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A new study shows that caregivers have a hard time falling asleep at night. It is believed this is because of the depression that most caregivers suffer from. 

As a caregiver for my mother during the several years she suffered from Alzheimer’s before ultimately succumbing to it, I can attest to the tremendous toll caring for a dementia patient takes. Although I wouldn’t have not been there for my mother, her illness sapped everything from me until in the end the only life that mattered was her life. My life became a shell, its only purpose to care for her. The unfortunate thing about this is that it left me with no inner resources. No wonder I became so overwhelmed by depression that sleep eluded me.   

Methadone, a drug that was once associated with heroin addicts is now widely prescribed by doctors and nurse practitioners to treat assorted pain complaints, and the group most likely to die from methadone use is the middle aged. This may be because the middle aged body has had time to accumulate assorted traumas that may be resistant to traditional pain relievers. It may be also that the middle-aged are less tolerant of pain.

Methadone is a synthetic form of opium. According to an article in the New York Times

It is cheap and long lasting, a powerful pain reliever that has helped millions. But because it is also abused by thrill seekers and badly prescribed by doctors unfamiliar with its risks, methadone is now the fastest growing cause of narcotic deaths. It is implicated in more than twice as many deaths as heroin, and is rivaling or surpassing the tolls of painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin.

Although misuse of methadone is one problem, a major problem is that many doctors are unaware of the risks associated with using this drug so overprescribe it, prescribe unsafe doses, or fail to properly monitor patients who are on the drug. Methadone use in conjunction with alcohol or sedatives may have a depressive effect on the central nervous system – the brain may forget to tell the heart to beat and the lungs to pump – therefore causing death.

Critics blame the insurance companies whose main concern is monetary cost for the increased use of methadone. For example, a one month supply of OxyContin may cost $500 compared to $35 for an equivalent supply of methadone. In these tough economic times that difference may push pain sufferers to use it over safer but more expensive drugs. Critics also blame the government for failing to recognize and confront the ignorance of physicians prescribing the drug.

Of course those most vested in current practices are the ones that are pushing back against any changes.

Reuters reports that people age 45-54 are more likely to die from prescription drug overdose than from motor vehicle accidents. Motor vehicle deaths were the No. 1 cause of accidental death, but now, according to the federal government, in 2007 nearly 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs. That’s more than cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy and inhalants such as marijuana combined. This represents an 80 percent increase since 2000. 

One of the reasons ordinary Americans turn to prescription drugs is low social disapproval associated with its use, as well as the low risk of getting caught.