By: Joe Graedon December 9, 2024 6 Comments
    Cure or Catastrophe: The Unpredictability of Med…

    Physicians who prescribe medications like to believe that their choices are based on evidence. In fact, there is a mantra that most prescribers have embraced: “Evidence Based Medicine,” abbreviate…

    By: Terry Graedon November 21, 2024 9 Comments
    Show 1409: From Hippocrates to Hypocrisy: The Hi…

    This Saturday morning, November 23, 2024, an expert from Australia helps us examine the hidden risks of healthcare. Healthcare providers have the best of intentions, but they simply cannot truly uphol…

    By: Terry Graedon October 31, 2024 4 Comments
    Show 1406: How Hypnotherapy Helps People Heal fr…

    This week, a nationally-renowned expert on hypnotherapy describes how this tool can be used to help people heal from stress or pain. Have you tried it? You could listen through your local public radio…

    By: Joe Graedon September 23, 2024 78 Comments
    Are Doctors Overprescribing Gabapentin for Pain?

    There are over 26,000 diseases that afflict humans. Most have one common denominator: pain! The way our body lets us know there's a problem is when something hurts, whether it's a broken bone, a tooth…

    By: Terry Graedon September 12, 2024 6 Comments
    Can Mindfulness Help You Manage Chronic Pain?

    People in chronic pain often feel abandoned by the medical profession,  especially as physicians cut back on prescribing opioids. They may be interested in some nondrug approaches that could help the…

    By: Joe Graedon July 25, 2024 110 Comments
    How To Stop Tramadol Without Withdrawal Symptoms…

    We have heard from hundreds of visitors to this website about the serious side effects of tramadol (Ultram). They include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation, headache, drowsiness, dizzin…

    By: Terry Graedon July 14, 2024 16 Comments
    Can NSAIDs for Pain Harm Your Kidneys?

    Have you taken nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like diclofenac, ibuprofen or naproxen? These pain relievers are very popular. In fact, you can buy ibuprofen and naproxen without a prescr…

    By: Terry Graedon June 18, 2024 9 Comments
    Show 1354: How Hypnosis Can Help Your Health (Ar…

    Would you be surprised to learn that hypnosis is a powerful tool for healing? If your primary exposure to this practice has been in books and movies, you may have a few misconceptions about how it wor…

    By: Terry Graedon May 20, 2024 58 Comments
    Tart Cherries Fight Pain and Inflammation Natura…

    When most people experience pain they take NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Physicians prescribe medications like celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), meloxicam (Mobic…

    By: Joe Graedon April 22, 2024 24 Comments
    Can You Wreck Your Kidneys With NSAID Pain Relie…

    Most people take their kidneys for granted...until something bad happens. When your kidneys fail, though, your life hangs in the balance. Short of dialysis or a kidney transplant, kidney failure rapid…

    By: Joe Graedon April 8, 2024 15 Comments
    How Safe Is Your Pain Reliever? Acetaminophen, I…

    Almost everyone takes a pain reliever now and again. It might be for a headache, a muscle strain or arthritis. Occasional use is considered reasonably safe. But regular use of most OTC analgesics pose…

    By: Joe Graedon March 17, 2024 33 Comments
    Ibuprofen and High Blood Pressure: A Dangerous R…

    Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is on the rise (Open Heart, April 28, 2017). We're talking about drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen. Such pain relievers are perceived as quite safe…

    By: Joe Graedon February 26, 2024 7 Comments
    Are You Taking “Good” Drugs or “Bad” Dru…

    You have doubtless heard that we live in a “polarized” world where the middle ground has been lost. Pundits usually apply this concept to politics: Republicans vs. Democrats or liberals vs. conser…

    By: Joe Graedon December 18, 2023 6 Comments
    Overdosing on Acetaminophen in Cold and Flu Reme…

    Many over-the-counter medicines marketed for treating colds and flu contain acetaminophen (paracetamol in Europe, Australia and New Zealand). This non-aspirin pain reliever helps lower fever. Acetamin…

    By: Joe Graedon October 30, 2023 16 Comments
    Do You Read OTC Medication Labels? You Should!

    Americans LOVE Drugs. I am not talking about getting high. I am talking about pills we purchase in pharmacies, convenience stores and online. According to a study published in the journal Demography (…

    By: Terry Graedon October 19, 2023 0 Comments
    How Do Virtual Visits Compare to In-Person Docto…

    One of the consequences of the pandemic was the adoption of virtual visits for primary health care. The rationale was to avoid transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to otherwise healthy people. Like th…

    By: Terry Graedon June 22, 2023 20 Comments
    How Do You Weigh the Benefits and Risks of Aspir…

    Aspirin has been around for over 100 years. Moreover, it is one of the most versatile drugs in the pharmacy. This tablet relieves pain, lowers fever and reduces inflammation. In addition, it has anti-…

    By: Joe Graedon June 19, 2023 16 Comments
    How Can You Manage Opioid-Induced Constipation?

    Opioids have gotten a bad name over the last several years because so many users have overdosed and died. But people have been using these drugs, also known as narcotics, for millennia. The ancient As…

    By: Joe Graedon May 21, 2023 7 Comments
    Are You “Addicted” to Your Prescription Medi…

    Before you read another word, rethink the term addiction! It is loaded with emotional baggage and is a terrible description of drug dependence. It often implies character flaws or vulnerability and fr…

    By: Terry Graedon April 27, 2023 6 Comments
    Show 1339: Harnessing the Power of the Vagus Ner…

    We have multiple nervous systems. You are probably aware of the nerves that help move your arms to throw a ball or move your legs to jump. No doubt you also know about the fight-or-flight response tri…

    By: Joe Graedon April 10, 2023 9 Comments
    Do You Take Your Pain Medicine for Granted?

    If you are like most Americans the chances are very good that you have one of the following in your medicine cabinet or in a kitchen drawer: acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin …

    By: Terry Graedon December 5, 2022 2 Comments
    People in Pain Need Access to Suicide Hotline Nu…

    When a reader calls us on an important omission, we try to correct our error. That happened recently when we wrote about the CDC guidelines for opioid use. We were so focused on access to adequate pai…

    By: Terry Graedon November 24, 2022 1 Comments
    Does Acupuncture Safely Relieve Back Pain During…

    Pregnant people often experience lower back or pelvic pain during pregnancy. progresses. This poses a dilemma, since medications used to alleviate pain may not be safe for the developing fetus. An ana…

    By: Joe Graedon November 21, 2022 46 Comments
    Are People In Pain Committing Suicide For Lack o…

    The opioid epidemic has been with us for decades. It has resulted in untold misery and death. The pandemic only made matters worse. Overdose deaths spiked, in part because the synthetic opioid fentany…

    By: Terry Graedon November 9, 2022 7 Comments
    Show 1290: Approaches for Managing Chronic Pain …

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 50 million American suffer from debilitating chronic pain. Despite that number, in 2016 the agency issued stringent guideline…

    By: Joe Graedon July 4, 2022 44 Comments
    Opioid Crackdown Leaves Cancer Patients In Pain!

    Far too many people are dying from opioid overdoses. You already knew that. It’s been in the news for years. Many of the deaths are due to fentanyl. This synthetic opioid has become widely available…

    By: Joe Graedon May 30, 2022 101 Comments
    Unexpected Benefits and Risks of the Moderna Vac…

    When most people think of COVID vaccines, all they are interested in is how well they will protect them from being hospitalized with COVID-19. After all, that is why these shots were invented. We now …

    By: Terry Graedon May 9, 2022 12 Comments
    Should You Take Turmeric to Ease Pain?

    Persistent pain can really wear you down. Consequently, when people discover something that works, they like to share the good news. Some readers report relief from months of terrible discomfort by ta…

    By: Joe Graedon April 18, 2022 31 Comments
    Aspirin vs. NSAIDs: Which Is Best?

    Aspirin has lost its luster. There was a time when many doctors would recommend aspirin to treat minor aches and pains. People with rheumatoid arthritis were "prescribed" large doses of aspirin. The "…

    By: Joe Graedon April 14, 2022 166 Comments
    War on Opioids Punishes Desperate Pain Patients

    We have been reading about the horrors of opioids for decades. Americans are increasingly paranoid about drugs like codeine, hydrocodone (Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Vicodin, etc.) and oxycodone (OxyContin…

    By: Joe Graedon March 27, 2022 69 Comments
    Pain Reliever Confusion: Aspirin | Advil | Aleve…

    Walk into any pharmacy and you will find an aisle devoted to pain relief. There are so many brands and generic options that it could give you a headache just trying to figure out which of the many pro…

    By: Joe Graedon February 28, 2022 76 Comments
    People in Pain Are in Misery Because of the War …

    Deaths from opioid overdoses have been surging. For years, the CDC has been concerned about the toll that opioid overdoses are taking. There have been reports that fentanyl and its chemical cousins ar…

    By: Terry Graedon November 15, 2021 13 Comments
    Will CBD for Pain Make You Fail the Marijuana Te…

    One lesson learned from the terrible opioid crisis of the past few years: a lot of Americans are in a lot of pain. With doctors increasingly reluctant to prescribe narcotics for pain relief, people ar…

    By: Terry Graedon July 1, 2021 14 Comments
    Show 1178: Do We Need a Revolution in Managing P…

    Pain is a difficult topic. To begin with, the experience of pain is completely subjective. There are no independent objective measures that doctors can use to assess a patient’s pain. They have to t…

    By: Joe Graedon June 14, 2021 3 Comments
    When PM Pain Meds Might Make Sense

    We are not big fans of "PM" Pain meds. We’re talking about products such as Advil PM, Aleve PM, Excedrin PM, Motrin PM, Tylenol PM or Unisom PM. We suspect that a lot of people see a familiar brand …

    By: Joe Graedon April 19, 2021 33 Comments
    Opioid Crackdown Betrays People in Pain!

    We have been hearing about the opioid epidemic for so many years we have lost track. It continues. The CDC recently reported a significant uptick in drug overdoses and deaths during the pandemic. …

    By: Terry Graedon August 10, 2020 28 Comments
    Can a Supplement Relieve Neuropathy Pain?

    People who experience neuropathy pain tell us it can be excruciating. Sometimes this is a side effect of cancer treatment, though other individuals develop nerve pain as a consequence of taking a stat…

    By: Joe Graedon March 9, 2020 15 Comments
    Gabapentin Risks for Persistent Shoulder Pain?

    People in pain are suffering…not just from the pain but also from the treatments that are being offered. Opioids have developed such a terrible reputation that most physicians are reluctant to presc…

    By: Joe Graedon January 20, 2020 44 Comments
    Long Lasting Shoulder Pain After Flu Shot

    Getting a flu shot is supposed to be your best protection against influenza. Since September we have all been encouraged to get our flu shot. Most of the reports we have seen this year suggest that th…

    By: Terry Graedon January 12, 2020 3 Comments
    Celecoxib Skin Rash Can Be Extremely Serious

    Doctors frequently prescribe celecoxib (Celebrex) to relieve pain due to arthritis and other conditions. They like this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) partly because it appears less likel…