Events Calendar
In This Section
7 rescued after New York home invasion; suspect killed
Man confesses to shooting Kan. abortion provider
Injured hiker dies while awaiting help
Officials say woman had 20 dogs buried in yard
Hospital says Fort Hood shooting suspect awake, talking
New York man holds 7 hostages at gunpoint overnight
Army says Fort Hood shooting suspect in critical, stable condition
Transit moving again in Philly after 6-day strike
Most Read Stories
Unusual sports bar to be sold at auction
Motorcyclist killed, wife injured in Stark County crash
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man says he was punched, robbed by 3 people in parking lot
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Circle K on Brown Street robbed
Bank helps more save their homes
Woman says clinic refused to help her get pregnant because she's not married
Blogs:
Pets:
Officials: NYer Had 20 Dead Dogs Buried in Yard
The Heldenfiles:
Monday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Time for Kokinis, Browns to agree and part ways
Akron Zips:
Zips tip off tomorrow
Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates
Cleveland Browns:
Mangini doesn't name a quarterback
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – November 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Shaq: It’s All About Winning Championships
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Walsh Jesuit’s Caponi commits to Duquesne
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Abortion Analogies
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Painkiller often abused, and legitimate users mistakenly mix it with sedatives
By Erik Eckholm
and Olga Pierce
New York Times
Published on Sunday, Aug 17, 2008
Methadone, once used mainly in addiction treatment centers to replace heroin, is today being given out by family doctors, osteopaths and nurse practitioners for throbbing backs, joint injuries and a host of other severe pains.
A synthetic form of opium, it is cheap and long-lasting, a powerful pain reliever that has helped millions. But because it is also abused by thrill-seekers and badly prescribed by doctors unfamiliar with its risks, methadone is now the fastest-growing cause of narcotic deaths. It is implicated in more than twice as many deaths as heroin, and is rivaling or surpassing the tolls of painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin.
''This is a wonderful medicine used appropriately, but an unforgiving medicine used inappropriately,'' said Dr. Howard A. Heit, a pain specialist at Georgetown University. ''Many legitimate patients, following the direction of the doctor, have run into trouble with methadone, including death.''
Between 1999 and 2005, deaths that had methadone listed as a contributor increased nearly fivefold, to 4,462, a number that federal statisticians say is understated because states do not always specify the drugs in overdoses.
Florida alone, which keeps detailed data, listed methadone as a cause in 785 deaths in 2007, up from 367 in 2003. In most cases it was mixed with sedatives and other drugs that increased the risks.
The rise of methadone is in part because of a major change in medical attitudes in the 1990s, as doctors accepted that debilitating pain was often undertreated. From 1998 to 2006, the number of methadone prescriptions increased by 700 percent, according to DEA figures, flooding parts of the country where it had rarely been seen.
But too few doctors, experts say, understand how slowly methadone is metabolized and how greatly patients differ in their responses. Some prescribe too much too fast, allowing methadone to build to dangerous levels; some fail to warn patients of the potential dangers of mixing methadone with alcohol or sedatives. And some patients do not follow the doctor's orders.
In what critics call a stunning oversight, the FDA-approved package insert for methadone for decades recommended starting doses for pain at up to 80 mg per day. ''This could unequivocally cause death in patients who have not recently been using narcotics,'' said Dr. Robert G. Newman, former president of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and an expert in addiction.
Methadone, which is made by Roxane Laboratories Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, and Covidien-Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals of Hazelwood, Mo., creates dependency and is sometimes sought by abusers who say they experience a special buzz when mixing it with Xanax.
While the greatest numbers of methadone-related deaths have occurred among the middle-aged, the fastest growth — an elevenfold jump between 1999 and 2005, to 615 — occurred among those 14 to 24, which experts say may be mainly a result of pill abuse.
Methadone, once used mainly in addiction treatment centers to replace heroin, is today being given out by family doctors, osteopaths and nurse practitioners for throbbing backs, joint injuries and a host of other severe pains.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
