maintain their state of denial about the role of prohibition in the overdose crisis. Denial fosters vulnerability to misinfo...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 17, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
They Still Call It An " Opioid Epidemic. " Why's That?
TheCleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that, while overdose deaths have come down slightly over the past year in the Cleveland metropolitan region, a new killer has emerged on the scene: cocaine mixed with fentanyl.The Cuyahoga County Coroner ’s Office informs the public that cocaine was involved in 45 percent of overdose deaths last year, the highest rate in ten years. It reports that cocaine is being found in combination with fentanyl with increasing frequency, and it is believed that many cocaine users are either unaware of the pres ence of fentanyl or, if they are, they are uncertain as to the amount that is ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 9, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs
Fentanyl, How Bad Is It?
How Bad Is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic opioid. Unlike some other opioids that occur naturally, it is man-made for the purpose of helping aid people suffering from extreme pain. It can be administered for recovery after surgery, during cancer treatments or for recovery after a painful injury. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies fentanyl as a Schedule II controlled substance. This means that it is legal for medical use, however, it has an extremely high potential for abuse and addiction.
Understanding Fentanyl
Significantly stronger than morphine or oxycodone, Fentanyl can be fatal...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - April 2, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction to Pharmaceuticals Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Heroin Painkiller Substance Abuse Synthetic fentanyl prescription drug abuse prescription drug addiction prescription drug detox prescription drug use p Source Type: blogs
