Recovery Michigan

https://discordapp.com/invite/ZCBVQhX

There was recently a discord server started for those in the chronic pain community. It's a place to share your story, successes, rants, coping mechanisms, hobbies, and so much more! It allows you to chat and connect with individuals with from around the world who genuinely understand what it's like to live with chronic pain on a daily basis.

All you need to do is check out the rules in the welcome channel, then briefly introduce yourself in the introductions channel! Then a mod will be along to confirm you are not a bot and you will get access to the rest of the server, as well as let you choose a colour for your username!

If you have any questions, please feel free the PM me :)

https://discord.gg/ZCBVQhX

http://bit.ly/2q5qu67

On Monday, the esteemed Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine published a pair of persuasive new studies reinforcing this opinion.

In the first study, investigators from the University of Kentucky and Emory University assessed the relationship between medical and adult-use marijuana laws and opioid prescribing patterns among Medicaid enrollees nationwide. Enrollees included all Medicaid fee-for-service and managed care enrollees—a high-risk population for chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdose.

Researchers reported that the enactment of both medicalization and adult-use laws were both associated with reductions in opioid prescribing rates, with broader legalization policies associated with the greatest rates of decline.

“State implementation of medical marijuana laws was associated with a 5.88 percent lower rate of opioid prescribing. Moreover, the implementation of adult-use marijuana laws, which all occurred in states with existing medical marijuana laws, was associated with a 6.38 percent lower rate of opioid prescribing,” they concluded. “[T]he further reductions in opioid prescribing associated with the newly implemented adult-use marijuana laws suggest that there were individuals beyond the reach of medical marijuana laws who may also benefit from using marijuana in lieu of opioids. Our finding that the lower opioid prescribing rates associated with adult-use marijuana laws were pronounced in Schedule II opioids further suggest that reaching these individuals may have greater potential to reduce the adverse consequences, such as opioid use disorder and overdose.”

In the second study, University of Georgia researchers evaluated the association between the enactment of medical cannabis access laws and opioid prescribing trends among those eligible for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. Researchers reported that medicalization, and specifically the establishment of brick-and-mortar cannabis dispensing facilities, correlated with significantly reduced opioid prescription drug use.

“This longitudinal analysis of Medicare Part D found that prescriptions filled for all opioids decreased by 2.11 million daily doses per year from an average of 23.08 million daily doses per year when a state instituted any medical cannabis law. Prescriptions for all opioids decreased by 3.742 million daily doses per year when medical cannabis dispensaries opened,” they concluded. “Combined with previously published studies suggesting cannabis laws are associated with lower opioid mortality, these findings further strengthen arguments in favor of considering medical applications of cannabis as one tool in the policy arsenal that can be used to diminish the harm of prescription opioids.”

I was a substance abuse therapist in the 70's. I remember how surprised I was to be seeing little old ladies who were addicted to benzodiazepines...

http://bit.ly/2GxPKco

Between 1999 and 2016, as many Americans are now at least vaguely aware, the number of deaths from overdoses that included opioids quintupled. However, during roughly the same period, the number of OD deaths that involved benzodiazepines (a.k.a. "benzos") increased by a mind-boggling factor of nearly eight. In terms of the absolute number of deaths, opioids are more deadly, but it’s important to note that more than 30 percent of opioid-overdose deaths are actually better described as fatal mixtures of the two classes of drugs.

Benzodiazepines include drugs like Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium, the drug immortalized in the Rolling Stones track “Mother’s Little Helper” for its sedative and calming (albeit, at least in the song, ultimately deadly) properties. As with opioids, a great deal of the harm associated with benzos comes when they are combined with other drugs. Opioids, alcohol, and benzodiazepines are exponentially riskier when taken together because their effects in slowing breathing are synergistic, not simply cumulative. Indeed, research has suggestedthat as many as 90 percent of benzodiazepine-associated deaths also involved an opioid and about 80 percent of benzo recreational use was carried out in concert with other substances.

But while attention has rightly focused on the role of pharmaceutical marketing in the opioid crisis, which included pushing hospitals to declare pain as “the fifth vital sign,” that doesn't seem to explain the surge of benzo use and overdoses in recent years.

http://bit.ly/2H0flM8

PTSD in late life can result from trauma that occurred much earlier or can follow traumatic events that occurred for the first time in old age. When trauma took place when the person was younger, PTSD in later life might represent the re-emergence after a period of extended quiescence or be the continuation of a chronic disorder experienced throughout adult life. DSM-5 criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD in older adults are no different from those for other age groups, with the exception of modified criteria for preschool children aged 6 years or younger.

DSM recommends using a “Delayed Expression” specifier when symptoms emerge more than 6 months after the index trauma, and the literature is replete with descriptions of older adults who experience the complete PTSD syndrome for the first time decades after the index trauma. Identifying chronic PTSD that has been present throughout most of adult life might be straightforward, although PTSD did not exist as a diagnostic entity when the older adult first developed the clinical syndrome. One Pearl Harbor survivor described his symptoms as “a non-stop movie playing in my head” that began soon after the attack. Decades later he received a diagnosis of PTSD and was subsequently treated with medications and psychotherapy.

Identification and treatment of PTSD in later life can present multiple challenges, starting with the unique aspects of the symptomatology of the disorder in older adults and from the issues with their treatment-seeking. For example, older adults might report somatic presentations over emotional-psychological symptoms. A higher intensity of hyperarousal symptoms, especially if the trauma occurred later in life, are reported while intrusive re-experiencing symptoms are not mentioned. Cognitive impairment and dementia—the risk of which is increased from a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD—might also interfere with the older adult’s ability to interpret and communicate symptoms.

This is a slide show...

https://goo.gl/eENERm

How the AT Act Programs Can Help • 

Low cost or free programs for consumers – 

Device Demonstration – 

Device Lending – 

Device Reutilization – 

Alternative Financing –

 Information and Referral

https://goo.gl/qNjyEd

Chronic pain is a debilitating disease which affects over 100 million Americans. It costs the United States in excess of half a trillion dollars each year and is the leading cause for why people are out of work.

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.” Pain is a subjective experience in which there is no method for determining if an individual is in pain. Every person experiences chronic pain in a different way which makes it difficult to treat.  One of our primary goals is to understand the individual differences in each person’s pain so that we can ultimately tailor therapies to that person.

Learn more about the conditions below. You can also find more information on the American Chronic Pain Association’s Website.

https://goo.gl/eiFoJJ

A light lunch will be provided. (Please note that you will not need to bring your registration ticket(s) to the event.)

https://goo.gl/4FmsFF

The amount of opioids prescribed after gynecologic surgery declined by almost 90% with few complaints from patients after implementation of a restrictive prescription protocol, as reported here at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) meeting.

Over a 6-month period, the total opioid pill count declined by 89% as compared with historical prescribing practices. The total included a 73% reduction the number of pills dispensed after open surgery and 97% after minimally invasive procedures.

Patients undergoing ambulatory/minimally invasive procedures and with no history of chronic pain received only prescription-strength ibuprofen or acetaminophen at discharge. Those with a history of opioid exposure or chronic pain, received a 3-day supply (12 pills) of hydrocodone-acetaminophen (Norco) or oxycodone-acetaminophen (Percocet).

Patients undergoing open surgery received either nonopioid pain medication or a 3-day opioid prescription at discharge. If a patient used an opioid for pain in the previous 24 hours, then a 3-day supply consisting of 24 pills (two every 6 hours) was prescribed.

More than 90% of patients went home without an opioid prescription after minimally invasive procedures, and fewer than 5% of patients expressed dissatisfaction with their doctors' prescribing practices under the restrictive prescribing protocol, said Jaron D. Mark, MD, of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York.

"We were quite surprised by how few inquiries and requests for medication we got from our patients," said Mark. "We expected that we would be able to reduce use of opioids without detrimental consequences, but the extent to which our hypothesis was supported by these results was really striking."

https://goo.gl/FPJq4D

Traumatic Brain Injuries and fatigue are synonymous! Fatigue, if not taken care of, more symptoms will plague a person.

Sensations from the brain are physical warning signs!

If we do not understand what to look for, the ability to Function worsens.

Have you ever held a baby as the infant goes to sleep, suddenly their bodies become intensely heavy in your arms.

The same profound heaviness is a similar sensation of our brain, as if the Brain collapses in our skull. The Brain feels heavy — dull — plunging deep into the skull; nothing will process.

Curing TBIs is a new terrain in neurosciences. If a person has never experienced the daily arduous eccentric characteristics, finding a singular formula is next to impossible.

The agonizing constant Quirks that plague a person, if attempting to explain to a doctor who lacks any degree of TBI awareness, becomes all the more difficult.

This is where people such as myself, who have figured out the recovery process, and study neuroscience collaborate; time to Slay the Myths!

https://goo.gl/rdi2zx

Summary: Researchers report antioxidant supplements and amino acids, such as Taurine, can help to reduce symptoms of psychosis.

The team brought together data from eight independent clinical trials of nutrient supplementation in 457 young people in the early stages of psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia.

The review is published in Early Intervention in Psychiatry.

Researchers found that certain nutrient supplements, used alongside standard treatment, may improve mental health in young people with psychosis more than standard treatment alone.

The study by Firth and colleagues is the first evaluation of nutrient supplementation trials in ‘first-episode psychosis’ (FEP).

Dr Firth said “Nutrient supplementation in the treatment of mental illness is something which can be surrounded by both cynicism and ‘hype’.

“We conducted this review just to see if there is any ‘real evidence’ if such nutrients can actually help young people with psychosis.

“Certainly, there is early indication that certain nutrients may be beneficial, not to replace standard treatment, but as an ‘add-on’ treatment for some patients”

One nutrient reviewed was Taurine, an amino-acid found in foods such as shellfish and turkey.

A clinical trial conducted in Melbourne in 121 young patients with psychosis found that 4 grams of Taurine per day reduced psychotic symptoms within just 12 weeks.

Certain antioxidant supplements, such as n-acetyl cysteine and vitamin C, may also be effective – particularly for patients with high levels of ‘oxidative stress’.

Studies on omega-3 supplements showed that although these appear to improve brain health in young people with psychosis, the evidence for actually reducing psychotic symptoms is conflicting.

“We have to be careful to replicate the results of these initial studies before jumping to firm conclusions” Dr Firth said.