Product Description
Americans, it seems, have a history of self-medicating for pain. The high profile and increasingly widespread cases of prescription pain medication abuse that we're seeing today serve as the latest chapter in America's long-standing love/hate relationship with painkilling drugs. In this fascinating, informative, and timely book, Dr. Drew Pinsky and other leading experts in the fields of addiction and recovery discuss why Americans are using drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin, how American's used and abused other painkillers in the past, what makes some people vulnerable to addiction, and how to get help for yourself or a family member in trouble with drugs.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 11 reviews)

Important Book

"When Painkillers Become Dangerous" is a book that should be read by, pretty much, everybody and anybody. In this day and age, and given the staggering statistics of the use/abuse of painkillers, it should not come as a surprise that we all will either know someone - directly or indirectly - who develops an addiction to painkillers.

This is an extremely resourceful book - one written without all the medical jargon. Drew does a phenomenal job covering an important topic in a concise and clear manner.

October 31, 2008

Good, but not what I was looking for

The book was great. Very informative. I craved the information contained about dealing with addiction, especially as a family disease. However, specifically I was looking for information about a specific drug, Oxycontin. With oxycontin in the title I was assuming there was a wealth of information contained within regarding the perscription painkiller. However, there was not. So although I enjoyed the read, it wasn't really what I was looking for.
July 31, 2008

An Overall Review Summed Up Quickly!

This book is readable in one night. It is informative. It is interesting. It is helpful. And most of all, imho, it is not written like nor does it read like a text book, which can sometimes be difficult to get through. I felt, as I read it, that Dr. Drew or one of the other authors were sitting across from me talking to me about this subject! It was incredibly easy to get through and it doesn't have a lot of mumbojumbo that can be confusing to comprehend! I highly recommend reading this book and passing it on.
April 07, 2008

Best overview for patients and medical professionals

This is the best overview of substance abuse, its history and current treatment options that I have ever read. It is easy to read yet very thorough and easily understood by even my non-reading rehab trudging buddies but also very informative to my most sophisticated and jaded medical and mental health professional colleages. This is a must-read for everyone intested in understanding substance abuse. This was my third copy! The other two disappeared in the lending out to family, friends and colleagues. I'm tempted to just buy this by the dozen!
November 26, 2007

Very Interesting - I loved it!

First, if you have read Dr. Drew's book "Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Back Together" then I would recommend this book if you are further interested addiction.

This book definitely has a different tone, as some of the other reviews complain, but don't let that turn you away! It may not be a compassionate look into a doctor's world of addiction treatment, but it's not meant to be. This book is a nice introduction to addiction, how it happens, how treatment works, and how it is genetic. It's meant more as a reference for people who struggle with addiction through a family member, friend, etc and not as something to be necessarily entertaining.

The reason I rated this book a four is because of some of the terminology thrown around in it. If not familiar with the brain structure and some basic psychology, this book may have some people doing a little more research for a better understanding. Though, if you want to learn about addiction and many of the concepts emerging today, this is a great book and has many great references included in it.

Another note, this is not a Dr. Drew book entirely. This book is simply composed of six different writers (Drew included) who discuss many different aspects of addiction.

August 16, 2006

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Cracked: Life on the Edge in a Rehab Clinic
by Drew Pinsky

Prescription Drug Addiction: The Hidden Epidemic
by Rod Colvin

The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love
by Adam Carolla, Drew Pinsky, Marshall Fine

Pain Killer: A "Wonder" Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death
by Barry Meier

Addictive Thinking, Second Edition: Understanding Self-Deception
by Abraham J. Twerski