Opioid Manufacture: A Case Study

Mike Alstott knows first-hand how opioids, when used correctly, can play an important role in managing pain and helping people to function, but he is also keenly aware of the growing crisis of opioid misuse and overdose. More American adults are dying from misusing prescription narcotics than ever before. An estimated 35 people die every day in the U.S. from accidental prescription painkiller overdoses resulting from things like not taking a medication as directed or not understanding how multiple

In fact, there was thought to be more of a need for them. Before the last two decades, opioids were used for cancer related or acute pain. However, in the 1990s chronic non cancer patients got attention because people nationally felt there was a shortage in patients receiving opioids, thus making them deprived of adequate pain management. Because of this, clinicians were encouraged to treat chronic non-cancer pain and patients in hospice care more often than they were used to. It was also encouraged to use high doses of opioids for long periods of time (Cheatle). The idea that providers seemed overly cautious about these medications caused a large increase in opioid prescriptions from health care providers. Threat of tort and litigation for some doctors that were deemed for not prescribing enough to alleviate pain of patients was also a concern for doctors This quickly turned a shortage of prescription opioids into a national prescription opioid abuse epidemic in under twenty years. From 1999 to 2010, the amount of prescription opioids sold to hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors offices quadrupled, and three times the number of people overdosed on painkillers in this time (Garcia). While some patients have benefitted from the increased sales and loose guidelines of prescription opioid analgesics, the increasing in opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose is truly daunting. As a nation, we need to back track, and

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Opioid addiction is a condition that is preventable as well as one which individuals display several noticeable risk factors before the actual addiction prognosis to the point of causing death. There is a strong correlation between the early misuse of prescription opioids, which are prescribed for non-cancer pain management, and the development of a dependence on such opioids. Early detection of risk factors such as the misuse of opioids that are prescribed will help indicate that a patient is developing an addiction.1 Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers must closely monitor patients and the rate at which opioids are consumed as well as refilled.

1Executive SummaryTo determine the best way of supplying naloxone (Narcan) to victims of opioid overdoseat Mason Public Schools, I first confirmed that naloxone administration might benecessary on school grounds. By surveying the public, researching news articles, andconducting personal interviews, I have determined that opioids are being useddangerously or illegally by Mason students and visitors to our schools. It is possible thatsomeone will need emergency treatment with naloxone after overdosing on schoolproperty.Local teens and young adults are suffering from opioid addiction. Some studentsexperiment with drugs and end up hooked. Others are prescribed opioid pain medicationand their addiction begins more innocently. Local students have

Opioid use has to begin somewhere. Patients that are prescribed opioids for pain treatment run a risk of developing dependency on the prescribed medications. Numerous individuals who take the opioids for extended amounts of time may begin to progress towards higher tolerances of the prescribed medicines. Due to this higher tolerance, individuals may feel like they need to take more than what was prescribed. Eventually this can lead to craving opioids in order to function or to “feel better” throughout the day. In fact, it has been estimated that between twenty-one and twenty-nine percent of patients that are prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them and close to ten percent develop an opioid use disorder (https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis, 2017). “Some people experience a euphoric response to opioid medications, and it is common that people misusing opioids try to intensify their experience by snorting or injecting them” (https://www.samhsa.gov/disorders/substance-use, 2015). This means of drug intake, generally leads to the exploration of more easily acquired drugs with stronger effects.

As better and more comprehensive education is provided both to the general public and practicing clinicians the hope is to reduce the negativity surrounding the users of opioids, and to eliminate demeaning language coupled to them as well. This could improve patient morale and help the needless continuation of physical suffering within patients, as they would be more comfortable approaching and using opioids for therapeutic purposes1. That being said there are those within our communities who do abuse these substances and pharmacists must recognize the signs of abusers, it is important for them to reach out, without comment, to help those suffering from opioid abuse once they have been

These drugs are easy to become addicted to and continued use could lead to dependency. Citizen have to be sure to take drugs only prescribe to the patient on the bottle because what is safe to one person might not be to someone else. This is because our body chemistry is different for everyone.Some people are tricked into thinking it's safe because they are prescribed by doctors.This is untrue and opioid are very dangerous when taken recreational. Most opioids are given to help get through serious injuries. When you start these drugs, you can expect to experience drowsiness, slowed breathing, and constipation. The drug also will relieve the pain it was prescribed for. If long term usage occurs the user can easily become addicted. The body get used to the presence of these drugs and becomes attached. They might even need to use higher dosages to achieve the same high because the body builds up tolerance. This is how people overdose. The opioids slows the breathing so much that that stop breathing at

Opioid-induced adverse effects are a very interesting topic and does play a big part in patient safety. It’s estimated that more than half of older adults who reside in a healcre related community have a chronic pain disorder, with the long-term care setting rate of prevalence substantially increased (up to almost 90%). Physicians across all care settings are tasked with the daunting challenge of providing pain relief while, at the same time, minimizing opioid-induced side effects. Some of the common opioid-induced side effects are Constipation, Nausea, Vomiting, Pruritus, Sweating, Sedation, Fatigue, Headache, Delirium, Confusion, Clouded vision, Dizziness, Xerostomia, Postural Hypotension, Bladder Dysfunction such as Urinary Retention,

Opioids, otherwise known as prescription pain medication, are used to treat acute and chronic pain. They are the most powerful pain relievers known. When taken as directed they can be safe and effective at managing pain, however, opioids can be highly addictive. Ease of access helps people get pain medications through their physician or by having friends and family get the medication for them. With their ease of access and being highly addictive the use and misuse of opioids have become a growing epidemic. Patients should be well educated on the affects opioid use can have. More importantly instead of the use of opioids, physicians should look into alternative solutions for pain management. While pain medication is helpful with chronic pain, it is also highly addictive, doctors should be more stringent to whom and how often they prescribe pain medication.

The use of opioid-based prescription medications to treat non-terminal chronic pain can cause side effects from short term use, and is overly common and ineffective. Firstly, opioid usage can induce negative short-term effects. According to William A. Darity, Jr., short-term opioid usage causes negative effects such as “euphoria, drowsiness, and impaired motor and cognitive functioning” (“Drugs”). The short term effects of the opioids may cause the patient to isolate him or herself socially due to being self-conscious about his or her friends and peers seeing the individual in their current condition. Due to his or her fragile emotional state, however, if the patient isolates him or herself during a time in which he or she should have increased

Opioid pain medicines are strong medicines that are used to treat serious pain. Only take these medicines while you are working with a doctor. You should only take them for short amounts of time.

The opioid crisis has been gradually increasing since the discovery of opioids as pain management medication by pain specialists in the 1980s. If the crisis is not mitigated, more people are likely to suffer the consequence of the effects of addiction and overdosage, given the highly addictive nature of opioids. Mitigating the crisis requires collaborative efforts, particularly from clinical prescribers and drug manufacturers who need to recognize that these drugs are potentially harmful when used repeatedly and misused. Physical therapy is an alternative mitigation measure in handling chronic pain. Evidence shows significant success rates among patients who have chosen the physical therapy route as opposed to the opioid

This is inaccurate because prescribed opioids are still addictive. The truth is that people typically turn to street drugs because they offer the same euphoric and satisfying feeling but at a much cheaper cost. Everyone blames the drug-addicts because it was "their fault". But no one goes deeper than that. The Western ideology that "pills heal all ills" needs to end. In some parts of the U.S., pills are prescribed for almost anything you can think of, and doctors, not wanting to disappoint their patients, give more and more medicine and it is unnecessary.

There could be a way to eliminate or just reduce the growing number of opioid drug addiction rate, including education. Educating doctors on the fact that continuing to prescribe these types of gateway drugs- Oxycontin, hydrocodone, Vicodin, Percocet, etc.- can be potentially dangerous to the patient. A change in mindset could influence doctors to prescribe less aggressive and addictive forms of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Some of these could include the popular Tylenol, Motrin, or Aleve and their generics, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen sodium. The bodily function that takes place when a user abuses is what ties them to the opioid. Addiction is not a flaw in character, but a chemical process in your body. Patients believe they cannot function without the constant use of these drugs. Getting patients to realize that this addiction is all in their head starts with that same doctor. When doctors prescribe less addictive drugs, their patients will be less susceptible to addiction of opioid drugs. Addiction eliminates any type of personal relationship, creates a financial crisis, and interferes with the society. All of this can is avoided if doctors shifted their mindset towards prescribing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs alternative to