I was really hoping that the next time I blogged about Zohydro, it would be to announce the fate of this much-publicized painkiller—whether it had been approved or rejected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I certainly did not anticipate writing how Zohydro’s approval date has been pushed back yet again. But it’s true. Originally scheduled for March 1, a press release from late last month announced that the FDA needed a few more weeks to decide. The FDA did not provide any reason for the possible delay, except for saying that the delay ... Read More →

On Friday, March 15, reports announced that rapper Lil Wayne was in a coma after suffering multiple seizures from an overdose of the popular recreational drug, Sizzurp.  What is Sizzurp? Sizzurp, also known as purple drank, syrup, or Texas tea, is a combination of prescription strength cough syrup with 7-Up or a similar fruit-flavored soda and dissolved hard candy, such as jolly ranchers. Sometimes users add alcohol or crushed painkillers for an even stronger high. The main ingredient is the codeine and promethazine based prescription cough syrup. This is not the same as dextromethorphan (DXM) based cough syrup, which is ... Read More →

When Purdue Pharma released a new, abuse-resistant version of Oxycontin in 2010, many thought we had taken a solid step toward reducing the abuse of prescription drugs. As it turns out, they were correct; the new coating on Oxycontin did reduce prescription drug abuse. A study released by the drug manufacturer reported that since the reformulation of the drug, the number of addicts who abused Oxycontin fell 30% since the reformulation of the drug. So the new pills have changed the world. Purdue Pharma should get a Nobel prize out of this deal, right? Wrong. In Purdue Pharma’s haste to ... Read More →

Every Thanksgiving is an opportunity to stop, pause and think about where we'd be in our disease without recovery. For this thanksgiving, we're creating a Top 10 Gratitude Countdown. Each day, leading up to Thanksgiving, we will post one more idea we are grateful for in recovery. Take a few moments this holiday season to thank your higher power and your friends and family who have made your journey of recovery a possibility.  Top 10 Things I'm Thankful for in Recovery  I'm thankful for . . .              1. Freedom and Hope > ... Read More →

The epidemic of prescription drug abuse has kicked a lot of doctors into action. Among the preventive measure set up, the newest (and coolest) is a video game designed to train doctors to identify deceptive behavior by people likely to abuse prescription painkillers.  Video Game Helps Doctors Discover Hints of Prescription Abuse Designed by Dr. Michael F. Fleming at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, this video game draws on technology used by the F.B.I. to train agents in interrogation tactics. Since addiction is a difficult subject to broach, physicians often feel uncomfortable and put ... Read More →

It seems that the days of Oxycontin are just about over. USA Today recently reports that the rise of Opana (another opioid painkiller) has overtaken Oxycontin in certain states as the most abused prescription painkiller. While the complete prevalance of Opana has yet to be explored, statistics show a significant increase in overdoses from and prescriptions for Opana. For example, IMS Health reports that prescriptions for the drug increased from 268,000 in 2007 to over 1 million, just three years later, in 2010. And the numbers grew even higher in 2011 with multiple states reporting a significant increase for Opana prescriptions. (Nassau County in New ... Read More →

Prescription drugs and painkillers are a rising problem, but we are pleased to see that Alameda County is aggressively pursuing options that can help lower easy access to prescription drugs.  Bay Area Rehab has published a good post about the news if you'd like to learn more about this first-in-the-nation ordinance that requires pharmaceutical companies to financially support drug drop-off locations. Leaving unused or expired medications around the house can be dangerous. While some people become addicted to a drug because it was prescribed to them, others simple gain access to the drug by raiding the closest medical ... Read More →