By Dr. Michael Roizen
Q: I’m having a knee changed, and my physician goes to prescribe me opioids to handle the post-op ache. Ought to I take them? I’m afraid of turning into addicted. — Kate R., Denver
A: First, I need to say that for acute ache from a troublesome surgical procedure, opioids may be the very best treatment, and your likelihood of habit, in case your physician prescribes a low dose for restricted days, could be very low. Dangers do go up, nonetheless, when you battle with different dependencies, corresponding to alcohol, nicotine or different medication.
Nevertheless, when you use trendy opioids for ache management for greater than six months, there’s as much as a 25% likelihood of turning into addicted. That’s unacceptably high-risk. Fortunately, there are nonopioid alternate options that management postop ache — both instantly or after utilizing opioids for a brief time frame. They embrace acetaminophen and NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen, in addition to some topical NSAID lotions.
A examine within the Canadian Medical Affiliation Journal checked out 40 randomized managed trials of greater than 5,100 adults and their post-op ache. Individuals who took NSAIDs reported higher ache scores after six hours than those that took codeine (an opioid).
Should you convey opioids into your own home, it’s essential to make certain they don’t get utilized by anybody they weren’t meant for. That’s a glide path to habit and a subsequent threat of acquiring unlawful capsules which might be laced with deadly medication like fentanyl. Younger individuals within the U.S. misplaced greater than 1 million cumulative years of life to unintentional drug overdoses from 2015 to 2019, in accordance with a analysis letter printed in JAMA Pediatrics. And in accordance with the Stanford-Lancet Fee, opioid habit will result in greater than 1.2 million deadly overdoses within the U.S. within the subsequent 10 years.
My recommendation: Don’t ever retailer extras in an unlocked cupboard the place they are often “borrowed.”
Ask your physician concerning the pain-control advantages of NSAIDs as an alternative of opioids post-surgery. Should you do take opioids post-op, working with a ache administration specialist is the most secure option to defend your self from habit.
Q: My physician says consuming resistant starches will assist me management my glucose ranges. What are resistant starches and can that work? — Stan A., Columbus, Ohio
A: Most carbohydrate meals include starches — and a few of it’s immune to being digested. The starch passes proper via your small intestines unchanged (that’s why it doesn’t increase your blood glucose ranges like different starches do). It’s then fermented in your massive intestines — and that helps feed “good” intestine micro organism. The result’s improved insulin sensitivity, decrease blood-sugar ranges and elevated manufacturing of short-chain fatty acids corresponding to butyrate that’s important for regulation of the immune system, urge for food management and to guard you from every part from colon most cancers to diabetes and weight problems.
Meals that include resistant starches embrace legumes and beans (white beans and lentils have essentially the most), inexperienced bananas and plantains, entire grains, particularly oats and rice (brown rice is most nutritious). Some meals which might be cooked then cooled in a single day within the fridge turn out to be much more loaded with resistant starch. Strive cooking brown rice, candy potatoes, beans and entire grain pasta forward of time, refrigerating after which reheating the following day.
Consuming resistant starches is a brilliant addition to a glucose-control food regimen. Different elements embrace high-fiber meals like greens, fruits and 100% entire grains, and lean proteins as a complement to a plant-based method. It’s additionally necessary to keep away from extremely processed meals, added sugars or syrups, and inflammatory meals corresponding to crimson and processed meats.
You probably have pre- of fullblown Kind 2 diabetes, conserving tabs in your glucose ranges is necessary that can assist you management or reverse the situation. There are easy-to-use digital glucose screens, together with ones that require no finger stick. Should you actually need to know which meals are serving to you preserve — or lose — management, it is perhaps sensible to make use of a monitor earlier than and after each meal.
Well being pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus on the Cleveland Clinic and creator of 4 No. 1 New York Occasions bestsellers. His subsequent e book is “The Nice Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Youthful Tomorrow.” Do you might have a subject Dr. Mike ought to cowl in a future column? In that case, please e-mail questions@GreatAgeReboot.com.
