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Drug Users With HIV at Much Higher Overdose Risk
Posted 16 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Dec. 16 – HIV-infected drug users are 74 percent more likely to have an overdose than those without HIV, a new evidence review finds. Behavioral and biological factors may be among the reasons for this increased risk, according to the Rhode Island Hospital researchers. Drug overdose is a frequent cause of non-AIDS death among people with HIV. The link between HIV infection and drug use is well documented, but the association between HIV and overdose has received less attention and was the focus of this study, which involved a review of 24 previous studies. "Over the past 30 years, we have made impressive strides in caring for and prolonging the lives of people with HIV. Our study found that premature death by overdose is an issue that affects people with HIV disproportionately," study leader Traci Green, a researcher with Rhode Island Hospital and the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown ... Read more
Related support groups: HIV Infection, Opioid Overdose
Prescription Pill Overdoses Have Reached Epidemic Proportions Warns Waismann Method Medical Director
Posted 7 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that in 2008 approximately 15,000 Americans died from overdoses from prescription painkillers, like Vicodin, Oxycontin and Opana. These findings show a three-fold increase over the past decade, from 4,000 deaths in 1999. Dr. Michael Lowenstein, who specializes in the Waismann Method, an advanced procedure for rapid opiate detoxification, warns that these results show an upward progression of prescription painkiller abuse in the United States, and it will only get exponentially worse if there are not drastic steps taken to monitor and regulate the distribution of prescription pills. "These statistics show that prescription painkiller abuse in America has continued to rise to dangerous levels," said Dr. Lowenstein. "The danger of prescription pills a ... Read more
Related support groups: Oxycodone, OxyContin, Vicodin, Norco, Lortab, Opana, Roxicodone, Opana ER, Oxymorphone, Lorcet 10/650, Acetaminophen/Hydrocodone, Vicodin ES, Anexsia, Vicodin HP, Lorcet Plus
Rise in Drug-Related Suicide Attempts by Young Men Alarms Experts
Posted 20 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, June 17 – U.S. emergency department visits for drug-related suicide attempts by young adult males rose 55 percent between 2005 and 2009, a government report says. "The misuse of prescription drugs is clearly helping to fuel the problem," said Pamela S. Hyde, head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which published the report. In 2009, men aged 21 to 34 made more than 29,000 emergency room visits for medication-related suicide attempts compared to just over 19,000 visits in 2005, SAMHSA noted. Drug-related suicide attempts by males of all ages accounted for almost 78,000 emergency department visits nationwide in 2009. "While we have learned much about how to prevent suicide, it continues to be a leading cause of death among people who abuse alcohol and drugs," Hyde said in an agency news release. ER visits for drug-related suicide attempts ... Read more
Related support groups: Opioid Overdose, Benzodiazepine Overdose
Tougher-to-Abuse Form of OxyContin Approved
Posted 6 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 6 – A reformulated version of the often-abused painkiller OxyContin has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency said in a news release. OxyContin contains the powerful opioid oxycodone. Since it's designed to be released slowly over 24 hours, each tablet contains "a large quantity" of the drug, allowing users to take fewer tablets less often, the agency said. The new formulation is designed to prevent tablets from being cut, broken, chewed or dissolved. About 500,000 people used OxyContin for non-medical reasons for the first time in 2008, the FDA said, citing statistics from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The drug's manufacturer, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, is required as a condition of approval to study whether the new formulation reduces abuse. More information The U.S. Drug Enforcement ... Read more
Related support groups: OxyContin, Opioid Overdose
Prescription Drug Abuse Sending More to Hospitals
Posted 6 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 6 – Hospitalizations caused by accidental and intentional abuse of prescription sedatives, tranquilizers and other painkilling drugs has risen dramatically over the last decade, new research reveals. Hospital stays from an unintentional overdose of opioids (such as Vicodin and Percocet) and sedatives (such as Valium and Ativan) jumped 37 percent between 1999 and 2006, the study found. Intentional overdoses of these drugs skyrocketed by 130 percent in that time. "We're seeing a tremendous increase in serious overdoses associated with the use of prescription drugs," said the study's lead author, Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben, director of the Injury Control Research Center at the West Virginia University School of Medicine and a professor of emergency and community medicine. "And while I know that people have seen headlines on Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith, ... Read more
Related support groups: Pain, Anxiety, Percocet, Vicodin, Valium, Ativan, Percocet 10/325, Vicodin ES, Vicodin HP, Percocet 5/325, Opioid Overdose, Percocet 7.5/325, Percocet 10/650, Percocet 7.5/500, Percocet 2.5/325
Oxycodone Linked to Rise in Opioid-Related Deaths
Posted 9 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 – In the Canadian province of Ontario, painkiller abuse appears to have boosted the number of deaths from the drug known as oxycodone. A new study finds that deaths from the use of opioids have doubled since 1991, and the research links greater use of the painkiller oxycodone, also known as OxyContin, to a fivefold increase in deaths related to the drug. Most of the deaths were accidental. In the study, published in the Dec. 8 issue of CMAJ, Dr. Irfan Dhalla of the department of medicine at the University of Toronto and colleagues analyzed prescription records from 1991 to 2007 from an agency that tracks information from about two-thirds of Canadian pharmacies. They also looked at coroner death records between 1991 and 2004. The researchers found that prescriptions for opioid painkillers grew by 29 percent; codeine was prescribed the most, although the total number of ... Read more
Related support groups: Oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet, Roxicodone, Endocet, Roxicet, Percocet 10/325, Acetaminophen/Oxycodone, Percocet 5/325, Tylox, OxyIR, Percodan, Opioid Overdose, Oxyfast, Percocet 10/650
Painkillers Linked to Increase in Overdose Deaths
Posted 9 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 9 – Deaths from overdoses of prescription drugs, primarily pain relievers, appear to be on the rise throughout the United States, new research suggests. West Virginia, in particular, has seen a large increase in such unintentional deaths, say government researchers, who have uncovered patterns of "doctor shopping" for drugs and overdosing on medications not used as prescribed. "We found that two-thirds of these deaths involved prescription drugs that had not been prescribed to the individuals who died," said the lead researcher, Dr. Aron J. Hall, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, one in five had "doctor shopped," looking for physicians to prescribe pain medications, particularly opioids like methadone, hydrocodone and oxycodone, Hall said. "This epidemic of prescription drug overdose involves a ... Read more
Related support groups: Diskets, Opioid Overdose