So, I have a dis-ease that at times causes me discomfort, but I'm not inclined to take anything moreso than aspirin or the occasional Naproxin. And here is why.

I know scads of friends who are WAY more hale and healthy than I've ever been who will exploit their docs and take addictive drugs any chance they can get em prescribed. I've known people who were legal-drug junkies as young as 14. To me? That's just skeevy.

I am not and have never been a teetotaller. I went thru a phase where I tried everything under the sun I could get my hands on, and I had my first drink at 9 (on the sly, of course). I still occasionally drink a few beers or toke a bowl or two in social sitches, and I doubt I'll ever be inclined not to. But.... I just feel that unless your quality of life is such that you'll never be able to walk or exercise or play again, that you're on death's doorstep there's no reason to do painkillers except in very short bursts.

I'm not stupid, I do do them in crucial situations! I get a tooth pulled or have an operation, I will take em for a few days, but after that I'm just back to aspirin, and I end up never finishing the bottle.

For me, becoming ill really messed with my philosophy on life. Before that I was a tough kid. I grew up in a bad neighborhood, I have a decent work ethic and really love working out, and I just always abhorred weakness.

Now I have this sort of Sword of Damocles over me that's telling me I'll never quite be as strong or as healthy again. But that's no reason to punk out if I don't have to.

Anyway, that's my rant of the day, and I'm sticking to it. What do you folk think?

My opinion on medications is that in the US at least, people do abuse them. Doctors are also too eager to prescribe medications, especially antibiotics and pain medications, that people do not need just to make it seem like the doctor is doing something to help.

As for just going into pain medication. Yes people abuse them. They are not meant to be taken daily like some people take them. I'm including over the counter medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and medications that use them in combination with other drugs to get "stronger" or "extended" pain relief in that statement. I know people that will pop Tylenol like they're candy for every little ache. Your body does build up a resistance to drugs if they're taken too often. Also the side effects of pain killers on the liver, stomach, kidneys, and intestinal tract are just not worth in in my opinion.

Acute liver failure can occur in people that take too much acetaminophen (Excedrin, Tylenol). It builds up in the liver over time and causes damage to the tissue similar to how alcohol does. It accounts for something like 45% of all acute liver failure cases in the US. Asprin (Bayer) can cause ulcers in the stomach and along the digestive tract. If I take anything, I tend to lean towards ibuprofen (Advil, Mortin) because the side effects are fewer and it's a "safer" drug. Although the liver problems still are there with ibuprofen but it's not as harsh. Most NSAIDs I try to avoid if I can though because I've personally had so many problems with them.

I can see in severe cases where people actually DO need it but it's way too easy for someone to die from an accidental overdose. I think most of that steams from the fact that in the US people treat taking pain killers as no big deal and the general public doesn't realize that just because you can run into any drug store and get a medication it does not mean it is safe to pop pills like candy. I can see how it's also easy to overdose when someone is on prescriptions and they do not realize what exactly they are taking. I don't think that the general public is aware of how damaging high doses of medications, prescription or OTC, are to one's body.

As for drugs, including things like Vicodin, Oxycontin, fentanyl, morphine, etc. Most of the time with those drugs people knowingly abuse them (although there are those that accidentally combine medications with acetaminophen in them when they do not realize that they are taking a prescription with acetaminophen already in it). I get so many unpleasant side effects from morphine and Vicodin and I can not imagine why anyone would try to get high off of them. They are habit forming, I get that since I had problems when I was on Vicodin for weeks due to a back/neck injury. Most of the time I was just in bed because I felt too sick to get up and do anything due to the Vicodin. I even considered stopping the Vicodin and just dealing with the pain because it was that bad.


Shortness of my answer:
The public needs to be aware of what is in their medications whether it be OTC or prescribed.
The public also needs to be aware of what the effects of too high of a dose are.
Don't abuse drugs, kids!

Whenever you take opioids for any extended period of time, you risk forming a dependency.

I leave it to the people suffering from chronic pain to decide whether they want to take that risk. I wouldn't think any less of a person if they became addicted while taking painkillers to manage legitimate pain.

Originally Posted by Mystic

Shortness of my answer:
The public needs to be aware of what is in their medications whether it be OTC or prescribed.
The public also needs to be aware of what the effects of too high of a dose are.
Don't abuse drugs, kids!

Basically the above.

I do take painkillers in many forms (I switch between Tylenol and ibuprofen, for regular pains--I tend to take ibuprofen more often though, because I used to be on a LOT of meds that could cause liver failure, and I didn't want to push my luck). I also take vicodin, however, I am very careful with it. I take at MOST 2 in a day--but that only happens if I end up taking one in the morning, and then one in the evening or before bed...which is rare..and ONLY AS NEEDED! Most days I don't need it, so I don't take it. I usually grab an ibuprofen first, and if that fails, I take a vicodin (usually half of one if I already took an ibuprofen). -- I don't have a regular prescription, but, since I have some left after my root canal, and I've been in miserable amounts of pain lately, I've been taking them like 2-3 a week. My back's killing me because of my stress levels, and next to nothing helps.

I do agree with most doctors prescribing some medicines too easily--but I find that it's fairly universal, with most drugs.
Oh, you're having trouble concentrating? HERE, TAKE SOME ADDERALL!
Oh, you're feeling a little depressed? HERE, TAKE SOME ZOLOFT!

:headdesk:

Yep. It's bad enough I'm supposed to take medications everyday for my illness, last thing I want to do is add all the side effects of pain pills when I can still pretty much handle the pain.

I get leg cramps with this, but I prevent those by eating bananas (for the potassium) and working out so my legs stay strong.

I get headaches, but I can usually get rid of those by laying down awhile.

I have some neuropathy, but I take one of those homeopathic things I get at the health food store when they turn up.

Sometimes I get chest pains, but again I rest and I eat heart healthy foods like olives and garlic.

Until I -know- I'm gonna die I don't want an addiction.

If I can endure the pain I'm having I won't pop pills. I try to tough it. I know how pain my body can take for I throw in the towel. But I'm not a pill popper. Truely is sad to know people abuse these sort of drugs. But, its like all the other sorts of abuse. It gets mistreated to the fullest,causing damage in the long run. If we keep pop pills the way we do we can ruin our organs. That's one reason I try to take the pain as it comes.

Originally Posted by Explodey

Until I -know- I'm gonna die I don't want an addiction.

Taking something doesn't guarantee addiction, you know. D: Especially if you take it in moderation, and don't rely on it to feel well. My pains are just so bad and unbearable.

I rarely use them, even if I am in agony. I think doctors are too liberal in prescribing them -- it's so easy to grab the pad and write out something when there could be another underlying cause causing that discomfort, and I have known people who had some serious garbage going on for months before someone put two and two together. They just mask the pain and don't treat the underlying cause.

But I have to say the rare time I was given one, it had absolutely zero effect on me. The pain was still there in the same amount; so what was the point of that exercise except to get my acid reflux through the roof?

I noticed that. They really don't tend to quell the pain at all; just make you sleepy and not-caring, which has no appeal to me at all. High blood sugar'll make me sleepy just fine, and as I already have sleep disorders- I either can't sleep at all or oversleep- I have no interest in sleeping my life away.

My mom is wicked addicted, and keeps nagging me to start taking pain pills too.

If something hurts, I pop an Advil, or Tylenol, or an Ibuprofen, depending on how much it hurts (Advil for less pain, going up the list). I have no problems taking pain killers, nor am I dependent on them. Personally I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, but sometimes (if I don't want to seem like a total wuss infront of people) I'll tough it out.

I'm neither yay or nae. Use if you want, I do, if you don't want to, don't use them. Simple as that.

In my case the things just don't work, so I'm not really sure how to address this. I have seen friends get addicted to them, and I've also seen people go through surgeries, and recoveries which would not have been bearable without them. One must weigh the benefits against the risks. If you need them you need them, and if you get addicted, you can get help to stop.

Originally Posted by sarofset

and if you get addicted, you can get help to stop.

Addiction is one of those things that is best prevented than controlled -- you can't cure an addiction.

My grandmother was in the hospital a couple of months ago, and the nurses wanted to give her morphine, but she nixed it. She toughed it out, her leg healed, and she went home just fine. A find a lot of doctors push painkillers on people like they were candy, and to me, if I can avoid it, I avoid it...

Physical addictions can be cured. I just did a paper on this for a psyche class.

Mental addictions cannot ever be fully cured, however they take a long time to build up.

It does depend how bad the physical addiction is tho.

There are longterm effects on a body if given opiates for a long period of time. A young healthy person can overcome the withdrawal symptoms readily enough, altho it is, I am told, terribly unpleasant.

But if someone is actually ill, or took a bad injury, and has been on painkillers a long while, they may not be able to withstand the shock that comes with the withdrawal. Then they can only be put on opiate substitutes and possibly be slowly weaned gradually.

Originally Posted by sarofset

Physical addictions can be cured. I just did a paper on this for a psyche class.

Mental addictions cannot ever be fully cured, however they take a long time to build up.

I have a degree in Psychology and I know that is baloney -- addictions can be monitored and controlled -- they cannot be cured. A single stressor can trigger a relapse. And the physical, emotional, neurological, cognitive and intellectual damage that an addiction brings can be severe and permanent.

It's not worth the trouble to get addicted in the first place...

I agree with you on the psychology behind the addictions, Alexandra, but I have to argue on one point, not necessarily on topic, but there are somethings worth being addicted too. So long as you can admit to being addicted.

Speaking as someone with loads of personal experience on the subject, what with every member of my family having been addicted to something at some point. Physical addictions go away after a while. They really do. Most of your brain chemistry goes back to normal, and the withdrawal stops. That's the end of the PHYSICAL addiction. The mental addiction can be in many cases permanent, however with therapy it can be easily managed. The mental addiction is the thinking about and occasional craving you get. The physical addiction is the change in brain chemistry associated with the chemical stimuli.

Furthermore, addictions to most pain meds are not very severe. They usually monitor your dose very carefully, and slowly gradually ween you off of them. Quitting cold turkey might have sever withdrawal symptoms, but the slow rout doesn't usually get that bad.

In cases like heroin or other extremely potent recreational drugs, it's more severe, and can be dangerous. However there are programs to help people through it, and doctors do their best to keep you from getting addicted in the first place. ...Well... good doctors anyway.

Originally Posted by Syraannabelle

not necessarily on topic, but there are somethings worth being addicted too. So long as you can admit to being addicted.

That's probably true. I mean, I don't need coffee to live, but I sure do like coffee.

I know full and well tho if I drink it too often I'm gonna get addicted because, as the old joke goes, I've quit dozens of times.;)

I guess it doesn't matter where the thread goes tho, to me anyway, but the reason I thought of making such a thread at the time was I was mad at my ma for giving me grief back in my weed smokin' beer drinkin' days and now she's all gung ho for tricking the doc into more Lyrica and tramodol.

So I specifically meant painkillers at the time.

Painkillers like all medicines have a therapeutic and toxic dose and unfortunate sometimes the therapeutic dose overlaps slightly with the toxic dose and can cause all sorts of potential side effects. So should you be worried? Honestly no. Most really bad side effects are either a rare reaction that someone had to the drug or as Mystic said a side effect that has been caused my chronic use of the drug over an uber long period of time. Aspirin was mentioned as causing stomach ulcers, which sounds ominous but when put into perspective it's not really applicable to your circumstances. Aspirins is medically valued more as an anticoagulant than an analgesic and people who take aspirin regularly do so for the prevention of blood clots, aneurysms, strokes ect and most doctors nowadays have the common sense to give people the coated aspirins that don't dissolve in the stomach. I always remembered as a student nurse seeing a guy who had taken an aspirin for what he though was food poisoning, vomit blood. That looked really scary but then the doctor explain he had a stomach ulcer and the aspirin had acted like an anticoagulant and caused this bleed. The guy didn't know he had a stomach ulcer, I guess what I'm trying to say it is not worth demonizing pain killers entirely based on the various reactions people have had to them.
Having said that I can understand why the prospect of taking painkillers long term is daunting. Maybe you can ask to be referred to a pain management specialist who you can talk to about how to deal with your pain holistically without the permanent use of painkillers. There are loads of treatments like acupuncture, reflexology, aromatherapy ect that chronic pain sufferers use to help alleviate pain.
Personally I only use painkillers when I have a headache, or when I have a cold, which I have right : ( I only use paracetamol (acetaminophen), because aspirin upsets my stomach and ibuprofen interacts with my inhaler meds. I don't bother using the expensive tablets like panadol ect.

Interacts with your inhaler meds? Howso? I take an inhaler for my asthma, so I'd want to know if combining aspirin and asthma medicine is ok or not.

I have never liked taking medicenes in the fear of forming a dependency on them, especially since my mom's side of the family has been known to have those kinds of problems. I used to get chronic headaches with the occasional migraine but I'd only take anything when it was at its absolute worst and my choice pills were ibprophen. I remember when I got my wisdom teeth pulled I got prescribed a painkiller (can't remember its name, it was similiar to vickodin). I took one when I got home, went to bed, and didn't take anything after that because my mouth didn't hurt like I thought it would. I didn't see the point of being prescribed it because I wasn't in any pain (I guess I have a high tolerance? I've heard horror stories about wisdom teeth but it seriously didn't hurt) and its just begging somebody to get addicted to it. My dad held onto the painkillers for a while (just in case of emergency/didn't want to waste the money) but we ended up throwing it away anyways. (My mom kept inviting over my cousin's mom and she's a recovering drug addict and my dad didn't want her getting a hold of it)
So it is safe to say that unless a person absolutely needs it, they shouldn't be taking it. Just because you feel a little pain doesn't mean you should be popping pills, rather take it easy and let it pass.

Originally Posted by Explodey

Interacts with your inhaler meds? Howso? I take an inhaler for my asthma, so I'd want to know if combining aspirin and asthma medicine is ok or not.

I said ibuprofen interacts with the asthma- not aspirin. Ibuprofen can cause asthma attacks so should be avoided unless directed my your doctor. If you ever have any doubts about your meds talk to your local pharmacist, I always do when I'm looking for cough medicine that is suitable for asthmatics.

Pain Meds are a tricky subject as we all have a different tolerance for pain. Some women squeeze out babies in a warm bath and others, like me, need all the help they can get and the machine that goes "Ping". You can never judge someone else's pain and the associated mental hang ups that go with it. I think you are all very wise in that you think about what you do and take care of yourself the best way possible. The worst thing I think, as a Mum, is to be so grumpy with the pain that your whole family is miserable. If it takes some painkillers to keep you sane and reasonable then go for it. After a nasty encounter with mental illness (my own) I learned how important it is to think of others as well as myself.

Ya know, I had the same view as you. At least the tough part. I mean, come on, I'm a guy. I can handle a [fill in symptom here]. And I'm in relatively good health, aches and pains are uncommon for me. I saw heavy pain killers as ... weak. Like the other person, or at least me [cuz I do hold myself to different standards] couldn't handle it.

But recently a loved one of mine was diagnosed with cancer. Lucky we caught it early, and in the US the rates it's cured are incredibly high. Age, strength, life style and our AMAZING doctors are all on her side. And even just a month after the initial symptoms, she's doing fine. It's ongoing but she's fine. Now ... she was in discomfort but not pain.
And the doctors insisted she take morphine. Something she wasn't really comfortable with.
But they said something that just totally changed my views.
They said "your body is already trying to fight, it's going to get worn out. The pain isn't helping them win that fight, and there is no reason you need to be in discomfort right now."

I realize that doesn't apply to like, a sick stomach. But pain happens cuz something, SOMEWHERE, isn't happy. And being in pain probably isn't working out in your favor.

That having been said, yeah, there is a drug problem. But druggies are druggies. It happens.