Dr. John P. Rosa, opioid crisis expert, author and dynamic speaker pursues the origin and meaning of the phrase “pseudo-addiction” and explains why he sees it as a rationale by pharmaceutical companies to fool the public into thinking they need more opioids to control their pain.

ROCKVILLE, MD. March 30, 2021: Dr. John Rosa, dynamic speaker, national opioid crisis expert, and co-author of The Recipe for Success with Jack Canfield, posted a new blog on his website entitled, “Pseudo-Addiction Sounds About As Plausible A Phrase As Fake News.”  Dr. Rosa explains how the term came about and how it became commonly used.

Dr. Rosa explains, “The term “pseudo-addiction” was coined back in 1989 by Dr. David Weissman and James Haddox, an employee of Purdue Pharma, to describe a case of “a 17-year-old male with leukemia, pneumonia, and chest wall pain.  The patient displayed behaviors (moaning, grimacing, increasing requests for analgesics) wrongly interpreted by the physicians and nurses as indicators of addiction, rather than of inadequately treated pain. The term pseudo-addiction is not a diagnosis, but rather a way to describe a phenomenon about the attitudes and motivation of clinicians in managing pain through our fears and misunderstanding of pain, pain treatment, and addiction.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2710565/

“As a chiropractor who has been treating patients with pain for decades,” Dr. Rosa writes, “I’m appalled that Purdue Pharma decided that clinicians’ “fears and misunderstanding of pain and pain treatment” required such nomenclature.” He goes on to add, “However, the term is more commonly applied to describe patients – not the attitudes of their clinicians – who would, according to pharmaceutical companies, be better served by being given more opioids.”

Dr. Rosa writes, “Let me break this down for you. Let’s start by examining the word itself.

The prefix pseudo- (from Greek ψευδής,  pseudes, “lying, false”) is used to mark something that superficially appears to be (or behaves like) one thing but is something else. Subject to context, pseudo may connote coincidence, imitation, intentional deception, or a combination thereof.”

Read the entire blog at https://www.drjohnrosa.com/pseudo-addiction-sounds-about-as-plausible-a-phrase-as-fake-news/

About John P. Rosa
Dr. John Rosa owns and supervises Accessible Beltway Clinics, which is comprised of 17 clinics in Maryland and Virginia that sees over 60,000 patient visits per year. ABC Clinics combine medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and behavioral medicine to give a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to pain syndromes and musculoskeletal disorders. Active in sports medicine with consulting/treating athletes in several universities, NBA, MLB, NHL and USA Olympic Basketball. Creator of 24/7 RnR an FDA approved analgesic cream; a proprietary blend of the most potent materials resulting in the most effective product on the market for pain Relief and aiding Recovery. Founder of Accessible Wellness Solutions – an onsite corporate wellness program offering consulting, lectures and management of onsite clinics.

Leader in Chiropractic  

Trustee of New York Chiropractic College for over 15 years serving final 3-year term as Chairman of the Board and given the honor or Board Emeritus post service. Awarded the highest recognitions in Chiropractic Medicine as Fellow of the American Chiropractic Colleges and Fellow of the International Chiropractic Colleges.

Integrative Medicine Specialist:

• Current Vice Chair of the Board to Maryland University of Integrative Health
• Consultant on Integrative Medicine to hospital cancer center
• Reduced opioid prescriptions by 70% by integrating Chiropractic, physical therapy and behavioral medicine in a primary care setting
• Expert/Speaker – Educating medical community on the Integrative Medicine approach to treating pain

Opioid Crisis Expert:

• White House Surrogate
• Law Enforcement Consultant (Homeland Security, CBP, DOJ, DEA and Postal)
• State and National Consultant to Opioid Task Forces
• Corporate and professional organization consultant
• Best selling author

Community Leadership:

• Board member of the National Italian American Foundation
• Founder of “Overdose Free America” a nonprofit 501c which uses the power of celebrity and entertainment to bring the Opioid Crisis the visibility and support it deserves
• Volunteer at Crossroads Freedom Center – a residential facility in Maryland to help overcome addiction

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