Dr Oz: Zohydro Pain Medication Addiction & Overdose Death Rate

By on March 26, 2014

Dr Oz: Prescription Medication Addiction

Dr. Oz says there is a big change in the medical community that has him scared. Zohydro is a powerful new opioid pain medication that could send drug abuse in America to epidemic levels.It is five times stronger than any other pain medication on the market and contains 50 milligrams of hydrocodone, which is why Dr. Oz is concerned right along with several of his medical colleagues.

Dr Oz: Is Zohydro FDA-Approved?

Dr Oz: Zohydro Pain Medication Addiction & Overdose Death Rate
Zohydro is a new pain medication that is five times stronger than Vicodin and Lortab and it has Dr. Oz and Dr. Sanjay Gupta concerned. Dr. Gupta says that while many patients have legitimate pain, he is worried because there is a very possibility of abuse with a drug like Zohydro. He added that the FDA approved Zohydro, in part, due to pressure from some medical providers who wanted more options for their patients, but it is a tough balancing act between those who really need it and those who might abuse it.
Dr. Gupta explains that 80% of the world’s pain medication is consumed by Americans, where there is also a very high number of accidental deaths due to overdosing, which is a high consequence to pay.

Dr Oz: Pain Medication Overdose

Dr. Oz says the biggest reason the medical community is concerned about Zohydro is because the pills can be crushed into a powder form, which releases high amounts of hydrocodone and turns it into a dangerous street drug that can then be snorted or used in other ways it was not meant to be used. Many experts have started to call Zohydro a gateway drug to Heroin, which is also highly addictive with 4 out of 5 users saying they started using pain medications first.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta says that in large part doctors are partly responsible for drug abuse in our country because they do not explore alternative treatments before prescribing powerful narcotics. What is most frightening is the statistic that patients who have never taken narcotics before usually die of an overdose three years after it was first prescribed to them. Dr. Gupta says this is sad and tragic, but completely preventable.
Dr. Oz says he respects the need for pain medication, but putting a drug on the market that has a strong potential for addiction is just plain irresponsible.
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