More Skills, Less Pills
Less Pills session
Thursday 12 September, 9.30am – 1pm
Video recording of the session
Edited chat notes
Some useful resources
Information from Cleveland Clinic about Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome
NICE guideline
Covering general principles for prescribing and managing withdrawal from opioids, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids, Z‑drugs and antidepressants
Guidance for opioid reduction in primary care, from Oxford University Hospitals
Leaflet from Versus Arthritis about osteoarthritis
Medication review form
To be completed with the patient during face-to-face review in practice
Download the form
Practice Opioid Policy – new patients
Practice Opioid Policy – prescribing
Practice procedure for lost or stolen prescriptions
Practice Procedure where dependence is considered
The Great Opioid Side Effect Lottery
Often, patients being prescribed opioids for their persistent pain do not know how little benefit they offer over the long term, or how prevalent and varied are the side effects people experience.
This A4 sheet, designed to be used by clinicians in their consultations with patients, is a simple way to raise the question of benefits versus side effects.
Using a ‘lottery scratch card’ metaphor, the sheet explains that opioids only actually reduce pain for around 10% of people in the long term, and their side effects can be both wide ranging and serious.
It lists many of the side effects, and provides a number of statistics to show how common these side effects are.
Working through the list with your patient, ask them to tick those side effects they are experiencing, as a starting point for introducing the idea of a medicines review.
