Recent study linking commonly prescribed non-opioid alternatives (gabapentin and balcofen) to increase in #suicide attempts in chronic pain patients #SuicideRisk #ChronicPain newsweek.com/opioid-replace…
Over the period the drugs were studied, suicides attempts after people took just gabapentin rose by 80.5 percent, and by 43 percent for baclofen. The study found that use of these medications increased by 64% between 2012 and 2016.
"We are seeing a worrying increase in harmful exposures to gabapentin and baclofen in U.S. adults over recent years, which may be an unintended consequence of the move away from opioid prescriptions for pain management," said Reynolds.
Chronic pain patients are already almost twice as likely as those in the general population to experience suicidal thoughts
Increase in suicide is one of the primary drivers (in addition to overdoses) of lowered life expectancy in the US. Suicide rates in the U.S.rose by 30 percent between 1999 and 2016.
