In Portsmouth Ohio, coal used to be king, now it’s Oxycontin and Oxycodone. The fifth-most-prescribed pain medication in the world, “oxy,” or “OC,” is a favorite of addicts, who crush and snort it or dilute it with water and inject it for a heroin-like rush. The drug and its cousin oxycodone are the cause of a prescription-drug-fueled epidemic that has brought Scioto County to its knees.

The county has seen a 360 percent increase in accidental drug-overdose deaths and has the highest hepatitis C rate in Ohio, a rate that has nearly quadrupled in the past five years, thanks to junkies who are shooting up.

Sixty-four Scioto County babies born in 2009 came into the world with drugs in their system — that’s nearly one in 10 births. And swamped drug treatment centers say they are turning away thousands of locals who need help for prescription-drug addiction.

This story is really sad, but you can read the rest of it HERE.

Perry Moore, The “Chronicles of Narnia” producer, was found dead in his SoHo apartment on Thursday. It is said he battled chronic back and neck pain and that pain sometimes interfered with his work. “He had a lot of chronic pain. It was always an issue we were dealing with on set,” said Mike Ryan, friend and Greyshack Films President, a producing partner on Perry Moore’s recent indie flick “Lake City.”

Moore’s father said his son had scheduled back surgery for the spring. “I hate to say he inherited it from me, but I’ve had several back surgeries,” Bill Moore, 69, told The News as he boarded a flight to New York City. The devastated father said his son’s initial autopsy was inconclusive, so formal cause of death is pending toxicology results. “I have no clue what happened. The examiner said he was in good condition,” he said. Sources said it appeared Moore died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller OxyContin.

The girlfriend of former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV died at his home after accidentally overdosing on the painkiller oxycodone, the St. Louis County medical examiner said Wednesday.

Adrienne Martin, 27, of St. Charles, was found dead on the morning of Dec. 19 at Busch’s sprawling estate in suburban St. Louis after spending the night at his home. He has said he woke up around 11 a.m. and tried to awaken Martin, but couldn’t.

Oxycodone is used to relieve moderate to severe pain, according to the National Institutes of Health. It is in a class of medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics and works by changing the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain. It is commonly known by its brand name, OxyContin.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says abuse of Oxycodone has increased markedly in recent years.

To read the rest of this story Click HERE

How long will the withdrawal from painkillers last? Whether it’s withdrawal from Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percodan, Codiene or any other painkiller or heroin, that’s kind of a loaded question.

The main physical withdrawal effects, such as the pain, sweats, chills, vomiting, diarrhea and nausea usually last only about 5 days to a week. The other part, the longer term withdrawal or PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) can last from several weeks to several years.

This part is sometimes what keeps people going back to the drug. After the initial withdrawal or detox, then you have residual detox and the brain trying to function normally, but it just can’t. At least not yet, and it can take months or years for a persons brain chemistry to get back to normal.

It is this period of time that can be the most difficultfor many to STAY OFF of the drugs, because it is here where the nagging and gnawing little voices start talking. I am not talking hallucinations, but I am talking depression and anxiety and the want to just be happy again.

What happens when a person is addicted to pain killers is their brain stops making endorphins, the bodys natural pain killers and the thing that keeps us from getting depressed. When a person starts taking pain meds for an extended length of time, their brain stops making endorphins because opiates look just like endorphins to the brain and the brain stops making them.

After so long the brain stops making them and the pain killer is now depended upon for endorphins or the imitation endorphins. Clinically the opiate dependance is spelled out like this:

“Opiate addiction is recognized as a central nervous system disorder caused by continuous opiate use. Extended opiate abuse leads to the nerve cells in the brain to stop functioning as they normally would and stop producing natural endorphins. Because the body is receiving opiates and is no longer producing endorphins, the nerve cells start to degenerate and cause an opiate addiction.”

So what happens is the brain doesn’t make endorphins anymore, the person who was addicted may be depressed and have anxiety for a period of time after getting off the painkillers and after the physical withdrawal is over.

It is during this period of time the person occupy themselves with something constructive. The person will most likely not want to do anything much, but once they start they start to feel better. It forces the brain to start making it’s own endorphins. Physical exercise can help to jump start the endorphin making process.

It is also of great importance for the person to get SUPPORT in the form of either a 12 step program(Highly Recommended), or through some form of group counseling. There is power in numbers and being a part of a group really helps immensely.

Many people feel they don’t belong in a group with other drug addicts, but the fact is, they do, they were once addicted or are currently addicted to drugs. They may feel they are not like the other people., but they are, in that they were addicted.

I also want to make one thing VERY clear, Just because you or someone you love is addicted to painkillers, doesn’t mean they have a moral problem. Opiate addiction is NOT a moral issue, it’s a medical one, and one not to be trifled with. Give them a break and support them emotionally, and get them the help they need.

I’d also Suggest reading this post: Opiate Withdrawal Timeline

This post has been revised and updated and can be found here:

How To Get Off Painkillers Naturally

People keep asking me how to get off painkillers naturally. Well the thing is, you’re going to go through a bit of pain no matter what you do but you can do something to ease that pain.

I’ve recently updated the list of How to get off painkillers naturally, please see this post right here:

For a list of these please see my post here called The Thomas Recipe Alternative – Larry’s Recipe for Opiate Withdrawal

The price of Suboxone is somewhat costly, but it can be reduced with the free drug cards that are listed in teh resources of my report.

Unfortunately, I had to raise my price of the report to $14.97 due to the cost of hosting of my website and the cost of the bandwidth. So any of you who bought the report before today, got it for $9.97.

Good luck…

I am constantly emailed by families and loved ones, of people who are addicted. It’s hard because I can’t really help them directly, all I can do is direct them to try to find a family counselor or intervention specialist and also direct them to my Report: “How to get off Painkillers“.

Sometimes it is a wife who is addicted to painkillers, or a husband who is addicted to painkillers or it could be Boy friend or Girlfriend. Sometimes it is a teenager that is addicted to painkillers, and the parents are looking for help.

Sometimes it is the teenagers looking for ways to get their parents to support them to try to get off! Imagine that! And the parents are giving the teenager no help at all, only grief. All the teenager wants is just to get off the painkillers. This is where Family Counseling is needed for Drug Addiction.

When a family is dealing with drug addiction, everyone is affected.  Having an addict in the family can put stress and strain on all of the relationships as well as the family dynamics.  The addiction causes pain, frustration, and anger in all members involved.  Because it does affect everyone, the need for family therapy is so important.

There are many emotions involved in a family when dealing with drug addiction.  You may find yourself feeling angry toward the person who is addicted.  This is normal.  You may wonder how this happened, why it happened, and what you could have done to stop it.

You may feel depressed and helpless, even responsible for your loved one’s addiction.  This too is a normal reaction.  Often when someone we love is in pain, such as the pain associated with drug addiction, we tend to look for excuses for their behavior.  We take the pain on for them and don’t make them take responsibility for their actions. This is the cycle called enabling, we must stop the enabling by breaking the cycle.

To begin with, realize that this is a huge mistake.  The person with the drug addiction was the one who brought it into your family in the first place, and he or she needs to take responsibility for that.  It’s not easy and will be painful for all involved, but once the addict realizes that their actions have consequences, they can take charge of their recovery fully.

Family therapy is a great way to help with drug addiction.  Family therapy consists of all members of the family getting together with the assistance of a trained professional, and talking about the issues that all are having when it comes to the addict and the addiction itself.  Family therapy can be intense but amazingly therapeutic as well.  It’s the perfect time to air your feelings in a safe setting with the help of a moderator to keep things on track.

Family and friends can play critical roles in motivating loved ones with an addiction to enter and stay in treatment.  Family therapy is important – especially with teen addicts.  Having the involvement of family members in a person’s treatment program can strengthen and extend the benefits of the addict’s treatment program.

Drug addiction and family is a volatile situation, but one that can be faced and addressed with love, caring, and compassion.  If your family is affected by drug addiction, be supportive and listen with an open heart.  It will help you, those around you, and most important the family member with the addiction.

I saw a question from someone in a forum I belong to, asking “how do I get off pain pills at home?”. This is what the outpatient program is all about, doing it at home and not in a long term inpatient treatment facility.

This is why I put this report together for people to be able to get clean at home, and not have to miss work or school. It also saves people the embarrassment of having people find out that you have a drug problem, by being able to treat this at home.

I just want to thank everyone who has been emailing me and contacting me and giving me good feedback. I also want to thank all of you who have gotten the report and emailed me after you have gotten off off the pain killers, and also given me more good feedback. But I want to tell all of you who have done it, thank YOU for doing it. I means a LOT to me that it’s working so well. I really mean that.

I really was so happy the day I got off of painkillers, so happy I cried. It had been wrecking my life so much and it was a stupid little pill that was controlling my life, and making me miserable. When I had a few months clean it struck me to help others with a report on how to do it and how to make it simple and easy. I had talked to my friends who had kicked without anything or any help at all. They expressed to me how they wished they had something that made it so easy, like it did for me.

It really was that easy to get off of painkillers with the help of buprenorphine. One day I was hooked on vicodin, the next day I was off of them and had a 180 degree shift in attitude and demeanor. It was incredible, easy and it can work for you too.

My report is only $9.97, it will save you Hundreds and hours of time and frustration. what are you waiting for? I mean it seems like a no brainer.