Latest news with #Oxycontin
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Health
- Forbes
A Better Way Of Managing Chronic Pain—Courtesy Of Pavlov
Pain and I have a long history. I have experienced it firsthand, basically every day since high school. I've dealt with it second hand, too—in the two-plus decades I practiced as a primary care physician, pain was the most common problem I addressed with my patients. For all those decades, I held on to a flawed and unrealistic goal of finding pills or procedures that would abolish pain. I am not the only person striving for that goal. A huge number of medical interventions are designed to relieve people of pain: physical therapy treatments, over-the-counter medications, surgical procedures, and of course prescription medications, including opiates like Oxycontin. But it is not always possible to abolish people's pain. Sometimes, no amount of physical therapy or surgery or [place your favorite treatment here] will cure people of their pain. Nor is it wise to dull people's pain with long-term use of medications like narcotics. Fortunately, there are promising ways to manage chronic pain so people, when they do feel pain, aren't so bothered by. In fact, a creative study led by a neuroscientist, Susanne Becker, uses insights from none other than Ivan Pavlov to show the possibility of uncoupling the sensation of pain from the experience of pain. First, a quick reminder about Pavlov. Born in Russia in 1849, Pavlov is most famous for his work on conditioned reflexes – ring a bell before giving dogs their food and, after enough bell-then-food pairings, the dogs begin to salivate upon hearing the bell, even though they have yet to see their dinner. Becker and colleagues employed a Pavlov-like research design to figure out whether people can decouple the sensation of pain from the experience of that pain. The study started with repeated pairings of pain and reward. The researchers placed thermal probes on people's thumbs and, intermittently, hit them with a burst of painful heat – quick spikes in temperature that caused pain without damaging people's bodies. For some people, Becker's team coupled the heat with a monetary reward. Heat, pain, reward… Heat, pain, reward. Etc. For other people, there was no such coupling. Heat, pain, no reward… Heat, pain, no reward. Etc. With this research design, Becker's team was able to determine what happens to people's sensation of pain after that pain has or hasn't been paired with a reward. Becker already knew from earlier research that such a pairing will inhibit pain, what psychologists call motivational opponency. When pain and reward are repeatedly coupled, people report a weaker pain response. The pain is not experienced as being quite so bothersome. But bear with me while I break down that opponency. Think of your response to pain as being made up of three things. 1. Sensation: your body's ability to recognize the location and intensity of a noxious stimuli – 'That was kind of hot, and it was in my thumb.' 2. Affect and motivation: how you feel about a noxious stimuli – 'That jolt of heat makes me miserable' or 'that heat doesn't bother me very much.' 3. Cognition: how you think about a noxious stimuli – 'That heat is a sign of trouble in my thumb' or 'that heat has nothing to do with the well-being of my thumb.' Becker wondered whether the coupling of pain and reward would cause people to become insensitive to their pain (process No. 1 above). That is, whether people would lose the ability to sense when their body is experiencing a noxious stimuli, if enough of those stimuli are paired with a pleasurable reward. Or, instead, she wondered whether people remain sensitive to pain while changing their emotional and cognitive responses to noxious stimuli (Nos. 2 and 3 above). Becker discovered (and I love this finding) that people actually become more sensitive to pain after these Pavlovian pairings. People get better at noticing when they are getting hit by quick bursts of heat, maybe because they now interpret (emotionally and cognitively) those painful jolts as being good things. Sure, the blasts of heat hurt. But they also mean a reward is on its way. My take on this research? Sometimes we cannot avoid painful stimuli. That bulging disc, that arthritic knee… these bodily problems will send signals to our brains, telling us that our bodies are damaged or inflamed or whatever. We will continue to sense the pain. But we don't have to be bothered by the pain. We can rethink and re-feel the pain. If you have pain that is impervious to a medical fix, don't give up hope. If you cannot free yourself of pain, you should work with a pain expert to find a way to reduce the emotional and cognitive impact that pain has on your life.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Reality TV star Dakota opens up about addiction struggle: "Nobody got it"
Reality TV star Dakota is opening up about a highly personal and painful episode of his life—his addiction to drugs that started when he was only 17. In an open-ended interview on Nick Viall's The Viall Files podcast, Dakota took his listeners through the grueling beginnings of his use of substances, which began as a desire to relieve his aching knees as a young basketball player. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Had bad knees, and I recall being at a practice one time, and my knees were really hurting," Dakota explained. "I was at the gym, and a kid was in there working out or something. He was just one of my buddies, sort of. I was whining about my knees… and then he said, 'Oh, man, I have some pain pills.'" Not knowing what the pills were, Dakota took them—and the effect was transformative, but not in the way he would have imagined. "I went and practiced, and I recall that I had absolutely no pain. It was the greatest thing on earth," he explained. From there on, Dakota began going after more of the pills, which he later found out were prescription opioids. At first, he did not see what he was doing as risky. "It was a pill and I didn't see, I think, the bad side of that in that way," he said. But things moved fast. When he and a friend went back to get more pills, their dealer offered them an introduction to snorting the pills for greater effect. That grew into Oxycontin, and then, a friend asked him to smoke them off of tin foil—a turning point Dakota recognizes as key in his addiction. "That's when things really started to change." Dakota was working a construction job at the time, but the wages weren't sufficient to sustain his increasingly expensive drug habit. That's when heroin became an option. "Heroin was cheaper and more accessible," he suggested. "Eventually, I began robbing my parents and doing return scams on big box stores with my friends. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now I was spiraling. Dakota's addiction was not just impacting his individual life but also his most intimate relationships. He had been dating his high school sweetheart, who ended up becoming his wife. She knew about the struggles he had but had no clue on how bad things were. "She was aware of [the addiction], but she didn't realize it," Dakota said. "No one did. No one realized it. My family didn't realize it … She didn't know I was using heroin. She knew, [but] she didn't know how bad I really was." Dakota's tale is but one of many that illuminates the way a young life can easily slip into the hold of addiction—all from taking something as innocuous as a pain pill. His candor is a poignant reminder of how important awareness, support, and understanding are for individuals who are combating substance abuse. As Dakota continues to share his journey, he hopes others will learn from his experience and see that recovery begins with truth—and that even the darkest paths can lead to healing.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dakota Mortensen Reveals He Considered Killing Himself amid Drug Relapse During His Divorce
Dakota Mortensen appeared on The Viall Files where he opened up about his life on and off reality TV Dakota gets candid about his history with drug addiction and how he found a path to happiness Dakota Mortensen's struggles with addiction have been mentioned on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but not in detailDakota Mortensen is getting candid about his struggles with addiction. Appearing on the Wednesday, June 4 episode of The Viall FIles, the 32-year-old reality star opened up about his life prior to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. While fans of the show have heard mention of Dakota's previous addiction on the show, he takes it back to where it all began — when he was a 17-year-old basketball player looking for something to help him manage his knee pain. "I had bad knees, and I remember I was at a practice once, and my knees were hurting super bad," he explains to host Nick Viall. "I was in the gym, and a kid was in there for, working out or something. He was just one of my friends, kind of. I was complaining about my knees... and then he was like, 'Oh, dude, I have some pain pills.'" Dakota "had no idea" what the pills were, but he took them. "Then I went and practices, and I remember I had zero pain. It was the best thing in the world," he recalled. Dakota sought out more pills, finding out that they were prescription painkillers. He didn't see what he was doing as problematic because, "It was a pill and I didn't see, I think, the bad side of that in that way," he explained. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. When he and his friend went to get more pills, their dealer told them snorting was more effective. Dakota eventually moved on to Oxycontin, recalling that a "buddy" eventually told him to smoke them "off of tin foil," which created a huge shift in his addiction. The then-teenager was working construction but found his habits cost more than he was bringing in. It was then that he turned to heroin. As his addiction took over, Dakota found himself stealing from his parents and doing return scams at big box stores with friends for extra cash. Dakota was in a relationship with his high school sweetheart at the time, who wasn't aware of the extent of his addiction before they got married. It was then that he started to realize the toll his addiction could take on others. "She knew about [the addiction], but she didn't understand it," he said. "And nobody did. Nobody understood it. My family didn't understand it ... She had no idea that I was using heroin. She knew, [but] she had no idea how bad I really was as well." Dakota vowed to himself to stop using when they got married, but he admitted that he turned to drugs again on their wedding day. "I remember when I was going to my wedding, it was gonna be my last hurrah before I stopped. And before I left, [some of my buddies] were like, 'We should use one more time,'" he recalled. "So, I am in my suit, I'm getting ready to go do this... And I am trying to get drugs." "I remember I was supposed to be there at a certain time, and I was late," he added. "Like, I wasn't late to the wedding or anything, but, like, meaning I was late to where I should have been there a lot earlier... I showed up and yeah, I used there, and that was actually fentanyl that I used there." In the early days of his marriage, Dakota tried to get sober. He and his wife bought a home together and with her working nights as a CNA, Dakota "held off for a while," he admitted. When a friend reached out offering heroin, however, he began using again. "It was mostly just heroin, and then, like, the fentanyl patches are, we would get those from cancer patients, by the way. We would find people that were dying from cancer, and they would sell all their drugs to people to make money, which is really sad," he says. In the year and a half he was married, Dakota continued doing drugs with his wife's limited knowledge. He felt the call to get sober after having "a very godly, spiritual experience." "I remember I was hurting so bad because I was still using and I just felt like such a crappy person. I just hated myself so much," he said. "And I remember I said a prayer and at this time, I didn't even know if I believed in God anymore... And I said a prayer and I was like, 'If there's anything you can do right now, just please, I need help so bad, and I need something to happen that will just change.'" He continued, "Right after I said that, I had a cousin that I haven't talked to since I was a little kid, and he was a junkie for 25, 30 years, and then he was sober. He ended up getting sober. He worked at a rehab place, and he randomly, out of the blue, shot me a text, right when I was done praying. He sent me a scripture and I thought that was kind of weird, but I remember texting him being like 'Hey, I'm actually, I kinda feel like I need help right now.'" Dakota didn't follow through immediately, he admitted. However on the next day, Christmas Eve, things came to a head when his wife caught him using. "She was in her bathroom and I went into the other bathroom and locked the door and I was getting ready to do it," he explained. "And she grabbed the key, unlocked the door, and opened it with me using. It was, like, the most craziest experience because she was just broken." Dakota recalled feeling "numb" and hiding his drugs on his body and throwing the foil it came in in the toilet, convincing his wife he'd flushed the drugs in front of her. "But I kept the drugs," he said. "And then she called my family. My family came and picked me up. Then when I was driving home, even just driving home I remember I was, like, I was sitting on the door. I was just so out of it. And I was this close from just opening the door and just throwing myself out of the truck," he admits. "I got home and I was at my parents' house for a while. The next day, she came over, essentially said, 'Hey, I'm gonna get a divorce.' And by the way, during this time, I was in rehab. So I checked myself in rehab. I did go to her and I was like, 'Hey, I'm struggling. I gotta get help. I don't know how to do it. And I managed to get help.'" Knowing that rehab was too little, too late for his marriage put Dakota in a dark place. "From there, I remember there was this point where I was like, this is where I was gonna kill myself," he revealed. "And I went, I bought like a gram of heroin and I was just like, 'I'm gonna just shoot up and I'm gonna just try to kill myself.' This is where I'm so sick of this life. I don't know how to stop, can't stop. It felt like it was just... I could never stop. And when I did, that same cousin called me and he said, 'Hey, I'm gonna come pick you up. I'm gonna get you into my rehab that I work at for free, and I'm gonna come grab you.'" Dakota agreed but noted, "I was like, 'I'll try it one more time. This will be my last time. I was like, If this one doesn't work, I'm done. I'm just gonna kill myself. I don't like doing this anymore.'" He admitted it was difficult to go through his divorce and get sober. After four months in rehab, he came home and packed up, deciding to move from Idaho to Utah for a fresh start. "The crazy thing is, when I was in Utah, I actually was sober for close to 4½, 5 years. So I was actually doing great," he said. "I was actually super happy. I was just loving life again. I never got to really enjoy life. It almost felt like I missed out on everything. I never got to do anything. I ended up having a relapse and it was fentanyl." Today, Dakota has been sober for over three years. He admitted, "What I actually did, it sounds weird, but I did it just for myself too, so that I could see, I actually documented a lot of that period of time for myself to watch what it did to how much it changes you. When I watch back on some of those videos, it would blow your mind. Like, your whole thought process changes, like, immediately." To get sober, he revealed that he got a hotel in Saint George and locked himself in a hotel for about five to six days where he went "through the gnarliest withdrawals." He explained, "I think it was the part that I knew, I could finally see, that I knew all of the beliefs in my head at that time were lies. It wasn't real. It was just, like, I knew it was just the drugs. It was all the drugs changing how I'm thinking." Dakota changed his focus to working out and wellness as he tried to transition to a new stage of his life. It was about six months into that journey that Dakota met Taylor Frankie Paul. While it hasn't always been smooth sailing between them, Taylor understood the boundaries of Dakota's addictions. Taylor makes mention of Dakota's addiction after their Halloween party blowout during season 2, acknowledging it's more important than any problem between them. "I made sure he was okay because I do worry about him obviously," she told Mayci Neeley and Mikayla Matthews during a lunch together. "When you have a past like that, that's like life or death for people. So I checked up on him." In a confessional, she elaborates, explaining, "Since the Halloween party, Miranda and I are cordial. But Dakota and I are currently in a fight and things are just getting worse and worse. And honestly, I do worry about Dakota's sobriety. With recovering addicts, you never know and so I think I'll always worry about that. My heart is closed at this point, but there's no question that I feel so strongly about him." If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 24/7. Read the original article on People
Perth Now
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
John Mulaney 'shocked' by sobriety
John Mulaney is "shocked" he has maintained his sobriety. The 42-year-old comic has spoken in the past about his addiction to cocaine and alcohol and he is proud he has managed to stay away from both since his 2020 relapse, particularly during the stress of wife Olivia Munn's cancer battle. Speaking to Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on their 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name' podcast, he said: "I will admit it's a huge change. Just a huge way of looking at everything. And I'm shocked I did it. I'm shocked I was able to do it. Become sober. To actually stick to it in every way. To not have, 'Well I still do this.' Nothing wrong or shameful about relapse, I'm shocked always that it landed.' Jon realised his "obsession" had eased while caring for Olivia - with whom he has Malcolm, three, and Mai, eight months - after her double mastectomy and not being concerned about handling her strong medication. He said: 'I remember one day she's in bed. She had the 10-hour double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and she still has more to go. "I brought her a tray with apple juice, something she wanted to eat that her mom had made in the kitchen, and then it had Oxycontin and some sort of nerve medication and a Xanax, which they also gave just for rest and recovery. 'It never crossed my mind that I was holding these medications in my hand. The obsession of it was gone. I thought, 'Oh, I'm so far beyond that, and I can be a good butler with the best client.' ' Ted asked John if he ever feels "aggrieved" enough to be tempted by drugs, or if he can spot the triggers from "two miles out". He replied: 'Oh yeah … I'm very lucky that life's been so great that it's always 30 miles out. But I'll be doing something and I go, 'Huh, you really want to be this exhausted, stretched thin, a little aggrieved?' 'Luckily those things are miles and miles off … That's part of it, is just always knowing, so addicted to the self-control of it in some ways and so happy that I'm always present when I'm with my kids and Olivia and friends and everything.' While John noted there will always be his struggles inside him, he's thankful they are no longer part of his everyday life. He said: 'I was in a bad neighbourhood of my brain for a while. You always have respect for it, that it's still there. You go, 'I see you. I know you're there. But that's not my daily life.' ' Though he is proud of his own sobriety, John is particularly proud of how Olivia has handled her health problems. He said: 'I always look back to when she was diagnosed in April, through that whole year, she wasn't just courageous. She was fun. "We had so much fun, it was so weird. So, it wasn't just the courage of it. She also was just always her greatest, best self throughout it.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senator questions Spotify about podcasts promoting online drug sales
Following reports from CNN and other news outlets, Senator Maggie Hassan is demanding information about how Spotify is handling phony podcasts promoting potentially illegal online pharmacies. Spotify said last week that it had removed dozens of podcasts identified by CNN that blatantly promoted the online pharmacies purportedly selling drugs such as Adderall and Oxycontin, in some cases without a prescription. Business Insider also reported that it had flagged 200 podcasts that Spotify subsequently removed. The fake podcasts — which had showed up among the top suggestions in searches for drug names — violated Spotify's rules and threatened to direct users to spammy and potentially illegal websites. US law prohibits buying controlled substances online without a prescription. Parents, experts and lawmakers have urged tech giants to do more to prevent the sale of counterfeit or illicit drugs to young people through their platforms, after multiple teens have died of overdoses from pills bought online. Now Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat and the ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, wants answers about how these fake podcasts proliferated on Spotify and what the company is doing to stop it from happening again In a letter sent Thursday, Hassan urged Spotify CEO Daniel Ek to 'take action to prevent fake podcasts that facilitate the illicit sale of drugs.' 'Far too many parents have experienced the unimaginable pain of losing their child to an accidental overdose,' Hassan told CNN in an exclusive statement ahead of the letter's release. 'Spotify has a responsibility to significantly ramp up its efforts to stop criminals from using the platform to facilitate deadly drug sales to anyone, especially teens.' The letter asks Spotify to provide details about the content it has taken down; how many users interacted with the drug sales podcasts before they were removed; whether the company earned any revenue from the podcasts; and whether Spotify works with law enforcement when it discovers illegal content. It also asks what moderation tools and practices the company has implemented to identify drug-related content and whether it will be making any updates considering the recent reports. Hassan has asked Spotify to respond by June 12. CNN has reached out to Spotify for comment regarding the letter. In a statement to CNN last week, a Spotify spokesperson said: 'We are constantly working to detect and remove violating content across our service.'
