A decades-long effort among American healthcare providers to better manage pain for a wider range of patients has led to the overprescribing of addictive opioid painkillers, which has led to a nationwide opioid addiction crisis. It is estimated that 2 million to 3 million Americans now struggle with an opioid or opiate addiction and, with …
New Painkiller Studies: Working Toward Non-Addictive Painkillers Read More »
There’s no “cure” for drug addiction because it’s a chronic disease and recovery is a lifelong process. But recent research suggests CRISPR gene editing (i.e. clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) could help scientists hone in on the genes behind substance use disorders. The hope is that these insights might spawn future research that could …
If you’ve ever been asked to show your I.D. when purchasing cough medicine for yourself, you’ve likely taken dextromethorphan. Dextromethorphan, or DXM, is a drug commonly found in over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. It’s also gained a reputation for drug misuse, especially in teens and young adults. Why Do People Abuse Dextromethorphan? When taken as …
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 …
A Little-Known Side Effect of Opioid Painkiller Abuse: Permanent Hearing Loss Read More »
By Christian Castaneda, LCSW, Program Director, Promises It’s human nature to feel a connection to holidays. People relate to familiar anniversaries and hold certain dates as significant or sacred. That’s why so many people plan to make healthy changes at the start of a new year. While some holidays are designated for specific people and …
Why the New Year Could Be the Best Time to Get Sober Read More »
An estimated 23 million Americans and nearly 30 million people worldwide are addicted to a substance—from alcohol to prescription medications to illicit drugs. Addiction is the unintended outcome of misusing or overusing an addictive substance. While there is much debate over the role that free will or choice plays in addiction, it can certainly be …
The Dangerous Dozen: The 12 Most Addictive Substances Around the Globe Read More »
Hydrocodone is currently the most commonly prescribed opioid painkiller in the United States. A semi-synthetic narcotic medication that is sold as a generic or under the brand names Vicodin, Hysingla, Zohydro, Norco and Lorcet, hydrocodone is also one of the most commonly misused or abused opioid painkillers. Like all opioids, hydrocodone is highly addictive, particularly …
The number of senior citizens with drug addiction is on the rise in the United States, and prescription painkillers, such as hydrocodone and other opioids, play a major role in drug problems among the elderly. Opioid painkillers are the fourth most commonly abused substance among senior citizens in the U.S., following close behind alcohol, marijuana …
There were an estimated 1.5 million cocaine users in the U.S. in 2014, with rates of use holding steady since 2009. Learning what makes cocaine addictive is essential to understanding why so many Americans are drawn to the drug and tackling the underlying issue of cocaine addiction. Ultimately, cocaine is addictive for the same reasons …
The Chemical Composition Explained: What Makes Cocaine Addictive? Read More »
Serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitors may sound like a difficult mouthful of medical words but are more commonly known as antidepressants. Common brands of serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitors include trazodone. SARIs are used mainly to treat major depressive disorder in adults. They are sometimes offered for the treatment of insomnia for patients who dislike …
How Do Serotonin Antagonist and Reuptake Inhibitors Work? Read More »