As senior opioid overdoses rise due to chronic pain, knee patient warns "It's an easy slope to slide down"

Overdose deaths involving people 65 and older have increased by 400% during the last two decades, with a third of seniors misusing opioids prescribed to them for pain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC says it takes just five days for opioid dependency to set in. 

Older adults in New Jersey recorded the highest number of suspected overdose deaths in 2025, with 278, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. That's more than any other age group, including teens and young adults. 

In New York City, more than 700 adults 55-84 died of unintentional drug poisonings involving opioids in 2024. 

Chronic pain problems more likely in seniors

"Some of the most commonly prescribed opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, they are literally made from opium, and they have effects on the brain that are indistinguishable from heroin," Dr. Andrew Kolodny said. 

Kolodny is the president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing and medical director for opioid policy research at Brandeis University. 

"We have a health care system that incentivizes for getting patients out of your office quickly, and the quickest way to get a patient out of your office sometimes is to write a prescription," Kolodny said. 

Geriatricians say the amount of older adults who've died from falls have tripled in the last three decades, and two thirds of the fatal falls were linked to prescription pills that caused drowsiness and impaired balance. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found more than 41,000 seniors older than 65 died from falls in 2023. 

Addiction awareness advocates recommend talking to your doctor about medications you're using and trying opioid alternatives for pain management if you're able, including exercise, acupuncture, physical therapy, ice, over the counter medicine, and chiropractic care. 

"Whether you're 16 or 65, you still have the same kind of risk if you are prescribed an opioid," said Angelo Valente, executive director of the Partnerships for a Drug-Free New Jersey. The group educates New Jersey residents about opioid risks, and has a statewide healthy aging and opioid alternative campaign. 

"I didn't know what to do with the pain" 

Mary Ellen Lillis, 68, is recovering from knee surgery.   

"It was very, very painful. There were nights where I was crying 'cause I was in so much pain. You get almost, like, delirious, you just want it to stop," she said. 

Lillis said the post-operation pain was relentless. 

"I didn't know what to do with the pain because it was so intense," Lillis said. "Oxycontin was one, that was the one I would take every 4 hours."

Lillis said she couldn't tolerate the side effects from the prescribed opioids, including nausea and insomnia. She stopped taking them after a week. 

"I just felt like I was not myself, taking those meds. After the first week, I was like, I'm just gonna have to deal with the pain, I know it's going to hurt," Lillis said. Instead, she turned to Tylenol, and her ice machine. "It's an easy slope to slide down if the pills are comforting you and you're getting relief from it." 

Lillis is on a mission to forge a stronger joint by using the gym, physical therapy, walking and baking to build a better knee. 

"I'm doing good. I mean, I'm still in pain," she said. 

Kolodny calls Lillis' approach lifestyle medicine.

"When a doctor is reaching for their prescription pad or recommending a medication, they might want to ask that clinician is there a non-medicine alternative," Kololdny said.