According to a recent TGA consultation paper (Jan 2018): "Levels of prescription opioid overdose, including accidental overdose are at record levels in Australia and internationally. One of the contributing factors has been significant 'indication creep'—their use in a range of types of chronic non-cancer pain, despite limited evidence of efficacy or safety for opioids in many of those patients…
"Pharmaceutical opioid deaths in Australia
now exceed heroin deaths by a significant
margin—by 2–2.5 times—the reverse of what was seen in the 1990s. Between 2011 and 2015 there were 2,145 deaths associated with oxycodone, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, tramadol and/or pethidine compared with 985
due to heroin." The Penington Institute's report (2017), "Australia's Continuing Overdose Tragedy", confirms also that accidental drug-related deaths are now more than double that of car accidents: 1,489 in 2015, (deaths from car accidents numbered 712 in 2015). They say, "Middle-aged Australians are more likely to die from an accidental overdose. In 2015, 70 per cent of all accidental deaths occurred within the 30–59 age group."
Middle aged people aren't necessarily going to be the ones that grind down codeine tablets to snort or shoot up. What is killing them in greater numbers (more than double that of heroin or car accidents) is use of either
over-the-counter or properly prescribed pharmaceutical opioid drugs, including poly-pharmacy (multiple medications).
Magnesium Deficiency and Pain
Magnesium's profound impact on health as a master mineral electrolyte is still barely appreciated, despite over 100 years of scientific research. Magnesium (Mg2+) has
a lot to offer in pain relief via its anti-inflammatory effect, without the adverse side effects of medications. As inflammation is always associated with ill health (cold, flu
etc.) or degenerative disease and premature ageing, we should be looking at feeding the body what it needs to resolve the inflammation which is at the root of the pain,
rather than merely masking it with drugs.
There are a number of possible reasons why we may experience pain, including the healing process as a result of injury. Of course, if surgery is required there is nothing
wrong with a shot of morphine to get through the crisis.
The use of opioids for crisis management is not the issue: It's the chronic use of opioids that has become the greatest concern.
Chronic pain or inflammation (often experienced by the middle-aged) is usually concomitant with chronically low tissue levels of magnesium. Magnesium reserves
diminish when we are not able to replace lost magnesium and also because increased stress levels cause excessive excretion of magnesium. Our soils and food supply have
become depleted and we are under more stress in modern societies. Researchers the world over are now agreeing that most people in modern societies eating processed foods and leading hectic lifestyles are, by and large, magnesium deficient. It varies only by degrees.
Symptoms of low magnesium (hypomagnesaemia) may include tremor, agitation, muscle cramp, cardiac arrhythmia, hypokalaemia (potassium deficiency), chronic fatigue, numbness, tingling, seizures, excessive electrical activity in the brain, sleep disturbance, bronchial spasms
and asthma, allergic reactions, hyperactivity and ADHD, compromised immune response (over or under), as well as free calcium in blood causing hypertension and calcium precipitation, which results in ligament and
vasculature hardening, fibroids and lumps.
Associated diseases can include osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome,