17

Feb

Pain Medication

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The information in this article is not to be construed as professional medical advice. Always see your doctor before taking any medication.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) Some women report that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help relieve the pain caused by Endometriosis. If one type doesn’t work for you, ask your doctor to try at least one other before stopping NSAIDs and moving on to other medications. It’s always best to give it a couple of tries.Examples of NSAIDs are:

  • Ibuprofen (a.k.a. Advil, a.k.a. Motrin, a.k.a. Nuprin)
  • Naproxen (a.k.a. Naprosyn, a.k.a. Anaprox, a.k.a Aleve)

Always take NSAIDs on a full stomach to reduce gastric upset.

The major risks to continual NSAID usage are gastrointestinal disorders (such as ulcer), liver and kidney damage (over time) and cardiac issues (heart attack, congestive heart failure).

Acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol)

Tylenol is often lumped in with NSAIDs but according to wikipedia, has “negligible anti-inflammatory activity, and is strictly speaking not an NSAID.”

Some women have reported that acetaminophen does help manage the Endometriosis pain. Some women also take acetaminophen together with ibuprofen to fight the pain. Always ask your doctor to be sure whether this is the right dosage choice for you.

You should take acetaminophen products on a full stomach to avoid stomach upset. NEVER take acetaminophen with any other medication which also has acetaminophen in it, otherwise overdose and possibly death could result.

The major risks to continual acetaminophen usage are liver and/or kidney failure. The risk for liver failure is doubled for those who drink alcohol on a regular basis. You should get a blood test to track your liver enzymes if you are continually taking acetaminophen. As soon as your liver enzymes get too high, you should stop taking acetaminophen immediately. Discuss alternate medication with your doctor (for example, ibuprofen or naproxen).

Narcotics/Opiates

When NSAIDs and/or acetaminophen is not enough to stop the chronic pain of Endometriosis, some women are prescribed pain medication with opiates. However, this should be used as a last resort, due to the possibility of addiction, and due to the various uncomfortable side effects while on the medication.

Examples of narcotics/opiates are:

  • Codeine
  • Acetaminophen with Codeine (a.k.a. Tylenol 3)
  • Morphine
  • Methadone (a synthetic opiate)
  • Hydrocodone (a.k.a. Vicodin, a.k.a. Lortab, a.k.a. Norco, a.k.a. Vicoprofen)
  • Oxycodone (a.k.a. OxyContin, a.k.a. Percodan, a.k.a. Percoset)

Some side effects of narcotics/opiates are: heavy fatigue, itchiness, suppressed breathing (feeling of suffocation), dizziness, irritability, anxiety, intense hunger or complete lack of hunger, headache, teeth grinding, hallucinations, depression, nausea, constipation.

The major risk for continued usage of narcotics/opiates is addiction. Some sources say that heart attack or severe depression possibly leading to suicide are other major risk factors with continual use of narcotics/opiates to treat pain.

For further research:

The information in this article is not to be construed as professional medical advice. Always see your doctor before taking any medication.