Campaign launched to eliminate overdose deaths

Dr. Lynn R. Webster visited Vernal to present a seminar on pain-related medical topics. His seminar was the first of such seminars that will be given across the state to educate physicians, health care providers, and people suffering from chronic pain about the dangers of pain medicine. Webster is kicking off his campaign to reach the goal of zero unintentional deaths due to overdosing on pain medicine. Vernal was a good place to start his campaign because the rate of unintentional deaths in rural areas is higher than in urban areas.

Dr. Webster is board certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. He is also certified in addiction medicine. He has seen numerous deaths from accidental overdose of pain medicine. He is alarmed by the astronomical increases in unintentional overdose of prescription drugs.

“We cannot allow the death rate to continue to grow,” said Webster. “Undertreated pain or pain that cannot be controlled is the most powerful stimulus for overusing prescription drugs. It is not generally about addiction,” he said.

Sometimes, despite all the medical community has, some pain cannot be adequately helped. Webster with hope to patients can look with hope to the future because technology is creating new things that are much better than what is available now in controlling pain.

The biggest challenge to reaching the goal of zero unintentional deaths is the lack of data. Better data about the reasons people use more drugs than prescribed is needed. “We don’t know a lot of what we need to know in order to solve the problem, but we can’t wait for the data,” said Webster. “I think just being aware will help the problem.”

Dr. Webster is concerned that if something is not done about the problem, regulators such as the FDA will try to eliminate or decrease access to strong pain medication. Webster believes that if this happens, there will be an increase in death’s due to suicide. “If pain isn’t controlled to the best of our ability,” said Webster, “there will be an increase in the number of people who try to escape their pain through more drastic measures such as suicide.”

During his seminar, Dr. Webster also discussed the stresses that pain causes that leads to overdose. He mentioned that unrelieved severe pain, the fear of not being believed, the impact of pain on family and friends, the financial impact of chronic pain and insurance denials for treatment all can lead to overdose.

Dr. Webster’s message was clear, “If you use a strong pain medicine such as an opioid, take it just as prescribe. Patients do not have enough knowledge to alter the doses themselves.”

Webster is hoping to establish a foundation or organize to raise funds that can be used to research the problem. “There is so much we don’t know, but what we do know is that the rate of unintentional death is rising at an alarming rate. – Vernal Express; Vernal, UT

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