Women's Health
Opioid use disorder in older adults: More common than you might think
Opioid use disorder and deaths among older adults have skyrocketed. Could you have a problem and not know it?
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
You've had a stressful few months: major surgery led to lingering pain worsened by vague anxiety, the unsettled sense you aren't quite back to normal. Your pain has subsided, but you've decided to ask your doctor for another refill of the opioid painkillers she prescribed after your operation. Just a little longer... just until the nerves shake out, you think.
Seems harmless enough, right? But staying on opioids to allay anxiety, rather than pain, is a slippery slope, Harvard experts say. It's also one of the most common ways well-meaning people slide into opioid addiction (formally called opioid use disorder), a problem responsible for about three-quarters of the nation's overdose deaths.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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