About once every five days an active-duty service member is found dead of an accidental drug overdose, the Army Times reported.
This number roughly tripled since 2001. And the number is more than twice as high if you add in intentional (suicide-related) overdoses.
Read more at:
Rx for Death: Troop Deaths Soar with Prescriptions for War Wounded
Military doctors often prescribe both opioids like methadone and oxycodone to treat pain and benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium to treat trauma-related anxiety. Use of opioids and benzodiazepines together greatly increased the risk of fatal drug overdose.
The Army Times article seemed to largely ignore the fact that many service members use pain killers and benzos without a prescription or in excess of prescribed amounts, and often in combination with alcohol. Use of alcohol on top of these prescribed medications also increases overdose risk. Instead, the article focused on one factor that may be contributing to an increase in accidental overdose deaths: prescribing practices by doctors.
Methadone was mentioned as a common factor in accidental overdoses among service members. Methadone is often prescribed for pain. Methadone overdose risks and benefits are important to understand since methadone sometimes increases overdose risk and sometimes reduces overdose risk.
Methadone is a slow-acting opiate. Those who are seeking to get high from the medication sometimes take more than they can tolerate because they mistakenly think the medication is not “working.” As the medication begins to act, the body becomes overwhelmed resulting in an overdose.
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Staggering statistics. I’m surprised this is the first I have heard of what our service men/women are going through in this regard. Our military men/women do so much for our country, and go through more than many of us can imagine. I hope their doctors do them a service and work to provide better monitoring and follow-through of what they’re prescribing. BUT, I did find this comforting: “The military
maintains much tighter controls, on the job and off, of service
members than civilians are subjected to, including regular and
random drug testing.”
Thanks for sharing this information.
God bless.
i am not in the military but i have had several family members as well as friends who have been or still are. i hate to say this but from my experience the military doctors and monitoring that i have seen is a joke. the veterans if they can get into the doctors are pushed right back out with the most minimal help. the vma hospitals are among the worst in the nation. they are in need of serious reform. it is a shame because as was stated they pay the ultimate sacrifice for us to have our comfortable lives we live. i hope this subject is not forgotten like so many other issues in the military. such as the war which i hardly hear about anymore.
God help our brave soldiers. How can they fight unseen foes and deal with drug dependency. A surreal hell. I speak from personal experience . I accidentally overdosed and was 20 minutes from death…When I came to I said an angel had brought me back. MY husband of 20 years divorced me (over the phone) took our son and still delights in calling me (from another city) to say my son hates me and that makes him happy. I deal with a living hell every day. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to communicate with who might understand and/or be able to help.
Spread the love and do not be afraid you are not alone.