FM-CP Advocate Summer 2014

Does Emotional Recovery after Auto Accidents Influence Chronic Pain?

Presented at the 2014 American Pain Society Meeting, research led by Dr. Samuel McLean at UNC at Chapel Hill showed there are several personal predictors of better and poorer outcomes after motor vehicle collisions.  Better psychological assessment and preventative interventions could reduce the transition of acute pain into long-term disability.  What are those predictors?  Read more... 

(Part 1 of 3-part series)  Learning to live life with a chronic pain illness is not for the faint of heart.  It takes personal fortitude and determination along with an inquisitive mind and self-empowerment.  And knowledge about the chronic pain illness is the first and foremost element in helping a person regain control of his or her life.  Research shows the relevance of changes in brain chemistry and glia cells in the spinal cord affecting symptom severity and the sickness response (a nausea that overcomes a person who hurts so much they are physically ill).  Read more...  

Studies for New Fibromyalgia Medication   

A potential new fibromyalgia medication is in development by Premier Biomedical, Inc., a young pharmaceutical company that is creative and progressive in its scientific thinking and investigations.  (Click on logo for brief video.)  Read more... 

In a press release issued on Thursday, July 24, 2014, the Food & Drug Administration announced the approval of Targiniq ER, a new combination pain pill from Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, designed to discourage abuse by painkiller addicts.  FDA regulators approved the drug for daily, round-the-clock pain that does not respond to other medications.  

Targiniq is an extended release formulation tablet that combines oxydodone - the active ingredient in OxyContin - with the drug Naloxone.  If abusers crush the tablets for snorting or injecting, Naloxone blocks the euphoric effects of oxycodone, making the drug more difficult to abuse.  Naloxone is currently used to reverse the overdose effects of opioids which are highly addictive pain killing drugs, including morphine, methadone, codeine and others.     

Research shows that patients want their physicians to be aware of their spiritual beliefs, to ask about those beliefs, and to include spiritual issues in their medical care.  These patients felt that this knowledge would positively affect their relationship with their provider and would change their medical treatment in a positive way.  How to help start the conversation?  A few facts may help.   Read more... 

When pain becomes chronic from a slip and fall on ice, a person seeking medical attention and pain relief can learn that biases exist about people with chronic pain.  In particular, opioid medications often are prescribed without a formal risk assessment.  After 25 years of clinical practice, Dr. Steve Passik became a person with chronic pain and "realized that patients are often on their own when it comes to the assessment and management of addiction risk in these situations."   How does drug testing help patients make treatment decisions?  Read more...

Newly released book!

Two years ago, a young mother had a problem.  Her son was beginning to ask questions like "why does mommy hurt?" and she didn't have the tools to explain her illness to her two-year old ... and neither did the library ... or Amazon.com ... or, apparently, anyone else!  She was shocked and disappointed to find nothing on the market written for the children of people suffering from chronic pain, and  " invisible illness" and the most common health problem in the world today.  So, she decided to write one herself!  Read more...