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17

Feb

Pain Medication

Posted by steph 

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:

  • Wikipedia definition of NSAIDs
  • Wikipedia definition for Ibuprofen
  • Wikipedia definition for Naproxen
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Motrin
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Naprosyn/Naproxen/Aleve
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
  • Wikipedia definition for Tylenol
  • Wikipedia definition for Narcotic/Opiate
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Tylenol with Codeine (Tylenol 3)
  • Wikipedia definition for Tylenol 3
  • Wikipedia definition for Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percodan, Percoset)
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percodan, Percoset)
  • Wikipedia definition for Methadone
  • RxList.com’s description of and side effects for Methadone
  • Wikipedia definition for Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab, Norco, Vicoprofen)
  • Fact or Myth? People with endometriosis don’t need to be on opiates – Ibuprofen will treat the pain just fine.

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

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Mankoski Pain Scale

0 - Pain Free

1 - Very minor annoyance - occasional
minor twinges. No medication needed.

2 - Minor Annoyance - occasional
strong twinges.
No medication needed.

3 - Annoying enough to be distracting.
Mild painkillers take care of it.
(Aspirin, Ibuprofen.)

4 - Can be ignored if you are really
involved in your work, but still
distracting. Mild painkillers remove
pain for 3-4 hours.

5 - Can't be ignored for more than 30
minutes. Mild painkillers ameliorate
pain for 3-4 hours.

6 - Can't be ignored for any length of
time, but you can still go to work and
participate in social activities.
Stronger painkillers (Codeine,
narcotics) reduce pain for 3-4 hours.

7 - Makes it difficult to concentrate,
interferes with sleep. You can still
function with effort. Stronger
painkillers are only partially effective.

8 - Physical activity severely limited.
You can read and converse with effort.
Nausea and dizziness set in as factors
of pain.

9 - Unable to speak. Crying out or
moaning uncontrollably - near delirium.

10 - Unconscious. Pain makes you
pass out.

© Andrea Mankoski

Organisations

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Endo Products


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