Opioid Resource Center
Welcome to the Mayo Clinic Opioid Resource Center, produced in association with the new Mayo Clinic Press book “Ending The Crisis: Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Opioid Addiction and Safe Opioid Use.” Here you will find articles and other educational materials to help you better understand opioids. Please watch this short video from Holly Geyer, M.D., the author of “Ending of the Crisis,” and scroll down to find other resources, including Dr. Geyer’s book. We hope that the resources you find here will enlighten you on how opioids work — and how they turned into the United States’ biggest public health crisis.
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Ending the Crisis
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Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Opioid Addiction and Safe Opioid Use Holly L. Geyer, M.D. Developed by Mayo Clinic leaders in the fields of pain management, opioids, and addiction, and championed by people willing to share their personal experiences, this empowering book encourages patients and their loved ones to make informed, life-saving decisions about the use of opioids. The book includes:
- A foreword by former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, whose landmark report declared opioids one of the nation’s most urgent health issues
- Advice for how to work with health care providers to use opioids safely, manage side effects and prevent complications
- Resources for those struggling with addiction, and their families, from how treatment centers work to how to find a program that can help
- Example of a real-life intervention, including a play-by-play narrative of the discussion and a post-intervention evaluation
- Step-by-step instructions for how to administer life-saving doses of naloxone
- Impactful personal stories of people who have experienced opioid addiction
Mayo Clinic Patient Education on Opioids
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All Opioids
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Dr. Mike Jensen lost his son, Andrus, to a substance overdose in 2019. Dr. Jensen joins the podcast to share his favorite memories of Andrus and discuss how education can be a powerful tool to support loved ones dealing with substance use. Read the Transcript: Dr. Benjamin Lai: Hello, and… -
Article | OpioidsChronic pain: Take steps to regain your life
Pain is a normal, expected part of the healing process following surgery, procedures, injuries and some illnesses. Pain occurs when nerves in your body send signals to your brain, and the brain interprets those signals to mean that you are in danger. Typically, pain has a purpose because it gets… -
Article | Opioids
Tapering Opioids
Opioids are strong medications that can help manage acute pain for a short time. However, when taken long-term, opioids can actually make pain worse. The risks of taking opioids over a long period of time include addiction and life-threatening breathing problems. In addition, risks include constipation, confusion, forgetfulness, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, sexual problems, irritability, and drug-interaction problems. Taking opioids can cause issues in your daily life, such as relationship, workplace and driving problems. -
Article | Opioids
Opioid Overdose: Save a Life By Using Naloxone
If you overdose, it is unlikely that you will be able to give yourself naloxone. For this reason, if you take opioids, share this information right away with caregivers, people who live with you, people who spend a lot of time with you, people who might be there during an emergency. -
When you no longer take prescription pain medication, you may have some pills you did not use. Studies have shown that many people actually use only about half their prescription pain medication.
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Article | Opioids
Opioid Storage and Safety
All medications can be dangerous when taken by someone for whom they are not intended. It is your responsibility to keep your medications in a safe place. Keep it out of the reach of others. This includes teens, children, vulnerable adults, and pets. -
Article | Opioids
Benefits, Side Effects and Risks of Taking Opioid Medications
Opioids are strong medications. They are usually used to manage acute pain for only a few days. Opioids include oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl, codeine and tramadol. You may hear opioids referred to as narcotics, pain killers or controlled substances. -
Article | Opioids
Important Information About Opioid Medications
Opioids are strong medicines meant to be used to manage pain. They have serious side effects and possible complications, including death. You can become addicted to them. They usually are recommended to manage pain for only a short while. -
Article | Opioids
Acute Pain and the Healing Process
Pain is a normal, expected part of the healing process following surgery, a procedure, an injury or an illness. Pain lets you know you’ve had an “injury” to your body. Having pain does not always mean that something is wrong or that you’re having complications. -
Video | Opioids
Managing Pain in the Hospital
We want you to get better as soon as possible. We know you may experience some pain along the way. Pain is a natural part of the healing process. -
Video | Opioids
Safe Use of Opioids at Home
Your health care team cares about your pain. To help you be more comfortable as you heal, they will develop a pain management plan for you. -
Ending the opioid crisis may seem like a hopeless or even impossible task. But authors Beth Macy and Dr. Holly Geyer are full of hope for evidence-based practices to treat opioid use disorder. They argue that everyone is touched by opioid addiction, and that we all have a role to…
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