Opioid vs Opiate - What's the difference between them?
The difference between opioid and opiate is that opioid is a broad term used to describe any type of substance, either natural or man-made (synthetic) that binds to opioid receptors in the brain (these control pain, pleasurable, and addictive behaviors). Opioids include natural substances, such as codeine, morphine, and heroin; synthetic substances such as fentanyl and methadone; and semi-synthetic substances such as hydrocodone (Vicodin) and oxycodone (Oxycontin).
The word opiate refers to natural substances that can be extracted from the flowering opium poppy plant, such as heroin, morphine, and codeine. All opiates are opioids, but not all opioids are opiates. It is also important to note that just because opiates are natural, this does not mean that they are less harmful. Opiates are also highly addictive and are frequently misused.
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Naproxen vs ibuprofen: What's the difference?
Ibuprofen is short acting, while naproxen is long acting and more likely to cause an upset stomach. Naproxen also increases the risk of uncontrolled bleeding in people taking blood thinners by 4-fold, and ibuprofen increases the risk 2-fold. Naproxen and ibuprofen are both NSAIDs so they are similar in many ways, but there are important differences. Continue reading
What is low dose naltrexone (LDN)?
Low dose naltrexone means taking a dose of naltrexone that is up to one-tenth, or 10%, of the dose that is usually taken for opioid addiction. A low dose of naltrexone is approximately 4.5mg of naltrexone a day compared with the usual dosage of naltrexone for opioid addiction which is 50mg to 100mg a day. Continue reading
Can you take ibuprofen on an empty stomach?
Despite popular belief that you have to take ibuprofen with food, you can take ibuprofen on an empty stomach and this will give you faster pain relief than taking it with food. Food increases the time it takes for ibuprofen to be absorbed, although it won't affect how much is absorbed. There is actually no evidence that taking ibuprofen with food prevents gastric irritation – ibuprofen at OTC doses has a low incidence of gastric irritation anyway. Continue reading
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