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Methadone use poses risks
- Methadone, like other painkillers, is commonly prescribed for chronic problems like back pain even though it might not help these problems in the long run.
- More than 4 million methadone prescriptions were written for pain in 2009, despite US Food and Drug Administration warnings about the risks associated with methadone.
- Methadone is available as a low-cost generic drug. It is often listed as a preferred drug by insurance companies.
- The difference between appropriate prescribed doses and dangerous doses of methadone is small.
- Methadone has special risks as a painkiller. For example, taking it more than 3 times a day can cause the drug to build up in a person’s body, leading to dangerously slowed breathing.
- Methadone can seriously disrupt the heart’s rhythm.
- Methadone can be particularly risky when used with tranquilizers or other prescription painkillers.
- In one study, four in ten overdose deaths involving single prescription painkillers involved methadone, twice as many as any other prescription painkiller
Who's At Risk?
Science Behind this Issue
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