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Take These Steps Before You Visit a New Doctor
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Definitions Related to the Use of Opioids for the Treatment of Pain
An agreement document from the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine
Varying use of the terms addiction, dependence and tolerance, often results in misunderstandings between regulators, health care providers, patients and the general public, regarding the use of medications for the treatment of pain. Because of these misunderstandings, pain is often under-treated and individuals may be branded because of their use of opioids for medical purposes.
The Liaison Committee on Pain and Addiction (CPA) has developed definitions related to the use of medications for the treatment of pain that are consistent with current understanding of related biology of the nervous system, the study of drugs and suitable clinical practice. The ultimate goal of this project is to achieve acceptance and use of uniform definitions by clinicians, regulators and the public, both nationally and internationally, in order to promote suitable treatment of pain throughout the world. The definitions have been approved by each of the three collaborating organizations.
The Liaison Committee on Pain and Addiction is a collaborative effort of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The committee members included Seddon Savage, MD, Chair; Edward C. Covington, MD; Howard A. Heit, MD; John Hunt, MD; David Joranson, MSSW; and Sidney H. Schnoll, MD PhD. To read the rest of this article, Please go to this link http://www.ampainsoc.org
Varying use of the terms addiction, dependence and tolerance, often results in misunderstandings between regulators, health care providers, patients and the general public, regarding the use of medications for the treatment of pain. Because of these misunderstandings, pain is often under-treated and individuals may be branded because of their use of opioids for medical purposes.
The Liaison Committee on Pain and Addiction (CPA) has developed definitions related to the use of medications for the treatment of pain that are consistent with current understanding of related biology of the nervous system, the study of drugs and suitable clinical practice. The ultimate goal of this project is to achieve acceptance and use of uniform definitions by clinicians, regulators and the public, both nationally and internationally, in order to promote suitable treatment of pain throughout the world. The definitions have been approved by each of the three collaborating organizations.
The Liaison Committee on Pain and Addiction is a collaborative effort of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The committee members included Seddon Savage, MD, Chair; Edward C. Covington, MD; Howard A. Heit, MD; John Hunt, MD; David Joranson, MSSW; and Sidney H. Schnoll, MD PhD. To read the rest of this article, Please go to this link http://www.ampainsoc.org
Opioids: Addiction vs. Dependence
ChronicPainConnection.com
See all of our health sites at http://www.HealthCentral.com
by Karen Lee Richards, ChronicPainConnection Expert
One of the greatest obstacles chronic pain patients face in their quest for adequate pain relief is the widespread misunderstanding of the difference between physical dependence on a drug and addiction. Many patients, the general public, and sadly even some physicians fear that anyone taking opioid medications on a long-term basis will become addicted. As a result, pain patients are often labeled as “drug seekers” and stigmatized for their use of opioid medications. Worst of all, their pain frequently remains under-treated.
Read more: http://www.ChronicPainConnection.com
My reason for adding these articles on Opioid is that I was accused of being an addict because I took Tramadol for my arthritis and fibromyalgia pain. A local rehab center had told someone I know that I was an addict and that hanging out with me would not help him in his recovery. So please understand that I know everyone has their opinions when it comes to what is considered addictive and what is not. There are many who are experts in the field of addiction that say that the rehab center is right and we who suffer from pain day in and day out, taking medication for our pain so that we can experience some sort of normalcy, are wrong. Unless you have experienced the levels of pain we experience, it's my opinion, that we are not addicts. We depend on our medications for some normalcy, so we can carry out our daily activities like vacuuming, doing dishes, doing laundry. Thant's all.
See all of our health sites at http://www.HealthCentral.com
by Karen Lee Richards, ChronicPainConnection Expert
One of the greatest obstacles chronic pain patients face in their quest for adequate pain relief is the widespread misunderstanding of the difference between physical dependence on a drug and addiction. Many patients, the general public, and sadly even some physicians fear that anyone taking opioid medications on a long-term basis will become addicted. As a result, pain patients are often labeled as “drug seekers” and stigmatized for their use of opioid medications. Worst of all, their pain frequently remains under-treated.
Read more: http://www.ChronicPainConnection.com
My reason for adding these articles on Opioid is that I was accused of being an addict because I took Tramadol for my arthritis and fibromyalgia pain. A local rehab center had told someone I know that I was an addict and that hanging out with me would not help him in his recovery. So please understand that I know everyone has their opinions when it comes to what is considered addictive and what is not. There are many who are experts in the field of addiction that say that the rehab center is right and we who suffer from pain day in and day out, taking medication for our pain so that we can experience some sort of normalcy, are wrong. Unless you have experienced the levels of pain we experience, it's my opinion, that we are not addicts. We depend on our medications for some normalcy, so we can carry out our daily activities like vacuuming, doing dishes, doing laundry. Thant's all.
Fish oil supplements prevent mental illness; safe and effective alternative to antipsychotic drugs
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) An important new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry reveals that fish oil supplements beat mental illness. The study involved 81 people deemed to be at high risk for psychosis. The randomized, placebo-controlled study provided fish oil supplements to half the study subjects for just 12 weeks (the other half received placebo supplements). The results? While 11 people in the placebo group developed a psychotic disorder, only 2 in the fish oil group did.
Although the study was relatively small, it helps demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to be the key nutritional factor in fish oils. We already know that omega-3 fatty acids / polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) help protect people against cardiovascular disease. We also know they can play a role in preventing diabetes and cancer. It's little surprise that they also protect against mental illness, given the importance of healthy fatty acids for the functioning of the nervous system.
As the BBC reports, Alison Cobb, from the mental health charity Mind, said in response to this study: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health."
She's exactly right: Antipsychotic drugs actually cause diabetes. They promote blood sugar disorders and weight gain, among other problems. Some psychiatric drugs have also been linked to school shootings and violent outbursts (suicides, murders, etc.). They're also expensive and they pose an environmental hazard, since many of the chemicals used in those drugs pass right through the body and end up in waters downstream.
Fish oils have none of these negative side effects. In fact, they have positive effects throughout the body. That's why fish oils are such a remarkable solution to replace antipsychotic drugs: They're safer, cheaper and they work better!
You're supposed to keep taking drugs, says Big Pharma
The drug companies, of course, are terrified that people might learn this truth. They want to keep patients on expensive, patented antipsychotic drugs while discrediting "natural remedies" like fish oils or nutritional supplements. The entire war being waged against nutrition and supplements is, of course, nothing more than the pharmaceutical industry trying to protect its own turf by destroying the competition.
Because, let's face it: For (virtually) every popular pharmaceutical on the market, there's a nutritional supplement that works better (and that's also safer and more affordable). Antipsychotic drugs can be replaced with fish oils. Cholesterol drugs can be replaced with B vitamins. Anti-cancer drugs can be replaced with vitamin D and medicinal mushrooms. Diabetes drugs can be replaced with a healthy plant-based diet and targeted supplements. The list goes on and on...
Nutrition works so well that in this study, subjects experienced a protective effect from fish oils for an entire year even though they only took those fish oils for 12 weeks! Imagine how much better the outcome might have been if they continued on the fish oils for the entire year...
Get quality fish oils
Of course, when it comes to fish oils, don't settle for just any cheap fish oil supplement. Many of the cheaper store-bought brands are largely made of olive oil filler combined with a tiny amount of fish oil extract. Search out quality supplements or oils from companies like Moxxor, Nordic Naturals or Carlson Labs.
Make sure your supplements are free from heavy metals, pesticides and other residues. Make sure they are harvested in a truly sustainable way, and make sure you can trust the source to provide consistent quality.
Fish oils can provide astonishing health benefits. If the medical industry were truly honest about researching what works for patients rather than what makes money for drug companies, they would have openly prescribed fish oils long ago (and abandoned many of the antipsychotic drugs they still push).
But as you already know, the pharmaceutical industry isn't interested in what works for people unless it's something they can sell at monopoly prices. They don't want people to know about natural remedies, nutritional cures or healing foods. They would much rather see people stay ignorant about those things while pumping their minds full of advertisements and propaganda that ridiculously suggests the human brain is somehow deficient in Big Pharma's patented chemicals and that the only way you'll ever be truly healthy, happy or sane is to keep swallowing their pills for the rest of your life.
The real insanity in the world is not in the minds of mental patients; it's in the evil plans of the FDA, the WHO and the pharmaceutical cartel -- all of whom conspire to peddle dangerous medications when far safer, more natural and more effective alternatives are readily available.
Abstract of study from the Archives of General Psychiatry
Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/co...
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
G. Paul Amminger, MD; Miriam R. Schäfer, MD; Konstantinos Papageorgiou, MD; Claudia M. Klier, MD; Sue M. Cotton, PhD; Susan M. Harrigan, MSc; Andrew Mackinnon, PhD; Patrick D. McGorry, MD, PhD; Gregor E. Berger, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(2):146-154.
Context: The use of antipsychotic medication for the prevention of psychotic disorders is controversial. Long-chain omega-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be beneficial in a range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Given that omega-3 PUFAs are generally beneficial to health and without clinically relevant adverse effects, their preventive use in psychosis merits investigation.
Objective: To determine whether omega-3 PUFAs reduce the rate of progression to first-episode psychotic disorder in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years with subthreshold psychosis.
Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between 2004 and 2007.
Setting: Psychosis detection unit of a large public hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Participants: Eighty-one individuals at ultra-high risk of psychotic disorder.
Interventions: A 12-week intervention period of 1.2-g/d omega-3 PUFA or placebo was followed by a 40-week monitoring period; the total study period was 12 months.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was transition to psychotic disorder. Secondary outcomes included symptomatic and functional changes. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes was used to index pretreatment vs posttreatment fatty acid composition.
Results: Seventy-six of 81 participants (93.8%) completed the intervention. By study's end (12 months), 2 of 41 individuals (4.9%) in the omega-3 group and 11 of 40 (27.5%) in the placebo group had transitioned to psychotic disorder (P = .007). The difference between the groups in the cumulative risk of progression to full-threshold psychosis was 22.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.8-40.4). Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids also significantly reduced positive symptoms (P = .01), negative symptoms (P = .02), and general symptoms (P = .01) and improved functioning (P = .002) compared with placebo. The incidence of adverse effects did not differ between the treatment groups.
Conclusions: Long-chain omega-3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00396643
Author Affiliations: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (Drs Amminger, Schäfer, Papageorgiou, and Klier); Orygen Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (Drs Amminger, Cotton, Mackinnon, and McGorry and Ms Harrigan); and Department of Research and Education, The Schlössli Clinic, Oetwil am See, Switzerland (Dr Berger).
Other sources for this story include:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8...
WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...
(NaturalNews) An important new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry reveals that fish oil supplements beat mental illness. The study involved 81 people deemed to be at high risk for psychosis. The randomized, placebo-controlled study provided fish oil supplements to half the study subjects for just 12 weeks (the other half received placebo supplements). The results? While 11 people in the placebo group developed a psychotic disorder, only 2 in the fish oil group did.
Although the study was relatively small, it helps demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to be the key nutritional factor in fish oils. We already know that omega-3 fatty acids / polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) help protect people against cardiovascular disease. We also know they can play a role in preventing diabetes and cancer. It's little surprise that they also protect against mental illness, given the importance of healthy fatty acids for the functioning of the nervous system.
As the BBC reports, Alison Cobb, from the mental health charity Mind, said in response to this study: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health."
She's exactly right: Antipsychotic drugs actually cause diabetes. They promote blood sugar disorders and weight gain, among other problems. Some psychiatric drugs have also been linked to school shootings and violent outbursts (suicides, murders, etc.). They're also expensive and they pose an environmental hazard, since many of the chemicals used in those drugs pass right through the body and end up in waters downstream.
Fish oils have none of these negative side effects. In fact, they have positive effects throughout the body. That's why fish oils are such a remarkable solution to replace antipsychotic drugs: They're safer, cheaper and they work better!
You're supposed to keep taking drugs, says Big Pharma
The drug companies, of course, are terrified that people might learn this truth. They want to keep patients on expensive, patented antipsychotic drugs while discrediting "natural remedies" like fish oils or nutritional supplements. The entire war being waged against nutrition and supplements is, of course, nothing more than the pharmaceutical industry trying to protect its own turf by destroying the competition.
Because, let's face it: For (virtually) every popular pharmaceutical on the market, there's a nutritional supplement that works better (and that's also safer and more affordable). Antipsychotic drugs can be replaced with fish oils. Cholesterol drugs can be replaced with B vitamins. Anti-cancer drugs can be replaced with vitamin D and medicinal mushrooms. Diabetes drugs can be replaced with a healthy plant-based diet and targeted supplements. The list goes on and on...
Nutrition works so well that in this study, subjects experienced a protective effect from fish oils for an entire year even though they only took those fish oils for 12 weeks! Imagine how much better the outcome might have been if they continued on the fish oils for the entire year...
Get quality fish oils
Of course, when it comes to fish oils, don't settle for just any cheap fish oil supplement. Many of the cheaper store-bought brands are largely made of olive oil filler combined with a tiny amount of fish oil extract. Search out quality supplements or oils from companies like Moxxor, Nordic Naturals or Carlson Labs.
Make sure your supplements are free from heavy metals, pesticides and other residues. Make sure they are harvested in a truly sustainable way, and make sure you can trust the source to provide consistent quality.
Fish oils can provide astonishing health benefits. If the medical industry were truly honest about researching what works for patients rather than what makes money for drug companies, they would have openly prescribed fish oils long ago (and abandoned many of the antipsychotic drugs they still push).
But as you already know, the pharmaceutical industry isn't interested in what works for people unless it's something they can sell at monopoly prices. They don't want people to know about natural remedies, nutritional cures or healing foods. They would much rather see people stay ignorant about those things while pumping their minds full of advertisements and propaganda that ridiculously suggests the human brain is somehow deficient in Big Pharma's patented chemicals and that the only way you'll ever be truly healthy, happy or sane is to keep swallowing their pills for the rest of your life.
The real insanity in the world is not in the minds of mental patients; it's in the evil plans of the FDA, the WHO and the pharmaceutical cartel -- all of whom conspire to peddle dangerous medications when far safer, more natural and more effective alternatives are readily available.
Abstract of study from the Archives of General Psychiatry
Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/co...
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
G. Paul Amminger, MD; Miriam R. Schäfer, MD; Konstantinos Papageorgiou, MD; Claudia M. Klier, MD; Sue M. Cotton, PhD; Susan M. Harrigan, MSc; Andrew Mackinnon, PhD; Patrick D. McGorry, MD, PhD; Gregor E. Berger, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(2):146-154.
Context: The use of antipsychotic medication for the prevention of psychotic disorders is controversial. Long-chain omega-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be beneficial in a range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Given that omega-3 PUFAs are generally beneficial to health and without clinically relevant adverse effects, their preventive use in psychosis merits investigation.
Objective: To determine whether omega-3 PUFAs reduce the rate of progression to first-episode psychotic disorder in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years with subthreshold psychosis.
Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between 2004 and 2007.
Setting: Psychosis detection unit of a large public hospital in Vienna, Austria.
Participants: Eighty-one individuals at ultra-high risk of psychotic disorder.
Interventions: A 12-week intervention period of 1.2-g/d omega-3 PUFA or placebo was followed by a 40-week monitoring period; the total study period was 12 months.
Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was transition to psychotic disorder. Secondary outcomes included symptomatic and functional changes. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes was used to index pretreatment vs posttreatment fatty acid composition.
Results: Seventy-six of 81 participants (93.8%) completed the intervention. By study's end (12 months), 2 of 41 individuals (4.9%) in the omega-3 group and 11 of 40 (27.5%) in the placebo group had transitioned to psychotic disorder (P = .007). The difference between the groups in the cumulative risk of progression to full-threshold psychosis was 22.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.8-40.4). Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids also significantly reduced positive symptoms (P = .01), negative symptoms (P = .02), and general symptoms (P = .01) and improved functioning (P = .002) compared with placebo. The incidence of adverse effects did not differ between the treatment groups.
Conclusions: Long-chain omega-3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.
Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00396643
Author Affiliations: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (Drs Amminger, Schäfer, Papageorgiou, and Klier); Orygen Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (Drs Amminger, Cotton, Mackinnon, and McGorry and Ms Harrigan); and Department of Research and Education, The Schlössli Clinic, Oetwil am See, Switzerland (Dr Berger).
Other sources for this story include:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8...
WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Recall of Rituxan (rituximab) - PML
October 23, 2009
Audience: Rheumatological healthcare professionals
Genentech and FDA notified healthcare professionals about a third case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [PML], the first case of PML in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis [RA] treated with Rituxan who has not previously received treatment with a TNF antagonist. Information to date suggests that patients with RA who receive Rituxan have an increased risk of PML.
Physicians should consider PML in any patient being treated with Rituxan who presents with new onset neurologic manifestations. Consultation with a neurologist, brain MRI, and lumbar puncture should be considered as clinically indicated.
[10/2009 - Dear Healthcare Professional Letter - Genentech]
Audience: Rheumatological healthcare professionals
Genentech and FDA notified healthcare professionals about a third case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [PML], the first case of PML in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis [RA] treated with Rituxan who has not previously received treatment with a TNF antagonist. Information to date suggests that patients with RA who receive Rituxan have an increased risk of PML.
Physicians should consider PML in any patient being treated with Rituxan who presents with new onset neurologic manifestations. Consultation with a neurologist, brain MRI, and lumbar puncture should be considered as clinically indicated.
[10/2009 - Dear Healthcare Professional Letter - Genentech]
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