One BIG concern that I have and have been following is the combination of opioid pain medications and benzodiazepines (like valium, xanax, klonopin, ativan and others) used as sleep agents or to lower anxiety. A report just came out from the Maryland Dept of Health about this and its role in prescription medication overdose. The warning is this: combining them puts you at higher risk for respiratory depression (slower and shallow breathing). Another way of saying this is that you can fall asleep and may not wake up. It is encouraged that these 2 medications are NOT prescribed at the same time and if they are, close medical monitoring is strongly recommended. If anyone is taking both of these medications, PLEASE talk to your health care provider as soon as possible. See if there are safer options for you. For the full report, see: http://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MDMBP/2014/06/16/file_attachments/299923/opioids6112014.pdf
