Even under the best circumstances, however, addiction is a disease prone to relapse. An estimated 40-60% of people who misuse drugs will return to using them at some point during recovery—and it’s this time that leaves them most vulnerable to overdose, since their tolerance has dropped, often dramatically, during their period of abstinence.
The US covid pandemic has a sinister shadow—drug overdoses — BMJ 2020; 371 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4751 (Published 17 December 2020)
Drugs
Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020
The survey results are in line with recent data from Mental Health America, which indicate dramatic increases in depression, anxiety, and suicidality since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citation: Czeisler MÉ , Lane RI, Petrosky E, et al. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1049–1057. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1external icon.
More Drugs Please
According to Ginger, an organization that provides mental health services to companies, compared to January and February of this year, prescriptions for psychotropics, most of which were antidepressants, were up 86% for the months of March and April.
The stress of unemployment, social isolation and health concerns are all cited by Americans who say the lock down is having a serious impact on their mental health.
Pharmacy group Express Scripts also revealed that prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications were up 34.1% between mid-February and mid-March, while prescriptions for antidepressants increased 18.6%.
Wow.
Goodbye Benadryl
Link to the full article here.
Benadryl isn’t safe
Benadryl causes significant sedation. One study in a driving simulator showed an ordinary adult dose of Benadryl caused worse driving than a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent (that’s between buzzed-drunk and frat-party drunk). Ordinary doses of Benadryl can also cause urinary retention, dizziness, trouble with coordination, dry mouth, blurry vision, and constipation. Especially in older individuals, diphenhydramine can cause delirium and contribute to long term dementia.
You be the judge.
Got DM1? Don’t do Pot
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We examined the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in cannabis users compared with nonusers in the T1D Exchange clinic registry (T1DX).
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The association between cannabis use by total substance score for cannabis (TSC) and DKA in the past 12 months was examined using a logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders among adults in the T1DX.
RESULTS Of 932 adults with type 1 diabetes, 61 had a TSC >4, which classified them as moderate cannabis users. Adjusting for sex, age at study visit, and HbA1c, cannabis use was associated with a twofold increase in risk for DKA among adults with type 1 diabetes (odds ratio 2.5 [95% CI 1.0–5.9]).
CONCLUSIONS Cannabis use was associated with an increased risk for DKA among adults in the T1DX. Providers should inform their patients of the potential risk of DKA with cannabis use.
© 2019 by the American Diabetes Association.
