Pain Meds / Antidepressants in 65+ Rising Sharply and Lasting Longer
Pain Meds / Antidepressants in 65+ Rising Sharply and Lasting Longer According to a USA Today article,, the number of senior citizens getting narcotic painkillers and anti-anxiety medications under Medicare’s prescription drug program is climbing sharply, and those older patients are being put on the drugs for longer periods of time. From 2007-2012, the number of patients 65 and older getting Medicare prescriptions for powerful opioid pain medications rose more than 30% to upward of 8.5 million beneficiaries, the data show. Use of some of the most commonly abused painkillers, such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, climbed more than 50%. And the supply of each narcotic provided to the average recipient grew about 15% to about three months. The number of seniors getting Medicare prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications, such as alprazolam (also sold as Xanax), busipirone and lorazepam (also sold as Ativan), rose about 25% to more than 700,000. By 2012, the average patient got about five months’ worth ÛÒ about 10% more than in 2007. Obviously this carries considerable risks of abuse and dependence if their use is not closely supervised over longer periods. They also can contribute to confusion and physical injuries. Speaking to USA Today, Jane Ballantyne, anesthesiologist and pain medicine expert at the University of Washington Medical Center said: “The rise in such prescriptions reflects “old teaching” that led many physicians to over-prescribe the drugs, especially for long-term treatment, says . The newer consensus is that the drugs’ use should be much more limited, particularly in patients with a history of substance abuse or among groups, such as seniors, who are more vulnerable to side effects, she adds. “But it takes a lot of time and effort to turn the old teaching around.” After moving mom from Florida to North Carolina, we found a physician who is actually weaning her off some of her 14 or so prescriptions. In a fee for service world, fueled by aggressive pharmaceutical companies, it is hard to get people to change habits as Ballantyne mentioned. I found a physician who is. And I switched to him as well.
Choose An Active Retirement Community for Your Loved One – They Promote Physical Well Being
Choose An Active Retirement Community for Your Loved One – They Promote Physical Well Being Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that older adults in retirement communities who said they were involved in exercise more often were less likely to experience certain health issues as they got older. However, those who exercised less or not at all were more likely to experience the symptoms of physical decline. “Physical decline is natural in this age group, but we found that people who exercised more declined less,” said Lorraine Phillips, an associate professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, via a press release.åÊ”The most popular physical activities the residents of the retirement community reported doing were light housework and walking, both of which are easily integrated into individuals’ daily lives, but these exercises are not the best choices for maintaining muscle strength.” For the study, researchers examined the physical activity of 38 residents at TigerPlace, a community area in Columbia, Mo., four times in one year. The researchers tested the residents’ walking speed, balance and ability to stand up following sitting in a chair. The test results were then compared to those who self-reported participation in exercise. Researchers found that those who typically reported more involvement in physical activity showed less signs of physical decline. However, researchers note that many did not report muscle strengthening exercises, which are nationally recommended. So aerobic exercise and strength training are important!
Antidepressant May Slow Alzheimer’s
Antidepressant May Slow Alzheimer’s
A commonly prescribed antidepressant can reduce production of the main ingredient in Alzheimer’s brain plaques, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania.
The scientists found that the antidepressantåÊ stopped the growth of plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. And in young adults who were cognitively healthy, a single dose of the antidepressant lowered by 37 percent the production of amyloid beta, the primary ingredient in plaques. Amyloid beta is a protein produced by normal brain activity. Levels of this protein rise in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s, causing it to clump together into plaques. Plaques also are sometimes present in cognitively normal brains. Most antidepressants keep serotonin circulating in the brain, so this researchers to wonder whether the drugs block the increase of amyloid beta levels and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. In 2011, the researchers tested several antidepressants in young mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. In these mice, which had not yet developed brain plaques, antidepressants reduced amyloid beta production by an average of 25 percent after 24 hours. In a second experiment, the scientists gave a single dose of citalopram to 23 people ages 18 to 50 who were not cognitively impaired or depressed. Samples of spinal fluid taken from the participants over the next 24 hours showed a 37 percent drop in amyloid beta production. Check with your physician. How to Check Up on Elderly Relatives During the Holidays
How to Check Up on Elderly Relatives During the Holidays
Are you Anti-Aging? Be Content with What Is not What Was.
Are you Anti-Aging? Be Content with What Is not What Was. By Dr. Toni LaMotta
Our world is obsessed with youth and beauty. We are bombarded daily with ANTI-aging techniques and products. No wonder so many people fear growing older. Frankly, IÛªd rather not be ANTI anything but be FOR AgingÛ_in a healthy and conscious fashion.
How would our world change if all of us began to see the aging process as a means of spiritual growth?
A few years ago I spent about three months in a hospital and nursing home.åÊ I noticed that I wasnÛªt asking, why is this happening to me? I wasnÛªt feeling like a victim. I wasnÛªt even asking what did I do to cause this?åÊ as I might have several years previously. But, I found myself asking the question – What does my soul want here? What can I learn from this experience?åÊ What GIFT can I find here? And I noticed that I began to see the aging process in a whole new way. Deep awakening was happening as I let myself just ÛÏaccept what isÛ.
The lesson was reinforced while visiting a dear friend 104 years young. She told me that she decided a while ago that it made no sense to complain because her life had gotten smaller. (She had two rooms, which she seldom left in an assisted living facility.) because if she were to be filled with complaints, she wouldnÛªt be happy and she said boldly, ÛÏIÛªd rather be happy.Û
ÛÏPerhaps there are things I should be doingÛ, she said.åÊ ÛÏSometimes I find myself wishing I could go back to Sweden where I was bornÛ_ but I know I will not be traveling anymoreÛ_so rather than wish I were doing what I can no longer do, I have learned to be SATISFIED with the fact that I HAVE done so muchÛ (she and her husband were both pilots ÛÒ so they traveled a great deal.)
I truly believe that the secret to her long life and happiness ÛÒ besides having a bourbon and water each night! ÛÒ was the fact that she was CONTENT WITH WHAT IS.
IÛªm not saying not to have wonderful memories. But I have noticed that the unhappiest older people I know are those who long to be as they once were, rather than as they are now.åÊ Those who compare themselves with the way they were 20 years ago are engaging in an exercise certain to keep them in an unhappy state. One of the spiritual tasks of aging is learning to live without regret and striving to be happy with who and what we are right now
Dr. Toni LaMotta is a keynote speaker, best-selling author of ÛÏWhat You REALLY Want, Wants YouÛ and spiritual teacher supporting people in consciously embracing the process of aging. åÊShe also helps coaches & speakers create, publish and market their books. http://www.tonilamotta.com
