Keeping Hope Alive
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
16h ago
By Mia Maysack, PNN Columnist In 2022, I was fortunate enough to receive the International Pain Foundation's “Hero of Hope”' award for patient advocacy. I felt and still feel remarkably honored for the recognition, although I am not motivated by any accolade or prestige. I fight for those who can't. I use my voice so others can be heard. As a patient advocate, I’ve learned the absolute most important thing that I can do is rescue myself – repeatedly. If I don't make it and I'm no longer here, what good can I do or offer to anybody else? Recently, I've struggled immensely. There have ..read more
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A Third of Independent Pharmacies May Close
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
3d ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor These are tough times for many retail pharmacies and their customers. Big chain pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid are closing over 1,500 stores, as they grapple with declining sales, higher debt, drug shortages, fallout from opioid litigation, and an overworked, demoralized workforce. For many patients who had trouble getting their prescriptions filled for opioids and other controlled substances, small independent pharmacies became a welcome refuge from the big chains. “I'm fortunate to have a compassionate, independent pharmacy that bends over backwards to e ..read more
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Naltrexone Shortage Disrupts Addiction Treatment
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
5d ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor An inexpensive drug used to manage chronic pain and treat substance use disorders has joined the growing list of medications that are in short supply in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) both recently added naltrexone tablets to their drug shortage lists. It’s not clear what caused the shortage, but the ASHP says “there is insufficient supply for usual ordering.”   Naltrexone is FDA-approved to treat both alcohol and opioid use disorder, and is also used off-label in low doses to t ..read more
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Can Two Questions Identify ‘High Risk’ Pain Patients?
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
1w ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor Have you ever felt your pain is terrible and it's never going to get any better? Have you ever used an illegal drug or prescription medication for non-medical reasons? If you answered yes to both questions, you’d be considered at high risk of a “poor pain outcome” at Duke University’s Health System. You’d also be invited into a specialized pain management program that takes a more holistic approach to pain treatment. Duke’s Integrated Pain and Wellness (IPW) Program was launched in 2019 to identify pain patients at high risk of long-term opioid use, which can result in ..read more
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How Toxic Stress Often Leads to Chronic Illness
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
1w ago
By Dr. Lawson Wulsin   COVID-19 taught most people that the line between tolerable and toxic stress – defined as persistent demands that lead to disease – varies widely. But some people will age faster and die younger from toxic stressors than others. So how much stress is too much, and what can you do about it? I’m a psychiatrist specializing in psychosomatic medicine, which is the study and treatment of people who have physical and mental illnesses. My research is focused on people who have psychological conditions and medical illnesses as well as those whose stress exacerbates their he ..read more
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Experts Say CGRP Drugs Are First-Line Therapies for Migraine Prevention
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
1w ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor Medications that block calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRPs) are “equal to or greater” than other migraine prevention drugs and should be considered first-line therapies, according to a new guideline from the American Headache Society (AHS). It’s the first time the organization has endorsed CGRP inhibitors for migraine prevention, despite their high cost and limited availability due to insurance requirements. Many insurers have step-therapy policies that require patients to start with first-line treatments before trying other drugs. "Moving CGRP-targeting therapies ..read more
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A Case Study in the Undertreatment of Surgical Pain
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
1w ago
By Dr. Stefan Franzen “Patient Z” is a close family member who has an incurable form of arthritis known as ankylosing spondylitis. His back is partially fused and his large joints are so damaged that they all need replacement. Each step he takes, even with a walker using his arms as the main support, is exceedingly painful. Just getting into a car to go to a doctor’s office is excruciating. Several years ago, Patient Z went through an opioid rotation from morphine/oxycodone to buprenorphine. This was a forced choice. His pain clinic told him that they would make a final push to taper him to a ..read more
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New Imaging Allows Doctors to Watch Spinal Cord During Surgery
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
2w ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor A new type of imaging technology could improve the effectiveness of spinal surgeries by allowing doctors to view high resolution images of the spinal cord during surgery. The technology, known as fUSI or functional ultrasound imaging, is currently used to track neural activity in the brain. Researchers at the University of California Riverside (UCR) and University of Southern California say fUSI could also be used during back surgery to help doctors “see” the spinal cord in real time and how it responds to electrical stimulation. That could improve the success rate of ..read more
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Oregon Medical Board Has ‘No Limits’ on Prescription Opioids
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
2w ago
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The Oregon Medical Board has come full circle in its regulation and enforcement of pain management guidelines. After years of taking disciplinary action against doctors for prescribing high dose opioids without a “legitimate medical purpose,” the board has acknowledged that its policies had a chilling effect on doctors who no longer felt safe treating chronic pain with opioids. “The Board is well aware some number of clinicians have shied away from long-term pain management in part or in whole for fear of Board sanctions. We wish it weren’t so, and the Board is hopeful ..read more
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Many Covid Patients Can’t Afford Paxlovid
Pain News Network
by Pain News Network
2w ago
By Arthur Allen, KFF Health News Evangelical minister Eddie Hyatt believes in the healing power of prayer but “also the medical approach.” So on a February evening a week before scheduled prostate surgery, he had his sore throat checked out at an emergency room near his home in Grapevine, Texas. A doctor confirmed that Hyatt had covid-19 and sent him to CVS with a prescription for the antiviral drug Paxlovid, the generally recommended medicine to fight covid. Hyatt handed the pharmacist the script, but then, he said, “She kept avoiding me.” She finally looked up from her computer and said, “It ..read more
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