A Nation Addicted to Pills by Lenny Lomax , MD & Orthopaedic Surgeon
Guest Feature
A Nation Addicted to Pills by Lenny Lomax , MD & Orthopaedic Surgeon
100 million Americans are dealing with chronic pain this includes patients , baby boomers , military veterans , current and retired professional athletes , weekend warriors , average American consumers etc . and treatment options to date have been insufficient from a safety and efficacy standpoint . Both prescription and over the counter ( OTC ) pain relievers have significant adverse side effects e . g . gastrointestinal bleeding , kidney , liver and cardiac disease including heart attacks ; overdose , addiction , and death . Furthermore , because of the addictive potential of these drugs , over-prescribing behaviors of physicians in the U . S . and aggressive pharmaceutical marketing , we are now in the midst of one of the worst epidemics in U . S . history , specifically an epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse , misuse , overdose and unintended death .
Approximately 78 people die each day from a prescription opioid related overdose . Prescription opioids are now involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined . To put this in context regarding the
severity of this epidemic , The U . S . makes up approximately 5 % of the world ’ s population and consumes 80 % of the world ’ s opioids . www . cdc . gov . Because of these concerns in February 2013 an FDA advisory panel recommended that drugs containing hydrocodone be moved from the more relaxed controls of Schedule III to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act . Hydrocodone , they say , is addictive , destructive and easy to access . Over the past decade , addiction and deaths tied to the drugs have soared . 1 NSAID ’ s like Motrin , Advil , Aleve etc . and other OTC pain relievers e . g . Tylenol are not much better , as they have many of the side effects mentioned above , and have also been linked to increased incidence of kidney and liver failure often requiring transplant . This has led to the FDA requiring stricter labeling requirements . A safer alternative is desperately needed .
These problems aren ’ t just isolated to the civilian population . “ The armed services have recognized the problem as a reflection of what also is playing out in civilian life as well .”
18 HimPower May 2016