Group claiming to speak for pain sufferers is funded by drug companies that make and profit from sale of painkillers

The American Pain Foundation, a group that claims to speak for pain sufferers, is funded by drug companies that make and profit from the sale of painkillers. They downplay the risks of these drugs and this is compounding the growing incidence of painkiller addiction. "Overdoses now kill nearly 15,000 people a year — more than heroin and cocaine combined. In some states, the painkiller death toll exceeds that of car crashes. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the overdoses from opioid drugs like OxyContin an “epidemic.” And a growing group of experts doubts that they work for long-term pain."
See this article in The Washington Post.

Dangers for elderly patients who regularly take opioid painkillers

It is often the arthritis sufferers among elderly patients who most regularly take painkillers, because their pain tends to be chronic. Adverse side-effects are not uncommon, especially with the opioid painkillers, which include codeine, morphine, methadone and brand names such as Demerol, Percocet, Percodan, Darvon, , Vicodin, and Lomotil. The side-effects can be very serious, even dangerous, e.g. more fractured bones. Read this report on MedicalNewsToday.

Yet there is a completely safe and very effective way to reduce the pain/severity of osteo-arthritis, and it does not involve taking pharmaceutical drugs. - You just need to avoid salt and salty food as much as you can. - The less salt you eat, the less pain you will experience from your arthritis...(o: And, since you will also lose some excess water weight from your body which salt has been holding there, there will be less wear and tear on your joints, not having to carry so much water around. - So give salt the elbow, and say goodbye both to so much pain and to dangerous drugs. - See salt/sodium in foods.

Unintentional poisoning by prescription drugs is increasing

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. The rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years, and unintentional poisoning has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death among people 35-54 years of age. In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers in the U.S. have increased by 65% from 1999 to 2006.
Read article at physorg.com

Doctors and pharmacists are being warned by the National Patients Safety Agency to take greater care when prescribing or administering drugs.

Doctors are warned over drug deaths
Article in the Observer

Extract:

"Doctors and pharmacists are being warned by the National Patient Safety Agency to take greater care when prescribing or administering drugs. Eight NHS patients have died and 17,000 others been put at risk in 'incidents' involving powerful painkillers used by millions of Britons between January 2005 and December 2007.

On Friday the agency sent a 'rapid response report' - an official warning that is sent around the NHS when evidence emerges about a threat to patient safety - entitled 'Reducing Dosing Errors with Opioid Medicines'. It covers the 11 most common forms of opioids, such as morphine, methadone, fentanyl, diamorphine and oxycodone.

'Incidents have been reported to the National Reporting and Learning System concerning patients receiving unsafe doses of opioid medicines, where a dose or formulation was incorrect, based on the patient's previous opioid dose,' said the report.

Around 12 million prescriptions for opioids are issued every year."

If you want a drug-free way of reducing pain, try cutting down on salt and salty food. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/sodium_foods.html and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/conditions.html