prescription drugs Archives

65,000 Toddlers A Year Exposed To Drugs And Many Die As A Result

By Dr. John Rosa

Prescription drugs can affect more than those who have them prescribed.

Very young children, I’m talking about toddlers, are being irreversibly harmed and/or are dying at an alarming rate due to the fact that they are getting access to drugs intended for their parents or grandparents.

In a recent Mercola article entitled “Pediatric Drug Deaths On The Rise,” it was said that, “The Journal of Pediatrics reviewed patient records from the National Poison Data System of the American Association of Poison Control Centers.” In that review the records showed “that 453,559 children aged 5 or younger were admitted to a health care facility following exposure to a potentially toxic dose of a pharmaceutical drug between 2001 and 2008.”

According to the article, “Forty-three percent of all children admitted to the hospital after accidentally ingesting medication ended up in the intensive care unit, and prescription (opposed to over-the-counter) medications were responsible for 71% of serious injuries, with opioids, sedative-hypnotics and cardiovascular drugs topping the list of drugs causing serious harm.”

Think About the Consequences

The percentage of people over 60 that are on several medications is alarming in itself but when you think about how many of them care for their grandchildren you can imagine my concern. The labeled, days-of-the-week pill boxes are given to the majority of these people and what scares me is that it looks like a child’s toy with snapping plastic compartments with pretty colored objects inside.

Be Extra Cautious

If you are the parent or grandparent of young children, please be extra careful with your medications. Make sure you keep your medications safely stored away from where any child could get them. That means, somewhere other than the night stand. In addition, be sure to keep the Poison Help number in your phone, and make sure your babysitter or caregiver has it. In the U.S., the Poison Help number is 800-222-1222. If you suspect your child has taken a prescription or OTC medication, even if he or she is not yet exhibiting symptoms, call the Poison Help line immediately.

2019 Has Been A Busy Year For Everyone Involved In The Opioid Crisis

By Dr. John Rosa

2019 has been a busy year in the fight against opioids.

Looking back over the year and taking in all that has happened in the epidemic that has come to be known in the U.S. as the opioid crisis, all I can say is that it has been a very busy year. I hope that we have made some headway, and I do believe we have, in curtailing the distribution through doctor prescribed sources. Next comes the challenge of curtailing availability over the Internet.

I’m providing a review of some of the year’s highlights and pray that next year sees greater strides being made toward bringing the tremendous sufferings and tragedies caused by this treatment created just for use by those suffering from the unbearable pain of cancer to an end.

January 14, 2019

The beginning of the year brought tragic news. For the very first time on record the odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the U.S. was greater than the odds of dying in an auto accident.

Those findings from the National Safety Council are actually considered preventable injury and fatality statistics. Meaning that they are not “accidents.” An overdose or an automobile accident is often described as an “accident” as if it could not have been prevented. But the fact is that overdoses as well as many vehicle crashes are the result of careless behavior. According to a spokeswoman for The NSC, “The Council calculates the Odds of Dying not to scare Americans but to empower them to make safer decisions and improve their chances of longevity.”

May 2, 2019

In the spring of this year, five executives from Insys Therapeutics, a company that makes a version of the deadly opioid fentanyl called Subsys, were found guilty for bribing doctors to prescribe the opioid to people who didn’t need it. According to what an FBI agent told CNN, “These executives exploited vulnerable patients and cashed in on dishonest doctors by bribing them to prescribe one of the most powerful, addictive opioid painkillers to patients who should never have received it.” There appears to have been “lap dances” involved in the bribery scheme.

Subsys is a rapid-onset opioid intended only for cancer patients with intense breakthrough pain. Prosecutors said the defendants conspired from May 2012 to December 2015 to bribe doctors, including many who ran pain clinics, to give the drug to patients who should never have received it. The drug is about 100 times more powerful than morphine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The opioid epidemic has killed nearly 400,000 Americans since 1999.”

July 17, 2019

Opioid prescribing has dropped since the CDC issued opioid prescribing guidelines in early 2016, which resulted both in doctors prescribing fewer opioids as well as insurers providing less coverage for opioids. Even so a CDC spokesperson told CNN, “There’s certainly nothing to celebrate because even with the slight reduction we’re still experiencing an enormous death toll.” However, it is the first time in 25 years there’s been a decline instead of an incline in the number of deaths.

September 15, 2019

With the change of season, came some long-awaited big news. We saw the company primarily being held responsible for creating the opioid epidemic file for bankruptcy. Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy as part of a $10 billion agreement to settle opioid lawsuits including settlements with 24 state attorneys general, five US territories and attorneys in multi-district litigation.

September 30, 2019

The end of September wraps up with the FDA And DEA announcing that they “sent warnings to four online networks, operating a total of 10 websites, which are illegally marketing unapproved and misbranded versions of opioid medicines, including tramadol.”

A Newsworthy Year with Words of Caution

While the opioid prescribing habits of doctors has decreased slightly we need to be careful the pendulum doesn’t swing too far. People who have been on opioids for several years are now being denied their medication causing them to hit the streets and we all know how that story ends. The prescribing habits need to decrease not slightly but substantially for any new patient prescriptions while those who are dependent are slowly decreased in opioid strength over time.

Another word of caution is that while the overdose deaths are showing a slight decrease in the hardest hit counties and states across the country the addiction/dependency/usage rate has not decreased. With an 500% increase in Narcan (the overdose reversal drug) distribution, a decrease in death is expected but we stills need to stop people from becoming addicted in the first place.

Without question it has been a newsworthy year in dealing with the opioid epidemic and positive change is welcome news. I am thankful for the progress made and am looking forward to even greater progress to be made in the coming year.

Opioid Crisis Expert and Owner of Accessible Beltway Clinics, Dr. John Rosa Encourages Those Experiencing Pain To Insist On Drug-Free Pain Prescriptions

Dr. John P. Rosa, opioid crisis expert and owner of Accessible Beltway Clinics, reminds readers that the opioid crisis is not slowing down and strongly urges those in pain to ask their doctors to prescribe non-drug methods for pain relief.

ROCKVILLE, MD. February 21, 2019: Owner of Accessible Beltway Clinics and opioid crises expert, Dr. John Rosa, posted a new blog on his website entitled, “Ask For A Drug-Free Prescription For Pain Relief,” in which Dr. Rosa tells readers there’s only one way to end to opioid epidemic.

Dr. Rosa points out the fact that, “No one wants to live with chronic pain.” He emphasizes, “The costs are too great. From sleeplessness to irritability to interfering with one’s work, pain can wreak havoc.” He continues, “But, taking a doctor prescribed pill that relieves pain often leads to even more detrimental effects.”

“The pills doctors prescribe for pain relief are killing people every single day,” says Dr. Rosa. He adds, “They are causing otherwise normal, law-abiding people to become drug dependent. In order to keep up with built up tolerance to drug levels, we see people turn to lying and stealing to afford the addiction.”

As Dr. Rosa reminds readers, “This country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down. The only way it can be stopped is if people become aware of the problem and refuse to accept prescriptions for pain relief that come in pill form.” “Instead,” he sas, “insist that your doctor give you a drug-free prescription for pain relief.”

Read the entire blog at https://drjohnrosa.com/ask-for-a-drug-free-prescription-for-pain-relief/

About John P. Rosa

Dr. Rosa is the Owner/manager of 14 health clinics in the Baltimore/Washington DC metro areas concentrating on musculoskeletal injuries of acute, subacute and chronic nature. He oversees the Integrative Medicine practice group which includes general medicine, Chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and behavioral medicine that sees over 60,000 patient visits per year.

Active in sports medicine with consulting/treating college, professional and Olympic athletes. Creator of 24/7 RnR (Relief and aiding Recovery) an FDA approved analgesic cream. Founder of Accessible Wellness Solutions – an onsite corporate wellness program offering consulting, lectures and clinic management.

Leader in Chiropractic

Trustee of New York Chiropractic College for over 15 years and serving final 3-year term as Chairman of the Board.

Integrative Medicine Specialist:

Board service to Maryland University of Integrative Health
Consultant on Integrative Medicine to hospital cancer center
Reduced opioid prescriptions by 70% by integrating Chiropractic, physical therapy and behavioral medicine in a primary care setting
Expert/Speaker – educating primary care, urgent care and hospital medical staff on the Integrative Medicine approach to treating pain patients

Opioid Crisis Expert:

White House Surrogate/Consultant
Law Enforcement Consultant (Homeland Security, CBP, DOJ, DEA and Postal)
State and National Consultant to Opioid Task Forces
Corporate and professional organization consultant
Currently forming the Opioid Abuse Prevention Institute

Community Leadership:

Board member of the National Italian American Foundation
Volunteer at Crossroads Freedom Center – a residential facility in Maryland to help overcome addiction

Ask For A Drug-Free Prescription For Pain Relief

By Dr. John Rosa

No one wants to live with chronic pain.

The costs are too great. From sleeplessness to irritability to interfering with one’s work, pain can wreak havoc. But, taking a doctor prescribed pill that relieves pain often leads to even more detrimental effects.

The pills doctors prescribe for pain relief are killing people every single day. They are causing otherwise normal, law-abiding people to become drug dependent. In order to keep up with built up tolerance to drug levels we see people turn to lying and stealing to afford the addiction.

This country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down. The only way it can be stopped is if people become aware of the problem and refuse to accept prescriptions for pain relief that come in pill form.

Instead, insist that your doctor give you a drug-free prescription for pain relief.

Drug-free methods of pain control include but are not limited to chiropractic, physical therapy, massage therapy, yoga, mind-body therapies, Botox injections and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), among others. Pain has been controlled without addictive pills for decades. While I understand the power of instant gratification when it comes to pain relief, the long-term consequences of that gratification must be taken into consideration. Most of the methods I’ve mentioned will offer relief on an ongoing basis. Depending on the nature and cause of the pain some methods are going to work better than others.

Chronic pain is no way to live.

But addiction is a deadlier more disruptive pain. Please do not accept the notion that a pill is your way out of pain. Insist on a pain-free prescription for controlling, managing and ultimately ending the pain.

If you, or someone you love is dependent on or addicted to opioid drugs, please seek help before it’s too late. If you would like to learn more about the Opioid Crisis as it relates to awareness, prevention and treatment or schedule a corporate or organization seminar contact us at DrJohnRosa.com. Here you will learn how to connect you, your company or organization with the leading experts on the crisis and how to help your community stay safe.