M
edicine can be life-
enhancing and even
lifesaving as we age.
But it can also be a source of
potential misuse.
The Jewish Addiction
Resource Alliance (JARA)
recently presented a webinar
“Aging, Addiction and the
Brain” about medication
misuse and potential
addiction.
Lynn Breuer, LMSW, CDP,
senior director of community
outreach and
wellness at Jewish
Family Service,
explained why
aging poses
particular issues
in relation to
medication and
addiction.
“Our cognitive abilities
peak at 25,” she said. After
that, age-related changes to
the brain can affect cognition,
memory, balance and sleep.
Aging may result in
orthopedic problems, vision
and hearing loss, and other
medical issues requiring
medication. Emotional issues
can also surface, Breuer said,
as the moves and deaths
of loved ones can result
in shrinking social circles.
This can lead to depression
and anxiety; medications
are often prescribed to treat
these physical and emotional
problems.
“Older adults are often
prescribed more medicines
than other age groups,
leading to a higher rate
of exposure to potentially
addictive medications,” she
says.
At the same time, age-
related changes in the brain
can make it challenging
to accurately follow a
medication regime. Patients
may forget whether they have
taken a dose and perhaps
overcompensate with too
many pills or take fewer than
prescribed.
Patients can become
addicted to medications
for sleep, pain or anxiety,
including opioids, such as
oxycodone —
a painkiller,
explained Breuer
and Becky Eizen,
director of the
Resource Center
at Jewish Family
Service and
a board-certified patient
advocate specializing in
geriatric programs.
Rony Foumia, a local
pharmacist with extensive
experience as a retail
pharmacist and pharmacy
manager, is a member of
the statewide
Michigan
Pharmacy and
Therapeutics
Committee and a
board member of
Families Against
Narcotics. There
is a misperception that opioid
addiction is a problem only
among young people, he says.
“Opioids can cause a
euphoric effect, and misuse
can change brain chemistry
so that patients may need
more of them,” Foumia
explains.
Synthetic opioids such as
fentanyl are responsible for
70 to 75% of opioid deaths,
he says.
Foumia recommends con-
sideration of non-opioid pain
medications, but if opioids
Aging and Medication
Becky
Eizen
Rony
Foumia
Lynn
Breuer
HEALTH
Local agency coalition seeks to reduce
medication misuse and addiction.
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
60 | DECEMBER 15 • 2022
Using Narcan to
Combat Overdoses
Narcan, the brand name for Naloxone,
is an inhaled prescription medication
to treat someone suspected of an
opioid overdose because of breathing
problems, severe sleepiness or
unresponsiveness.
Training for administering Narcan
is available through the Alliance of
Coalitions for Healthy Communities
at: https://achcmi.org/training/
narcan-training-save-a-life/.
For immediate assistance, 24/7, call
Common Ground at (800) 231-1127.