Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer
With the Iraq and Afghanistan troops heading home, the challenges are considerable. VA, which does a great deal of medical research, recently issued a large scale report looking at mental health problems and drug prescription. Recent veterans with mental health diagnoses, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, were significantly more likely to receive prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone and other opioids than those with pain but no mental health issues. The veterans with mental health diagnoses who were prescribed the powerful, euphoria-causing and potentially addictive drugs had worse outcomes, with more overdoses, accidents and risky use patterns, the study found. VA needs to improve care of patients with "comorbid pain and PTSD because of the heightened risk of self-medication with opioids and substance abuse in veterans with PTSD, which may result in further declines in interpersonal and occupational functioning” according to Dr. Robert Kerns, the national director for pain management at the VA.
Family members should watch out for this troublesome combination of pain, PTSD and prescription opioids. This could become a quick slide down a very rough mountain.
http://www.stripes.com/news/va-study-ptsd-patients-more-often-prescribed-potent-opioids-1.170782
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