Resources on opioid prescriptions for GPs and patients.

This document represents the work of a multi-organisational an multidisciplinary collaboration and sets out the guiding principles in opioid management in the perioperative period.

Pregabalin has been associated with infrequent reports of severe respiratory depression, including some cases without the presence of concomitant opioid medicines. Patients with compromised respiratory function, respiratory or neurological disease, renal impairment; those using concomitant central nervous system (CNS) depressants; and people older than 65 years might be at higher risk of experiencing these events and adjustments in dose or dosing regimen may be necessary.

A position paper from the American Academy of Neurology. Over 100,000 persons have died, directly or indirectly, from prescribed opioids in the United States since policies changed in the late 1990s. This paper reviews the effectiveness and safety of opioids for non-cancer patients.

This resource, developed by UK healthcare professionals and policymakers, provides the information to support a safe and effective prescribing decision.

The Opioid Timebomb: The dark and desolate place I was left in after becoming hooked on painkillers

In the Evening Standard's investigation into the overuse of painkiller medication, we tell how Cathryn Kemp was in agony from pancreatitis. She was prescribed fentanyl. Soon she was taking 60 hits a day. It was just the start of her nightmare.

The Opioid Timebomb: How addiction to painkillers cost me my wife, my children, my home and my £150,000-a-year job

As part of the Evening Standard's special investigation into the overuse of opioids, businessman Philip Hopwood reveals how an addiction to morphine led him down the path to ruin. You can read the rest of the Standard's special investigation here. We advise you to read it on your laptop or tablet in horizontal view to receive the full digital package.

Following a review of the risks associated with use of opioid medicines for non-cancer pain, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has recommended that fentanyl transdermal patches are contraindicated in opioid-naive patients in the UK.

This factsheet from the team at Somerset Community Pain Management Service covers:

• Common concerns about taking pain medication
• Getting the most out of pain medication

Links, leaflets and information to help patients make an informed decision about starting opioid therapy.

Use this decision aid to help you and your healthcare professional decide which tablets you may want to consider for the management of all nerve type pain, such as stabbing, shooting, or burning pain, except for patients with diabetic neuropathy or trigeminal neuralgia. This medication information applies to the United Kingdom only.

Download this decision aid to help you and your healthcare professional decide which tablets you may like to take for your flare-up pain of the muscles, ligaments, or soft tissue. This medication information applies to the United Kingdom only. Co-codamol, tramadol and anti-inflammatory medication should only be taken for a short period.

A PDF leaflet from the Faculty of Pain Medicine providing information should you be considering opioid treatments for your pain.

The Opioid Timebomb: Drugs warning could save lives, say MPs praising Evening Standard investigation.

A short video introduction to The Opioid Timebomb: Special Evening Standard investigation into the overuse of prescription painkillers.