Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata)and addiction withdrawal

Prescription opioids are addicting pain-reducing drugs that include oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine to mention a few and have both provide great results to treat pain but when it is not properly used or tracked by the prescriber can become very addicting and dangerous to the user. Many patients have been affected by the serious addiction associated with this medication. This new addiction has entered the Food and Drug Administration (FDAs) radar and it has become one of their highest priority. The FDA has developed programs to decrease exposure and prevent new addictions along with some multi-level support treatments for those who have developed an addiction to opioids. (“New Safety Measures Announced for Immediate Release (IR) Opioids,” 2018) (“New Safety Measures Announced for Opioid Analgesics, Prescription Opioid Cough Products, and Benzodiazepines,” 2016)(“Opioid Medications,” 2018)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opiate drugs not only in the Unites States but around the world. This does not only include prescription drugs but illegal drugs like heroin. Opiate withdrawal time line is very short opiates change the normal brain, heart, and respiratory receptors function. The drug delivers a pleasant feeling as the drug is increased by disrupting the pleasure center in the brain and providing that calm “high”. The body starts to depend so much on that pleasant feeling due to the brain chemistry being changed that the body will not feel normal when drug is not used. Symptoms of short acting opioids start within 6-12 hours of last dose, long acting within 30hrs and peak within 72hrs and last up to a week at times., to mention a few (Tearing up, Muscle aches, Agitation, etc.). Depending on how long the patient had been using the withdrawal symptoms from the drug can last even longer. (“Opiate Withdrawal Timelines, Symptoms and Treatment,” n.d.) (“OPIATE WITHDRAWAL TIMELINE,” n.d.) (“Breaking Down the Opiate Withdrawal Timeline,” n.d.)

Chronic pain and opioid use has been an alarming issue in the military for many years. A recent study by JAMA quantified the impact of recent wars and narcotic use among soldiers a concerning of chronic pain (44.0%) and opioid use (15.1%). Our country depends on soldier that are fit and ready for any conflict chronic pain and use of opioids impairs our force. These numbers are more concerning than the general public (26% and 4%, respectively).The majority of the soldiers where found to have chronic pain associated with age 25 and over, rank, injuries during combat, combat intensity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol misuse. The pain was also related to being married or having been married previously.The critical number have become a high priority for National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and became part of their Third Strategic Plan: 2011–2015 on research on how to improve pain management. (Briggs, 2014) (“NCCAM Third Strategic Plan: 2011–2015,” 2017) (Toblin, Quartana, & Riviere, 2014)

Passion flower has been proven to have monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors harmaline and harmine and several other flavonoids that are MAO inhibitors, including apigenin, kaempferol, and quercetin. Due to the opioid withdrawal affecting the brain and its moods this plant can help the following mood-boosting chemicals in the brain: Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Epinephrine and Dopamine. There is no shock on why passionflower has been used for so many centuries, the Aztecs are known to first introduce passionflower to the Spanish conquistadors as a sedative for nervousness and insomnia. In Germany during the early 1900’s they used passionflower as a component in all sedatives and still today in the United States it still used alone or as component to treat pain, insomnia, and neurasthenia. (Finch, 2015) (Traub, n.d.)

In this double blinded study, it was proven that detoxification with clonidine has its limitations, including that it did not have much effect on mental symptoms. The study did show that adding Passiflora incarnata extract in the management of anxiety was effective. 65 addicts were selected and given the clonidine and passion flower and or placebo. The two had great outcomes when it came to the treatment of physical symptoms of withdrawal but the patients who received the clonidine and passionflower did far superior when it came to mental symptom management. (S et al., 2001)

References

Breaking Down the Opiate Withdrawal Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aboveitalltreatment.com/blog/breaking-opiate-withdrawal-timeline/

Briggs, J. P. (2014). Pain and Opioid Use in U.S. Soldiers: The Imperative for Researching Effective Pain Management Options in the Military. Retrieved from https://nccih.nih.gov/research/blog/opioid-military

Finch, M. (2015). HOW TO USE PASSION FLOWER FOR OPIATE WITHDRAWAL. Retrieved from https://opiateaddictionsupport.com/how-to-use-passion-flower-for-opiate-withdrawal/

NCCAM Third Strategic Plan: 2011–2015. (2017). Retrieved July 1, 2018, from https://nccih.nih.gov/about/plans/2011

New Safety Measures Announced for Immediate Release (IR) Opioids. (2018). Retrieved July 1, 2018, from https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm491437.htm

New Safety Measures Announced for Opioid Analgesics, Prescription Opioid Cough Products, and Benzodiazepines. (2016). Retrieved July 1, 2018, from https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm518110.htm

OPIATE WITHDRAWAL TIMELINE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.opiate.com/managing-opiate-withdrawal-symptoms/opiate-withdrawal-timeline/

Opiate Withdrawal Timelines, Symptoms and Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/withdrawal-timelines-treatments/opiate/

Opioid Medications. (2018). Retrieved July 1, 2018, from https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm337066.htm

S, A., L, K., M, M., H, H. S., S, N., & m, K. (2001, October 26). Passionflower in the treatment of opiates withdrawal: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. PubMED, 369-73. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11679027

Toblin, R. L., Quartana, P. ., & Riviere, L. A. (2014). Chronic Pain and Opioid Use in US Soldiers After Combat Deployment. JAMA Internal Medecine, 1400-1401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.2726

Traub, M. (n.d.). Passionflower (Passiflora) An overview of the research and clinical indications. Retrieved from https://www.gaiaherbs.com/uploads/A_Research_Review_of_Passionflower-1371567390.pdf