'Preferred' pain drug now called last resort

In a striking reversal in state policy that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that the painkilling drug methadone is riskier and more dangerous than previously believed — a drug of last resort because it's unpredictable and poses a heightened risk of accidental death.

Seattle Times staff reporters

Dr. Jeff Thompson, medical chief for Medicaid

Enlarge this photo

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Dr. Jeff Thompson, medical chief for Medicaid

When it comes to battling pain, Washington health officials have encouraged doctors to reach for methadone, a powerful and inexpensive prescription drug. For the past decade, the state has declared methadone to be as safe and effective as any other narcotic painkiller.

But in a striking reversal that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that methadone is riskier and more dangerous — a drug of last resort — because it's unpredictable and poses a heightened risk of accidental death.

"It's a dangerous drug because it accumulates in the body and people die in their sleep," Dr. Jane Ballantyne, a pain specialist at the University of Washington, said Friday. "It's very tricky and difficult to use safely."

Ballantyne and the university are helping spearhead a series of state-sponsored training programs to educate physicians, pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners about the risks of pain drugs.

Earlier this week, while delivering a continuing medical education course for dozens of physicians and other medical professionals at the university, Ballantyne presented a slideshow in which she cautioned that methadone "should be considered a last option opioid, never a first line opioid."

The state's effort is a response to a Seattle Times series, "Methadone and the Politics of Pain." The investigation, published in December, detailed that at least 2,173 people in Washington have died from accidental overdoses of the drug since 2003.

The Times found that year after year, a committee of state-appointed medical experts sanctioned methadone, empowering the state to designate it a "preferred drug" and steer people with state-subsidized health care — most notably, Medicaid patients — to the drug in order to save money.

The state has included only two drugs, methadone and morphine, on its preferred list of long-acting pain drugs.

During the committee's meetings, officials from state agencies that have a financial stake in methadone's selection consistently deflected concerns about the drug.

Methadone's death toll has hit the hardest among low-income patients. Medicaid recipients account for about 8 percent of Washington's adult population but 48 percent of methadone fatalities.

After the series, the state sent out an emergency public-health advisory that singled out the unique risks of methadone.

Medicaid officials faxed a health advisory to more than 1,000 pharmacists and drugstores about methadone, as well as about oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine. The state Department of Health mailed advisories to about 17,000 licensed health-care professionals.

The health advisory confirmed that Washington ranks among states with the highest rates of opioid-related deaths, exceeding the number of deaths each year involving motor vehicles.

Most painkillers, such as oxycodone, dissipate from the body within hours. Methadone can linger for days, pool into a toxic reservoir and depress breathing. With little warning, patients fall asleep and don't wake up. Doctors call it the silent death.

Ballantyne noted that methadone is an indispensable drug and plays an important role in the treatment of many patients. However, due to the heightened risks, methadone should be prescribed only by those with extensive training and experience — and only after every other option has been exhausted.

Dr. Jeff Thompson, chief medical officer of the state's Medicaid program, now readily agrees that methadone use carries unique risks and that it should not be the first choice if other drugs are equally suitable.

He said physicians are stepping up efforts to unravel the long-term impact on the body from prolonged use of prescription drugs now that Washington's new pain-management law has gone into full force beginning this month.

The groundbreaking law requires practitioners to follow new standards for treatment and record-keeping. It also requires prescribers to consult with state-certified pain experts when narcotic dosages reach higher thresholds.

While the law's goal is to lower doses and, if possible, wean patients from narcotic pain drugs, doctors are finding the task more difficult than hoped, Thompson said.

For instance, methadone patients can suffer prolonged withdrawal symptoms, like nausea and depression. With most pain drugs, withdrawal subsides within a week. Methadone's grip can last for months, even years, he said.

State officials will review methadone's role on the state's preferred drug list during a meeting next month.

"I think we're going back and relearning how to treat pain," Thompson said.

Michael J. Berens: 206-464-2288 or mberens@seattletimes.com; Ken Armstrong: 206-464-3730 orkarmstrong@seattletimes.com

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017356441_methadon...

Views: 55

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
2 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Route 91: Uncovering the Cover Up

On October 1, 2017 58 people were killed at the Route 91 country music concert in Las Vegas....and by 2 weeks the media dropped the entire story due to all t...
15 hours ago
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why Do They Want to Kill Elon Musk?
"Musk is the face of the intelligent geek nerd army who is exposing almost everything that concerns…"
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a photo
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Thursday
Sandy posted a video

DARK WATERS | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 22

Mark Ruffalo stars in #Darkwaters.Get tickets: https://www.darkwaterstickets.com/From Participant (Spotlight), DARK WATERS tells the shocking and heroic stor...
Thursday
tjdavis favorited Doc Vega's blog post Why Has it taken so Long for Alejandro Mayorkas to be Impeached? Well that's Finally Happening
Thursday
tjdavis posted a video

Deception Has Evolved Into MASS BRAINWASHING

Deception has taken a dark turn, and it's no longer just about manipulating individuals. Today, mass brainwashing has become a powerful tool used to control ...
Thursday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Rainbow Rousing

"I wonder how much longer the USA and Russia is going to put up with UK/NATO/& the West war…"
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

A Promise I Cannot Keep

A mystical passage in a dream far away Perhaps deeply embedded in the Milky Way Rather than leave…See More
Tuesday
Burbia commented on TommyD's group The Chuckle Hut
Tuesday
Burbia posted a video

InfoWars reporter Jamie White ‘brutally murdered’ near Austin residential area, outlet says

InfoWars reporter Jamie White was “brutally murdered” near his Austin, Texas, home on Sunday night, according to the outlet.Alex Jones, the founder of InfoWa...
Tuesday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Tuesday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post World Government Reveals itself Over Zelensky Oval Office Meltdown
Tuesday
Less Prone favorited cheeki kea's photo
Tuesday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's blog post Stop Noahide Laws
Tuesday
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Duplicity

"Ban Talmud and Quran and other supremacy ideology?"
Monday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post FBI Agent Admits Evidence of Sasquatch Existence
"Doc, you'll like it. Thanks for being with us."
Monday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

What are the Characteristics of a Rogue Regime?

 What would you call a government that uses dogmatic rhetoric as its tool of communicating with the…See More
Monday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted