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December 04, 2018
On a recent Saturday, a patient was brought into The Hospital of Central Connecticut Emergency Department overdosing on opioids; doctors diagnosed him with Opioid Use Disorder and asked if he wanted to start recovery. When he agreed, they gave him a dose of Suboxone, a medication that eases what can…
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November 28, 2018
Men don’t like to talk about depression, even acknowledge it, and they’re less likely than women to seek treatment for it. Yet close to a third of men experience depression in their lifetime. So how can men tell the difference between feeling down and clinical depression? “Clinical depression, or major…
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November 27, 2018
Drugs fueled a vicious, seemingly unending circle for Steven Mikkanen. Using since high school, when he “wanted to fit in,” left him homeless and broke throughout his 20s. He’d steal to support his habit, but multiple arrests left him undesirable to employers and feeling worthless. In 2014, after three arrests…
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November 15, 2018
Tonya Cutler stands in front of the room, tapping a marker on the list of “triggers” written on a large sheet of paper taped to the wall. While one of the eight adolescents in the room paces relentlessly around the perimeter, his ears picking up everything she says, two girls…
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November 15, 2018
News this week that the manufacturer of the electronic cigarette Juul will voluntarily limit sales of its flavored liquids to online purchases is a step in the right direction but certainly not snuffing out the problem, according to some Hartford HealthCare providers. “Regulatory action preventing Juul sales would be great,”…
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November 14, 2018
More teens are vaping now than ever – and parents are concerned. Psychiatrist Dr. J. Craig Allen, medical director at Rushford, has important information for parents, teachers and anyone else with teens in their lives. Q: What do I need to be on the lookout for? A: Familiarize yourself with…
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November 06, 2018
Recent Food and Drug Administration approval of Dsuvia pain medication has stirred controversy in a nation enduring a relentless opioid crisis spurred in part by the physical dependence many people develop after seeking legal remedies for pain. As politicians and caregivers in the nation’s healthcare system struggle to find a…
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November 01, 2018
It’s one of those abbreviations that gets tossed around freely in conversation, but OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a chronic, long-lasting disorder that plagues many people with uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts and requires they repeat behaviors over and over just to get through the day. “People oversimplify OCD, using it as…
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October 30, 2018
They’ve been the subject of comedy skits, courtroom dramas and even Supreme Court justice nomination hearings but the reality is that blackouts are a common and dangerous result of excessive alcohol consumption. “A blackout comes after heavy or binge drinking when the person loses control over impulses and, later, has…
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October 26, 2018
PHOTO CREDIT: Gage Skidmore via Flickr It was a prescription for painkillers after eye surgery that served as the entry into a battle against opioid abuse for “Halloween” actress and children’s book author Jamie Lee Curtis. “Getting sober remains my single greatest accomplishment,” she told People. “Bigger than my husband,…