Dr. Zavalin is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who created Love to Move to help people move more to improve mental, physical and emotional wellness and way of life. You can find Love to Move on Instagram – @_lovetomove_ or by visiting their website https://www.ltmmtl.com/. Enjoy today’s guest blog from our friend, Dr. Stefan Zavalin […]
‘Drug Take Back Day’ nets almost 700 pounds of meds in Nashville area
April 28, 2018 Sandy Mazza Some arrived with tote bags full of opioids, sleeping pills, anti-depressants and other potentially dangerous medications. All together, authorities collected nearly 700 pounds of painkillers and other medications across the greater Nashville area during Saturday’s “Count it! Lock it! Drop it!” collection event on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Among the […]
Opioid czar: Former pill abuser now battles drug epidemic in Tennessee
Sept. 1, 2017 Brad Schmitt He woke up hazy, face plastered against a long aluminum bench, looking up at two campus policemen staring back at him. A hot sun beat down on Neyland Stadium, which had emptied out hours earlier afterthe Tennessee/Mississippi State game in 1986. “Where’d everybody go?” Loyd slurred. The officers laughed — […]
Opioid-related hospitalizations more than triple for Tennessee seniors
August 14, 2017 Anita Wadhwani Pain pills are sending more senior citizens to the hospital in Tennessee, according to data that sheds new light on how opioid addiction has spread to the state’s aging population. The rate of hospitalizations for Tennesseans 65 years and older due to painkillers has more than tripled in a decade. Older adults are […]
Haslam: Non-cancer patients could see limits on long-term opioid scripts
July 10, 2017 Any Sher NASHVILLE — As he seeks remedies for Tennessee’s opioid abuse epidemic, Gov. Bill Haslam says his administration will explore whether to restrict long-term prescriptions of the powerful and addictive painkillers for many TennCare patients. “Should we ever be long-term prescribing opioids in TennCare in a non-cancer situation? That’s a question […]
Drug crisis is pushing up death rates for almost all groups of Americans
June 9, 2017 Joel Achenbach and Dan Keating The opioid epidemic that has ravaged life expectancy among economically stressed white Americans is taking a rising toll among blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans, driving up the overall rate of death among Americans in the prime of their lives. Since the beginning of this decade, death rates […]
15 tons of pills collected during statewide drug take-back event
Jessica Bliss May 28, 2017 More than 15 tons of drugs were collected statewide at the most recent DEA take-back event, setting a new record. The total, 5 tons more than last year, marks the continuation of a Tennessee effort to address the opioid epidemic that plagues the state. A new report from the Tennessee […]
Technology helping medical professionals combat Tennessee’s opioid crisis
Aaron Wright May 20, 2017 KNOXVILLE – Multiple pharmacies, multiple prescribers. Professionals say those are the red flags to look for to stop doctor-shopping and prescription pill abuse in Tennessee, a state under siege because of opioid abuse. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, America makes up 4.6 percent of the world’s population but […]
Worse pain outcomes after knee replacement for patients who took opioids before surgery
May 18, 2017 Six months after knee replacement surgery, pain outcomes were not as good for patients who previously took prescription opioids, according to a study in the May 17 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. “Our results should be viewed as a warning that using opioids during the preoperative period may […]
CVS Health Report Provides Insights About Prescription Drug Abuse in U.S.
To gain a better understanding of Americans’ perceptions of prescription drug abuse, CVS Health conducted a public opinion poll in March 2017 of 2,000 American voters. Below are a few of the key insights the poll revealed about prescription drug abuse in the United States. The majority of Americans have prescription medications in their homes, […]
