If you watched any amount of TV the past few years you may have noticed a significant increase in commercials hyping prescription medication.  At the same time research is showing that prescription drug abuse and addiction is on the rise, especially among adolescents.  Should we blame TV for this increase?  Well I don’t think so, but it sure does support a quick fix mentality that is all too apparent in our culture.  After all if you have a problem all you need to do is pop a pill.

My medical colleagues have complained to me that many of their patients are demanding specific medications that they saw on TV—if it’s advertised on TV it much be safe; for example the commercials advertising Lunesta, a sleep medication.  After all how can such a cute butterfly be dangerous? 

I just ran across a recent Johns Hopkins Health Alert that emphasized that it’s not so black and white of an issue as you can see by a portion of that report below.

A study, carried out by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, and the marketing research firm Harris Interactive Inc., found that 72% of the physicians surveyed believed that advertising had increased their patients’ understanding of possible drug treatment.

Another interesting finding: One in four doctor visits spurred by DTC advertising resulted in a new diagnosis. This suggests that advertising may help some people to recognize that they have a treatable health problem.

However, DTC advertising can also cause confusion. In the Harvard-Harris survey, many physicians said that ads often left their patients with a lopsided view of the risks and benefits of medications, with a bias toward potential benefits. The FDA survey, too, concluded that people tended to view drugs they learned about through these ads as more effective than they actually were.

For a look at this complete Health Alert please go to: http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com then search for
Direct To Consumer Drug Ads.

The next time you’re watching TV pay attention to the pharmaceutical commercials and decide for yourself.

I’ve been talking for years that someone living with chronic pain needs a treatment plan that addresses more than just physical pain management. A report published in Science Daily by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (2008, February 6) titled Chronic Pain Harms The Brain validates my concerns. Please see an excerpt from this report below.

In a new study, investigators at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine have identified a clue that may explain how suffering long-term pain could trigger these other pain-related symptoms.Researchers found that in a healthy brain all the regions exist in a state of equilibrium. When one region is active, the others quiet down. But in people with chronic pain, a front region of the cortex mostly associated with emotion “never shuts up,” said Dante Chialvo, lead author and associate research professor of physiology at the Feinberg School. “The areas that are affected fail to deactivate when they should.” They are stuck on full throttle, wearing out neurons and altering their connections to each other.

People with unrelenting pain don’t only suffer from the non-stop sensation of throbbing pain; they also have trouble sleeping, are often depressed, anxious and even have difficulty making simple decisions. These people need treatment that addresses the whole person. This takes a multidisciplinary team that includes medical, psychological, and in some cases addiction team members. I’ve also found that a spiritual component added to the treatment plan can be of great benefit.Now that we’re learning about how pain impacts the brain of chronic pain patients, we need to develop interventions to treat and hopefully prevent more brain damage. The good news is that people who experience this hyperactive brain condition can learn simple tools to cope with the psychological and emotional components of chronic pain, including anticipatory pain. For more information please go to the articles page archives on the APM™ website http://www.addiction-free.com/articles/articles/archive/ to read Pain versus Suffering and the Psychological Components of Pain articles.

As anyone who ever experienced a migraine headache knows it can be extremely debilitating.  Unless a migraine sufferer goes to a treatment provider who understands appropriate treatment interventions for this condition, they can run the risk of unnecessary pain and suffering including potential prescription drug addiction.  Many people are prescribed opiates even though they are not an FDA approved medication for migraine treatment.

Medications used to combat migraines fall into two broad categories:

• Pain-relieving medications. Also known as acute or abortive treatment, these types of drugs are taken during migraine attacks and are designed to stop symptoms that have already begun.
  
• Preventive medications. These types of drugs are taken regularly, often on a daily basis, to reduce the severity or frequency of migraines.

In the realm of Migraine treatment, little emphasis is placed on whether the medications have been specifically FDA approved for the treatment of Migraine since so few are FDA approved for the prevention of Migraine. In fact, there is not a single medication that was originally developed for Migraine prevention. All were originally developed for other purposes. When it comes to treating Migraine attacks (acute treatment), however, this is not the case. There are seven triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, Amerge, Axert, Frova, and Relpax) that were developed for and FDA approved as Migraine abortive (management) medications. These medications work to actually stop the Migrainous process in the brain and stop the Migraine attack and its associated symptoms.

Ergotamine medications (used as vasoconstrictors for migraine prevention and are sometimes mixed with caffeine) such as DHE and Migranal; they are also FDA approved for Migraine treatment as is Midrin (a combination of acetaminophen, dichloralphenazone, and isometheptene).  Thus, the issue here is not so much FDA approval of acute medications, but the difference between using “generic pain medications” as opposed to Migraine-specific medications.  It’s been my experience that when patients use opiates or other non-FDA approved medications for ongoing Migraine treatment they often experience problems.  Migraine patients need to be proactive and see healthcare providers who specialize in Migraine treatment.