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Tag: oxycontin

  • Is opiate pain medication safe for addicts? Part I

    A recent user question on VYou (see my response here) addressed the issue of prescribing addicts with opioid pain medication. Since prescription medication abuse and addiction is on the rise and getting more and more attention in the media every year, the question of whether addicts in recovery, or people who have dealt with substance…

  • U.S. Drug overdose deaths are increasing

    The second leading cause of accidental death in the US is drug overdose (JAMA 2007). Prescription painkiller overdose deaths (opioid analgesics like OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone) account for nearly half of the 36,450 total fatal overdoses with 15,000 deaths that have claimed a number of celebrity lives including famous actor Heath Ledger (CDC 2011). With…

  • Addiction stories: Hellish Heroin – Bambi’s heroin addiction story

    Addiction stories seem to have an impact that objective research can never have. This is another in a series of addiction stories submitted by our readers. I hope that everyone will benefit from learning about others’ experiences. There’s no doubt that Bambi’s experience of escalation in use from what seemed initially innocent is a common…

  • About Addiction: Alcohol and the Elderly, Oxycontin, and Drug Stigma

    Are you ready for some more exciting information about addiction? Well, it’s here anyway so you might as well look. We try to make A3 the central place where you can find out about addiction matters (saving you the typing work) so if there are any topics we’re not covering, make sure to write us!…

  • Monitoring the Future by NIDA: Teen alcohol and drug use data from a national survey

    One of the perks of being an alcohol, drug use, and addiction researcher, as well as of writing for a website like this and Psychology Today, is that sometimes we get to talk to people that most can’t reach or to receive information that others might not have access to. NIDA‘s Monitoring the Future, a…

  • Oxycontin and Gambling Addiction on A&E’s Intervention

    On last week’s episode of A&E’s Intervention, we were able to see how a prescription drug abuse problem can devastate the lives of addicts and their families. As we’ve already mentioned on A3, prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the U.S. at the moment having gone up more than 400% in…

  • Great coverage of the prescription drug abuse problem – The oxycontin express on Vanguard

    On the way to New York city to visit my father this morning (he’s not doing so well), I saw an amazing journalistic piece on the prescription drug problem, especially as it relates to loose prescription-record keeping laws in Florida, which is apparently the reason for the five times higher rates of prescription pain medication…

  • Addiction stories: Alcohol, marijuana, crime, and John’s life

    The following story was shared by a young reader. I was first drawn to it because it mirrored mine to a large extent. Fortunately, John decided to pull out before he let his life go down as far as I allowed myself to go. For that, and for his courage in sharing his story, I applaud him. John’s…

  • Alcohol, benzos, and opiates – Withdrawal that might kill you

    Along with teaching and telling stories, part of my goal here at All About Addiction is to get important information out to those who can benefit from it. Most drug users who quit drug use “cold turkey” have to go through withdrawal of some sort. Withdrawal is never comfortable, but sometimes it can actually be…

  • Small town heroin addicts – When drug use and overdose hit smalltown USA

    We’ve already talked (see here) about the fact that well-off teens are in no way protected from the damages of drug abuse. We’ve even published a story by a reader who became addicted to heroin after another friend introduced her to snorting oxycontin pills. This recent article, published in the Washington Post, tells the story…