An excerpt from Frankie: How One Woman Prevented a Pharmaceutical Disaster. Between September 1960 and November 1961, when the news broke around the world about thalidomide’s responsibility for the birth of deformed babies, Dr. Frances Kelsey — F…
Category: Meds
The obscene price of insulin: This is what happens when health care is for profit
I recently had a patient whose blood sugar was well controlled until he lost his health insurance. He purchased his diabetes pills because they’re cheap, but he couldn’t afford the insulin. His diabetes had been well controlled. Now, almost a year late…
Are generic drug price hikes media hype?
In recent years, it feels like we’ve been inundated by stories of greedy pharmaceutical companies jacking up the price of important generic medications. In 2015, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, recognized that no other generic companies were manufacturing…
It’s important to keep tight controls on benzodiazepines
When I completed my residency training in 2017 I never imagined so much of my clinical efforts would be directed towards educating patients about controlled substances. As I stepped into clinical practice and took over patients who had long-term relati…
CBD: What is it? A former DEA agent explains.
What is CBD? Cannabidiol or CBD for short is made from either the marijuana plant that contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or hemp which contains little to any THC. “Hemp-derived” means that the CBD generally contains less than 0.3% THC while “marijuan…
Many questions remain about medical marijuana
On a daily basis, patients of mine come in for office visits complaining of wear and tear injuries, as well as aches and pains, and their methods of dealing with chronic pain. As we all know, aging is a part of the normal life process. For instance, as…
Using the Avengers to explain how cancer treatments work
In a recent talk I gave for colleagues, I ventured outside the box. I searched for a metaphor to make cancer treatments easy to understand. Around the same time, it so happened my kids decided we needed to re-watch all of The Avengers movies at home. (…
Take the naloxone challenge
Last week I took the naloxone challenge. I walked up to a pharmacy window, waited in line, and requested naloxone from the pharmacist. She showed a supportive but knowing look, and I became acutely aware of the four people in line behind me. After givi…
Treating depression with ketamine: We need incremental treatment for depression
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved a nasal spray version of the drug Ketamine, named Spravato (esketamine), for use as a supplement to oral antidepressants taken by adults living with treatment-resistant depression. The announcement wa…
Why staying ahead of your pain with opioids is the wrong advice
I often hear the mantra, “You must stay ahead of your pain, or else.” The president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, states a common mistake people make, is waiting too long to take pain medication. By the time you’re in pain, you’re starting …
