Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Malaysia Busts 80+ Lovers in Valentine's Day Raids Muslims face up to two years in jail »

NEWS ABOUT: painkiller

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Switch to grid view »

Abuse Experts Tremble Over Powerful New Painkillers

Drugs with hydrocodone may cause more addiction

(Newser) - A more powerful version of America's second-most abused medicine is likely headed for a doctor's office near you, the AP reports. Four companies are in the patient-testing phase of painkillers that will be up to 10 times more effective than Vicodin thanks to a highly addictive ingredient called... More »

No. 1 Cause of Overdose Deaths: Painkillers

Topping heroin, cocaine combined

(Newser) - Are prescription drugs more dangerous than their illegal counterparts? In 2008, prescription painkiller overdoses outnumbered deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, according to a new CDC report. Of the 36,450 US overdose deaths that year, 14,800 involved opioid painkillers like oxycodone, methadone, or hydrocodone. That’s a significant... More »

Most Addicts Get Pills From Pals

Doctors only give pills to 1 in 5 abusers: Study

(Newser) - Looks like Michael Jackson was the exception to the rule. Most painkiller addicts get their pills from family or friends rather than doctors, according to a new study. Just 1 in 5 abusers use their doctor as their primary source for their drugs, and 69% get their drugs exclusively from... More »

Ukraine Cancer Patients Deprived of Painkillers

WHO calls for end to country's strict limits

(Newser) - Rules tied to the Soviet era have left Ukraine with some of the world’s toughest painkiller laws—restrictions so broad that some cancer patients have attempted suicide to escape the pain, the AP reports. Morphine, for example, isn’t available in tablet form, and patients are limited to 50... More »

Meditation: Better Than Morphine

Little more than one hour reduces pain dramatically

(Newser) - In pain? Before you reach for the hard drugs, reach for ... your meditation cushion. Researchers found that a little more than one hour of meditation training was enough to "dramatically reduce" pain, the Telegraph reports. Fifteen newbie meditators attended four 20-minute training classes on mindfulness meditation as researchers induced... More »

Cops: Nurse Stole Patient's Painkiller—Before Surgery

When he was agony, she told him to go to his 'happy place'

(Newser) - Ow, ow, ow: A nurse in Minnesota allegedly shot herself up with some of the pain medication allotted to a patient just before his surgery for kidney stones, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune . When the patient was in agony on the operating table, the nurse told him to "man up"... More »

Ex-Busch CEO's Girlfriend OD'd on Oxycodone

Adrienne Martin was found at August Busch IV's home in December

(Newser) - The dead woman found at the home of ex-Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV accidentally overdosed on the painkiller oxycodone, the medical examiner said yesterday. Friends previously said Adrienne Martin, 27, was firmly against illegal drugs, but Busch had speculated medication she was taking could be to blame for her death.... More »

Best Hangover Cure: Aspirin and ...

Study finds cause, and cure, of hangover headaches

(Newser) - Forget about hangover remedies like raw eggs, hair of the dog, or yoga —simple caffeine and a painkiller are best for easing an alcohol-induced sore head, according to a new study. Neurologist Michael Oshinsky and colleagues used ethanol to induce hangover-like headaches in rats. They found that the caffeine... More »

FDA Pulls Darvon, Darvocet

Popular painkillers cause abnormal heart rhythms

(Newser) - The painkillers Darvon and Darvocet are being pulled off the prescription drug market because they can trigger potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormalities, CNN reports. The FDA requested that the drug behind both popular brands, propoxyphene, be yanked after a trial study found the side effect. "The drug's effectiveness in... More »

New Details Emerge on Woods Accident

Elin Woods gave cops 2 bottles of pain pills Tiger had taken earlier

(Newser) - The Florida Highway Patrol today released more details from Tiger Woods’ Nov. 27 accident, pried from them by a public-records request by the Orlando Sentinel . The new-to-us highlights:
  • Elin Woods turned over two bottles of pain pills to officers, saying Tiger had taken some earlier.
  • Elin tried to ride in
... More »

Biggest Ripoffs in US

Phone texts, movie popcorn, and textbooks are overpriced

(Newser) - Text messages may be the biggest ripoff in America. It costs 1/3 of a cent for carriers to send a message, but they can hit you with a 20-cent charge on pay-per-text plans. That's a markup of 6,500%. More bad deals from CNNMoney :
  • Movie popcorn, 900%: No surprise here,
... More »

BBC Journo Stuns Brown with Pill-Popping Question

Labor furious after interviewer follows up Internet rumors

(Newser) - Gordon Brown's office and the British Labor Party are furious with the BBC after the host of the channel's flagship political program asked the prime minister if he took prescription painkillers. Downing Street had already denied the rumor, which began on the Internet. A shocked Brown responded: "No! I... More »

Jacko Doc Writes 'Dear Barack' Letter

(Newser) - A British doctor friend of Michael Jackson fired off a letter to President Obama—or "Barack," as she calls him—pleading for tougher laws for "unethical doctors" who ply patients with drugs. Dr. Susan Etok, who says she turned down more than $800,000 from the King... More »

Jackson 'Self-Harmed' to Get Drugs

Singer was spending $50K a month on prescriptions

(Newser) - Toward the end of his life Michael Jackson was so desperate for prescription drugs, sources tell investigators he harmed himself in an effort to get more, the Mirror reports. Jackson was reportedly spending nearly $50,000 a month on drugs including Vicodin, Soma, Xanax, Zoloft, Paxil, and Prilosec, and he... More »

Dodd, Kill Yourself With Pills and Whiskey: Protester

(Newser) - Connecticut Republicans protesting health care reform outside a Chris Dodd event yesterday mocked the senator with references to his newly diagnosed cancer, reports Talking Points Memo. “How come we just don't give Chris Dodd painkillers?” one shouted. “Like a handful of them at a time! He can wash... More »

As Doc Snoozed, Aide Killed Jacko With Demerol: Source

Doctor was asleep as fatal dose was given

(Newser) - In the race to figure out what—and who—killed Michael Jackson, the Sun declares itself the winner. A source tells the British tabloid that at Jackson's request, an aide gave him Demerol “but it was too soon after receiving the anesthetic” Propofol earlier in the day from Dr.... More »

Was Jackson Healthy or On the Brink? Yes.

Drug-addled or ready to rock, his inner-circle tells it from all sides

(Newser) - Was Michael Jackson happy and healthy, or drug-addled and depressed in his final days? Depends who you ask. The AP compiles a list of contradictory reports from the star’s inner circle:
  • Concert promoter Randy Phillips initially told reporters Jackson was "a healthy, vibrant human being,” but later
... More »

Cops Grill Jackson's 5 Docs in Drug Probe

(Newser) - Los Angeles police are interrogating at least five doctors who treated Michael Jackson to determine whether pharmaceutical drugs found at his Holmby Hills mansion were properly prescribed. Police found "numerous bottles" of prescription medications at his home, including the dangerous painkiller Diprivan. More »

Easy on the Tylenol: FDA Panel

(Newser) - An outside panel reporting to the Food and Drug Administration recommended today that the maximum daily dosage of Tylenol be reduced and the Extra Strength variety of the painkiller be available only by prescription, Bloomberg reports. The panel of advisers, whose suggestions are nonbinding, noted acetaminophen’s effect on the... More »

Jackson Drug Cocktail: 3 Painkillers, 2 Anti-Depressants

Star was on powerful mix of narcotics, painkillers

(Newser) - The Sun gets the details on the potentially lethal cocktail of prescription drugs Michael Jackson was on in the months before his death. Jackson took addictive narcotic painkillers Demerol and Diluadid daily, the Sun's sources say, and had recently added Vicodin to the mix. He also took a muscle relaxant... More »

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne