![]() ![]() "But we do know that the higher the dose of the drug and the longer you take it, the greater your risk." ![]() "What concerns me is that there is no clear evidence that people who take opioids over the long term can do more or get around more easily," said Gary Franklin, M.D., research professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at University of Washington in Seattle. Very few studies have compared opioids to safer options for relieving pain, such as OTC drugs or even nondrug measures. ![]() Most of the research involves lower-risk patients who used the drugs for just a few weeks. Truth is, there's limited evidence that opioids help or are safe when used long term. For example, in a 2010 study of more than 1,000 people suffering chronic pain, mostly commonly leg and back pain, most of those taking opioids reported that they still suffered moderate-to-severe pain that interfered with their everyday activities. Unfortunately, most probably don't find much relief. Still, an estimated 90 percent of people with chronic pain are prescribed opioids. But for longer-term pain from, for example, arthritis, lower- back pain, or nerve pain, research suggests that other medications and even nondrug treatments often provide relief with less risk. They can also help with pain associated with terminal or very serious illnesses, such as cancer. Opioid drugs work very well to alleviate severe short-term pain due to, say, surgery or a broken bone. And even when an opioid painkiller makes sense, choosing the right form and understanding how to safely take it are key to avoiding serious side effects. While opioids are very effective at relieving some types of pain, many people wind up taking them in situations where they don't work well and are not as safe. Still, it's not enough to stop people from inadvertently misusing these drugs. But those steps should help curb intentional abuse as well as encourage physicians to monitor long-term users more closely. The new rules would mean less convenience for consumers: they would need to take written prescriptions to the pharmacy, rather than having their doctor phone them in, and they could not get refills without a new prescription. In response, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently proposed tighter controls on drugs that contain hydrocodone, including popular prescription cough and pain drugs. In fact, Vicodin and other hydrocodone-combination painkillers are the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. Prescriptions for the drugs have climbed 300 percent in the last decade or so. Why so many? Partly because more people than ever are taking opioids. And for every death, more than 30 others are admitted to the emergency room. About 45 people a day, more than 16,600 people a year, die from overdoses of the drugs, including methadone, morphine, and oxycodone (Ox圜ontin) and hydrocodone combined with acetaminophen (Lortab and Vicodin). America is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. ![]()
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