Bipolar & Addicted
“somewhere between 45% and 70%...who have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder will have at some point in their lifetime met the criteria for a substance use disorder.”
Tag: physicians
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A Disturbing Trend in Prescribing
This in spite of the fact … that these drugs can and often do interact harmfully with one another. And regular users are at elevated risk for misuse, abuse, dependence, and/or addiction.
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Death Letter
The researchers were interested in whether receipt of such a letter would cause the physician to be more cautious in prescribing in future. The answer: It did.
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MDs Confronting SUDs
I imagine it takes a special kind of practitioner to push aside the barriers in the system to get to the SUD that lies underneath, even when he or she knows it’s there.
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A Problem in Prescribing?
…no more than 7.4% of overdose patients had received a prescription for naloxone following an overdose. That covers both the initial visit and any follow-up contacts the hospital required.
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Hospital Consults — Are They Worth It?
I asked a number of the attending docs if they’d spoken with the patient about the problem, and was startled by how rarely the answer was yes.
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Self-Disclosing
…with any helping relationship, I think it’s best to restrict self-disclosure to situations where you believe it will advance the goals of treatment.
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Doctors and Alcohol Disorders
Definite progress has been made, but there are still plenty of examples of people who fall through the cracks in the healthcare system.
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Prescription for Violence
I heard one man exclaim in a packed hospital waiting room. “It’s her damn job. She took an oath.” I was struck by his sense of entitlement. And I could envision how, enhanced by withdrawal and desperation, it could turn violent.
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The Pill Pusher’s Tale
Smaller government is not always better government. It shouldn’t take a major health crisis to remind us.
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Maradona’s Last Chance?
His attending physician seems to have attempted to address alcoholism before, with little or no success. This may represent a last chance.
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Medical Relapse Trap
That is not the doc’s fault, and frankly, it isn’t really James’, either. It’s what happens where addiction rules. If not at that moment, then the next.
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Opioid Evangelism
It’s these outdated attitudes towards addictions that enable the healthcare professional to ignore important information provided by the patient.
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