Opioid / Acetaminophen Combinations

The Big 8 Constipation-Causing Medications

February 13, 2019

You are all stopped up and can’t find an obvious reason. Look over your medication list and you may find the source. Constipation has many causes but medications are among the most common.

First, if your stools are too hard or too small, or pooping is too difficult or infrequent, you are constipated. See More

What Can I Do to Ease Constipation from My Pain Meds?

December 22, 2016

It’s tough enough to have pain severe enough to be treated with opioid pain medications like Vicodin or Oxycontin—but the side effects can make things even more difficult. Constipation from taking opioid medications can be debilitating and is estimated to affect 40 – 86% of patients using these drugs. See More

Who Gets Hooked on Opioids After Surgery?

September 02, 2016

Many patients report becoming hooked on their opioid medications (like Vicodin, Percocet, Dilaudid, hydrocodone, and so on) after doctors prescribed them for postoperative pain.

If you’ve never used pain medications and are given them for pain after a procedure, who is most likely to have a problem down the line? Well, a recent JAMA study evaluated the risk for chronic opioid use following several common surgical procedures in opioid-naive patients (people who have never used opioid medications before). See More

Opioid Overdoses: How Do We Balance Help and Harm?

February 04, 2016

Opioid pain medication is an emotional topic for everyone. Patients who struggle with chronic noncancer pain and need opioid medications feel they are portrayed as addicts when they ask for refills. Each week I see many patients using opioids for the appropriate reason, who have tried and failed with other medications and yet feel stigmatized by the use of medicine they need. See More

Dry Mouth: Are Your Medications to Blame?

May 19, 2015

Dry mouth isn’t just an annoyance, it can lead to serious dental issues. Xerostomia is the medical term for dry mouth and when it happens, you’ll want to know what’s causing it.

Risk factors for dry mouth include medications, mouth breathing, older age, and a history of radiation therapy in cancer patients. See More