When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know About OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Get in there and push six milligrams of morphine on that post-op femur..." (more)
Key Phrases: illicit drug culture, fentanyl analogues, addicted family, Twelve Step, United States, Civil War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though OxyContin provides effective, long-acting relief from pain, it has its dark side, Rush Limbaugh’s addiction being only one of the examples of it. OxyContin is an opioid and thus addictive, and if used in conjunction with alcohol or other drugs, it can be deadly. Pinsky, an expert in chemical dependency and co-host of MTV’s Loveline, offers a sober and plainly written introduction to OxyContin and other new painkillers, including how they work and how they are abused. In a brief but comprehensive overview, Pinsky, along with several other experts, explains how painkillers mimic our own endorphins, how addiction affects the brain and how it can be treated (simple abstinence is not enough). He also offers advice to those who think a friend or family member might be addicted and describes the role of family in addiction and treatment. With its clear writing, short, easily absorbed sections and the expertise of its contributors, this is a highly useful and supportive guide.
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Product Description

Americans, it seems, have a history of self-medicating for pain. The high profile and increasingly widespread cases of prescription pain medication abuse that we're seeing today serve as the latest chapter in America's long-standing love/hate relationship with painkilling drugs. In this fascinating, informative, and timely book, Dr. Drew Pinsky and other leading experts in the fields of addiction and recovery discuss why Americans are using drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, how American's used and abused other painkillers in the past, what makes some people vulnerable to addiction, and how to get help for yourself or a family member in trouble with drugs.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Hazelden; 1 edition (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159285107X
• ISBN-13: 978-1592851072
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,593 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #43 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Aging > Pain Management
  #76 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Recovery > Drug Dependency

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow., August 2, 2004

By	Andrea (Indianapolis, In.) - See all my reviews

I cannot find enough words to say about this book. I have been waiting for months for it to come out and it's just amazing. I've known for a while that my mother was addicted to pain meds, but had no idea just how addicted she was until i read this book. I bought this at 9pm on friday night... and by 1am I had read almost the whole book. It is very easy to read (with the minimum of hard to understand doctor jibberish) and it draws a very crystal clear line of knowning addiction from need. (my grandmother needs her pain meds, my mother does not) She has nearly every tell-tail sign of addiction!
Amazing job Drew Pinsky! Thanks to you and the other specialists who made the effort to make this book that is like no other! I commend your efforts and really appriciate the book!
A.D
Indianapolis In.
[e-mail]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting - I loved it!, August 16, 2006

By	Stephen R. Stalvey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, if you have read Dr. Drew's book "Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Back Together" then I would recommend this book if you are further interested addiction.

This book definitely has a different tone, as some of the other reviews complain, but don't let that turn you away! It may not be a compassionate look into a doctor's world of addiction treatment, but it's not meant to be. This book is a nice introduction to addiction, how it happens, how treatment works, and how it is genetic. It's meant more as a reference for people who struggle with addiction through a family member, friend, etc and not as something to be necessarily entertaining.

The reason I rated this book a four is because of some of the terminology thrown around in it. If not familiar with the brain structure and some basic psychology, this book may have some people doing a little more research for a better understanding. Though, if you want to learn about addiction and many of the concepts emerging today, this is a great book and has many great references included in it.

Another note, this is not a Dr. Drew book entirely. This book is simply composed of six different writers (Drew included) who discuss many different aspects of addiction.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight facts and medical information concerning legal, painkilling prescription drugs, July 5, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Written by the program medical director of chemical dependency services at Las Encinas Hospital of Pasadena, California, When Painkillers Become Dangerous offers straight facts and medical information concerning legal, painkilling prescription drugs. These drugs are highly effective, but also severely addictive. When Painkillers Become Dangerous is emphatically not a substitute for the diagnosis and evaluation of a physician, as an internal disclaimer warns, it is a "must-read" to acquaint oneself with the basics of the drugs and their dangers, how addiction develops, how addiction treatment works, how to intervene on a loved one's addiction, and much more, all presented in terms immediately accessible to the lay reader. Highly recommended.