Aunt Mays Heart Attack

Who is Responsible for the Pain Pill Epidemic?

By Celine Gounder

1. What are “narcotic” medications and how do they work? Narcotic is an analgesic drug that reduce neuronal excitability in the pain carrying pathway it relieves acute and chronic pain it causes numbness and sometimes a state of unconsciousness it works by binding to opioid receptors, which are present in the central and peripheral nervous system. There are three types of opioid receptors, which are all G-protein linked and either facilitate opening of potassium channels which cause hyperpolarization or inhibit calcium channel opening, therefore inhibits release of excitatory neurotransmitters such as substance P.

2. Why do you think that Americans were consuming “ninety-nine percent of the world’s hydrocodone?” I think Americans have been consuming 99% of the world’s hydrocodone because in recent years narcotic prescription drugs has increased such as hydrocodone have outpaced illegal drugs “The number of deaths … that involved prescription opioid analgesics increased from 2,900 in 1999 to at least 7,500 in 2004,” up “150 percent in just five years,” with painkiller deaths more numerous than heroin- and cocaine-related deaths put together.

3. Describe some of the evidence-based problems associated with the functionality of patients receiving narcotics for chronic pain. Evidence-based studies have shown that patients who receive narcotics for chronic pain are less likely to recover function, and are less likely to go back to work and moreover become dependent.

4. What are some side effects of narcotics? The potential side effects of prescription narcotics include constipation, sexual dysfunction, cognitive impairment, addiction, and overdosing.

5. What is hyperalgesia? When patients receive narcotics for long periods, they can even become more sensitive to pain, a condition called hyperalgesia.

6. Why is there little evidence that narcotics are effective in treating chronic pain in the...