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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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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Video | OpioidsDr. Holly Geyer – How to use Naloxone
Naloxone is a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The FDA has approved Naloxone nasal spray for over-the-counter sales. Doctors and first responders say making this opioid reversal drug available could help lower the number of people dying from overdoses. Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Holly Geyer demonstrates… -
America’s medical system has been dealing with opioids for decades, but the experiences of both providers and patients with opioids has shifted significantly in that time. Opioid overdoses are seen nearly daily in emergency rooms across the country now, and providers are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing workplace… -
The history of researching why we feel pain dates back to the mid-20th century. Since then, the field of medicine has begun to better understand why we feel pain, but we’re still learning about how to manage long-term, chronic pain. Dr. Jane Ballantyne joins us today to share the history… -
Podcast | OpioidsThe psychology of pain
Pain isn’t just a physical sensation — it affects your mental and emotional health. Pain psychologists Dr. Wes Gilliam and Dr. Matt Schumann explain that chronic pain management requires addressing both physical and mental factors to enhance daily quality of life. Learn more: Purchase Ending the… -
Podcast | OpioidsLosing control: The science of opioid addiction
The brain is a fickle creature. When it experiences something it likes, it bursts with dopamine, regardless of whether that thing is healthy or safe for us. Dr. Alta De Roo, Chief Medical Officer of the Hazeldon Betty Ford Foundation and Director-at-Large of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, joins… -
Podcast | OpioidsThe path of opioid stewardship
Opioids are one the greatest discoveries humans have ever made. Even in the era of the opioid epidemic opioids are still an irreplaceable tool for pain management. Pain specialist Dr. Halena Gazelka joins today to discuss opioid stewardship, long-term pain management and the unique role of kitty litter in the… -
Podcast | OpioidsHighways through Dreamland: The history of America’s opioid crisis
Sam Quinones has been tracking drug epidemics in the United States for decades. His best-selling books “Dreamland” and “The Least of Us” follow the dangerous expansion of opioid, methamphetamine, and fentanyl usage across the country. Sam joins the podcast to explain how substance abuse has shaped American culture, economics, and… -
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
Understanding PainPain 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… -
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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