Prescription Drugs

Certain types of hydrocodone, one of the most commonly prescribed opioid painkillers and the most commonly prescribed medication of any kind in the United States, can cause permanent hearing loss in people who abuse the drug. In the late 1990s, the House Clinic in Los Angeles began seeing more patients who were experiencing rapidly progressive […]

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning on the “deadly risks” associated with the use of kratom, an herbal supplement touted as a treatment for anxiety and depression and more recently as an alternative to opioid pain pills. What’s more, individuals who have become addicted to opioids are now using kratom as a do-it-yourself

President Donald Trump recently held a news conference to declare the nation’s opioid epidemic to be a “Public Health Emergency.” He outlined a wide-ranging plan for addressing “solutions” to opioid addiction and stated emphatically that it is essential that addicted Americans are supported in obtaining opioid addiction treatment. “[We must] face the reality that millions

Many people with addiction to drugs and alcohol started using substances to get relief from chronic pain — physical, emotional and psychological pain. Pain does funny things to your brain — it is very difficult to focus on anything else when you are coping with pain. Our instinct is to make the pain go away

Medications containing the opioid painkiller propoxyphene were banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010. Prescribed for long-term chronic pain, drugs that mixed propoxyphene and acetaminophen (Darvocet, Darvon, etc.) were long believed to be safer and less addictive than stronger opioid painkillers like OxyContin or Vicodin. However, studies uncovered a significant risk of

Even the most seemingly minor surgeries can be very painful, and your doctor will likely send you home with a painkiller to take as needed. Perhaps you won’t need it at all. But if your surgery was quite invasive or is associated with a lengthy healing process, chances are you’ll be grateful for the painkillers

Percocet is a brand-name painkiller that works by depressing or dulling the central nervous system. When someone with severe or chronic pain takes Percocet, the drug blocks receptors in the nervous system, greatly reducing pain symptoms. Percocet may be a central nervous system depressant, but it is not a mood depressant. In fact, users who

Adderall is a brand-name combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, and it is prescribed to treat the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, some people, particularly teens and young adults feeling pressured to perform to exceptional standards in high school or college, may abuse Adderall in order to concentrate for long periods of time. Taking

Recent reports from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) show that there has been an increase in Xanax abuse in recent years. There are a number of reasons this is happening. Here’s what to look out for. Xanax Abuse From 2005 to 2011, the number of emergency

Peripheral nervous system disorder is a term to describe damage to nerves that exists outside the spinal cord and brain, otherwise known as the central nervous system (CNS). There are a vast number of nerves outside the CNS including: The nerves of the head, face, eyes, nose and ears The nerves of muscles and the