Painkillers are an interesting subject. People take thiem without thinking. And, of course they do. We are trained from forever to think of them as safe. Interesting how we become conditioned to think that because if you look at the label on the back the warnings are frightening.
It fascinates me how people are more willing to take them when they clearly state on the back that they can cause terrible things like liver damage, and more worried about taking natural substances that grow in the ground-not that you should eat everything from the ground!
However, I have to say, although I do know what I am talking about, giving my kids herbs is something I do without even blinking and in the few situations where I have been tempted I have tormented myself before giving them literally an infant dose of motrin. I was thinking about it this am-my older daughter has had mortin about 3 times in her life-maybe 4 if I stretch my thinking a bit. She is 9. My younger daughter I think twice- last night being one of them. She is 6.
Each time I gave it to them-even though it was an infant dose I worried I did the right thing. The reason I feel so apprehensive,is because of all of the warnings and dangers of taking NSAIDS definitely. But, more importantly I have saved it for those times I needed to take some pain away in the immediate for my children or for myself, (I take an average of about one 200 mg advil oncer per year) because the more frequent use of them can cause chronic illness like IC.
I have some patients who owe their IC exclusively to their overuse. This is not only medications like Advil and tylenol, but, other medications with those in them or anti-inflammatory medications. These types of medications create damage to the lining of the gastrointestinal system (as some other kinds of medications do) and encourage more leakage of intestinal microorganisms into the lymphatic system where they do not belong.
As this occurs, more and more inflammation sets in as the lymph is infiltrated and forms it's won attack. Much more can be read about this theory in my dissertation in detail and with many research articles citations. However this is the quick and easy explanation. This is one of the ways in which chronic illness may begin.
A common example would be that person who take 2 advil every four hours for the first 4 days of her period over a ten year span. It happens! Or another perosn who got into a car accident and takes RX antiinflammatories or NSAIDS every day to control the pain for months on end. It happens too. Another exmaple is that person who gets migraines several times per month and takes these types of meds for several days in a row to handle them. The examples go on and on.
What would be better to look at is why the pain is happening in the first place and deal with the imbalance of that saving the need or use of these types of painkillers for the rare headache or dental appointment, etc....
Hope this helps to answer this question.
Dr.M
Comments
Thanks for this Dr M. I
Thanks for this Dr M. I wanted to share that a few times (rare) I have had pain in spite of the work we are doing: once for tooth and once for sinus. I wss amazed to find that 1/4 of a 200 g advil did the job and allowed sleep. It was clear to me that my system is becoming more and more balanced, therefore reacting very quickly to very little in the same way I react on a dime to an adjustment. I'm not promoting this, just wanting to add to the awareness..
Wow. I really didn't
Wow. I really didn't understand how damaging overuse of painkillers could be! Also, I guess I didn't realize how many painkillers I've actually taken in my life before starting with Dr. M. Reading those examples makes me recognize that I used Advil like that a lot, in addition to much stronger painkillers as well. All of those painkillers plus popping antibiotics like candy...no wonder I was so messed up! I've always "blamed" the antibiotics for much of my IC problem. Now I totally know it was the painkillers too (plus many other things). I take Advil or Motrin about once or twice a year for pain, usually for headache from a herniated disk in my neck ( the main reason I took hardcore painkillers in the first place). And I usually take just one and feel the effects VERY quickly as well. This is such good information, especially for those who may not be in treatment yet but who are browsing this site to learn. Great post!
Dr. M, you have definitely
Dr. M, you have definitely opened my eyes to how NSAIDs were truly affecting my system. I am sure you were laughing to yourself at my first appointment when I said I didn't think I was overusing pain meds. Gosh, I was obviously clueless, but have learned so much in the past 3 years at how badly damaged my body was. NSAIDs would take my pain away from acute pain but within 24 hours I would be suffering greatly from taking the NSAIDs. It all makes sense now, and each time I want to run for the Advil bottle because of severe pain, I remember when you brought me to the aha moment, realizing why I was suffering from other symptoms days following, then visiting with other organ specialists also warning me of the risk I was taking with my fragile system. Addressing the underlying cause is definitely been a process, but I am proud to say I have pushed threw and am just shy of a year since taking my last Advil. It hasn't been easy, but I know it is in my best interest. Thank you for this informative post!
I was never an abuser of pain
I was never an abuser of pain meds, I would take maybe 8 in a year. Over the past three years I've taken maybe 4 Advil. The last time I took one was when I had the flu and I was at about a 9.5 in pain, fever, terrible headache and joints so achy I couldn't even sleep. I took one Advil and in less then 30 min. my pain was a 2 and I slept through the night. Before treatment one Advil would have hardly touched the pain. I was amazed at this fact. I guess clearing out all the toxins and crap really helps these things work, for the few times when you really do need quick pain relief.
I was the queen of Advil!!! I
I was the queen of Advil!!! I know that is a big reason of why I am here, no doubt in my mind. Since the day I got my period I would vomit and sometimes pass out from the pain. I'd beg the doctors to help me - something isn't right...but then came along the age of NSAIDS. I was told by my gyno to start taking them before I got my period that way they'd be in my system and then take every four hours. Well I would wind up taking 4 or 6 Advil every 4 hours to control the pain - for years :(
Thank you for your answer
Thank you for your answer about this subject. I have taken many paracetamol tablets in my life to control bad headaches surely this is one of the reasons I developped IC. If I only knew back then what the damaging effects were I would have searched for other ways to control my headaches.
Wow , I maybe take 2-3 Advil
Wow , I maybe take 2-3 Advil in a time frame of 12 weeks . Too many . I would take one for a headache , not migraine but .. Any general suggestions of what could be used to ease a headache when going to bed isn't an option. ?
This is answer to Jeann'es Q
This is answer to Jeann'es Q about what to do as an alternative to painkillers. The answer to this is a tiny bit unclear as often this may be individualized for a particular person and what their imbalance is. For example, a person could get a headache from what we refer to as Yin deficiency, For this type of headache, using a tonic would help. A very different type of headache say from detoxing would often be better from herbs that are the opposite of tonics and then you kind of need to differentiate further-so something like goldenseal and oregano might do, or GML and Ear formula--my formulas that I use for cold flu symptoms that double for helping to clear toxins. Another reason for chronic headaches could be a vitamin or mineral deficiency such as magnesium or D. I could go on, there are many more differentiations in CM. But, you get the idea. So, best is for people to consult with us during their appts and ask what they should do if they get a headache because we know how their body is functioning and what would be best in their individual case.