It’s been a hard day, and Joe’s back is killing him.
His wife has some Percocet left over from a trip to the dentist, and there’s that big bottle of Tylenol under the sink, so Joe grabs a couple of each and washes them down with a slug of beer.
Luckily for Joe, he’s a fictional character invented for this article. But there are a lot of real-life Joes out there making big mistakes with over-the-counter and prescription pain pills.
Can you spot Joe’s mistakes? Joe didn’t make every mistake in the book. But he made quite a few.
Here’s WebMD’s list of common pain pill mistakes, compiled with the help of pharmacist Kristen A. Binaso, RPh, spokeswoman for the American Pharmacists Association; and pain specialist Eric R. Haynes, MD, founder of Comprehensive Pain Management Partners in Trinity, Fla.
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A new type of therapy may help people with symptoms such as pain, weakness, or dizziness that can’t be explained by an underlying disease, according to a study published in the July 27, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These symptoms, which can also include fatigue, tingling and numbness, are also known as functional or psychogenic symptoms.
“People with these symptoms make up one-third of all clinic visits, but the outcomes are poor,” said study author Michael Sharpe, MD, of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
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Treating chronic migraines with behavioral approaches - such as relaxation training, hypnosis and biofeedback - can make financial sense compared to prescription-drug treatment, especially after a year or more, a new study found.
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Tylenol, whose active ingredient is acetaminophen, will now have a lower recommended daily dose, which is aimed at reducing the risk of accidental overdose, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a Johnson & Johnson company announced today. The recommended daily maximum for Extra Strength Tylenol 500mg tablets will go down from 8 per day to 6 per day, i.e. from 4,000mg per day to 3,000mg per day.
Acetaminophen, which is also known as paracetamol, is a commonly used OTC (over-the-counter) pain reliever (analgesic) and fever reducer (antipyretic). People use it for headaches, and minor aches and pain. It can be found in various cold and flu medications. Acetaminophen can also be used for more severe pain when used in combination with opioid analgesics.
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A small Canadian study announced July 27 found that practicing yoga twice weekly for eight weeks reduced the symptoms of chronic pain and mental stress in women with fibromyalgia.
The study is the first to look at the effects of yoga on levels of the hormone cortisol in women suffering with fibromyalgia. The condition, which predominantly affects women, is associated with chronic pain and fatigue, and symptoms such as muscle stiffness, sleep disturbances, and depression.
Previous research has found that women with fibromyalgia have lower-than-average cortisol levels, which can contribute to pain, fatigue, and stress sensitivity, according to the researchers. In the new study, participants’ saliva revealed enhanced cortisol levels following a program of 75 minutes of hatha yoga twice weekly over the course of eight weeks. Also patients reported significant reductions in their pain levels, as well as a mental boost from the yoga practice.
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By some estimates, up to 85 percent of Americans have experienced low back pain and research reported in The Journal of Pain showed that pain intensity ratings, pain location and sensory and affective variables differ among individuals with acute and chronic low back pain. In some cases, these factors might be predictive of which acute pain patients may develop chronic pain.
Researchers from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine recruited 40 acute back pain patients and 37 with chronic back pain for the study. The subjects were trained to rate their pain and completed several different questionnaires designed to assess pain intensity, medication use and evidence of affective disorders, such as depression.
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Pain is a huge medical problem. According to a new report from the Institute of Medicine, chronic pain costs the U.S. more than $600 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity. Back pain alone consumes nearly $90 billion in health-care expenses, roughly equivalent to what’s spent on cancer.
Despite the increasing prevalence of chronic pain—nearly one in three Americans suffers from it—medical progress has been slow and halting. This is an epidemic we don’t know how to treat. For the most part, doctors still rely on over-the-counter medications and opioid drugs, such as OxyContin and Vicodin. While opioids can provide effective relief, they’re also prone to abuse, which is why overdoses from prescription painkillers are now a leading cause of accidental death.
But there are glimmers of progress in the war against pain. New therapeutic approaches don’t target body parts or nerves close to the source of the problem. They don’t involve highly technical surgeries or expensive new drugs. Instead, they focus on the mind, on altering the ways in which we perceive the pain itself.
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Most doctors view pain as a symptom of an underlying problem — treat the disease or the injury, and the pain goes away.
But for large numbers of patients, the pain never goes away. In a sweeping review issued last month, the Institute of Medicine — the medical branch of the National Academy of Sciences — estimated that chronic pain afflicts 116 million Americans, far more than previously believed.
The toll documented in the report is staggering. Childbirth, for example, is a common source of chronic pain: The institute found that 18 percent of women who have Caesarean deliveries and 10 percent who have vaginal deliveries report still being in pain a year later.
Ten percent to 50 percent of surgical patients who have pain after surgery go on to develop chronic pain, depending on the procedure, and for as many as 10 percent of those patients, the chronic postoperative pain is severe. (About 1 in 4 Americans suffer from frequent lower back pain.)
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Chronic pain affects 116 million Americans and, unfortunately, finding the remedy to this pain is not always simple. Just ask any of the millions who take the traditional pain medications and still can’t shake their aches. For that reason, many people turn to alternative medicine, although these helpful methods are not accessible to everyone.
In a recent study, researchers looked at nearly 6,000 patients of various backgrounds who suffer from chronic pain. Overall, they found that 35 percent of these patients turned to alternative therapy to help cope with their pain. A full 25 percent underwent manipulation therapy, such as chiropractic work. To a lesser extent, 13 percent attended relaxation training, while 8.3 percent tried acupuncture.
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For people with severe chronic pain like Kelly Young and Teresa Shaffer—both of whom have become patient advocates —coping with agony is a fact of life. Young suffers from rheumatoid arthritis while Shaffer’s pain is linked primarily to another degenerative bone disease.
Chronic pain is one of the most difficult—and common—medical conditions. Estimated to affect 76 million Americans—more than diabetes, cancer and heart disease combined—it accompanies illnesses and injuries ranging from cancer to various forms of arthritis, multiple sclerosis and physical trauma.
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The first book I ever read on pain was “Mastering Pain” by Dr. Richard Sternbach. Here are 12 steps to follow:
1. Accept the fact of having chronic pain.
2. Set specific goals for work, hobbies and social activities toward which you will work.
3. Let yourself get angry at your pain if it seems to be getting the best of you.
4. Take your analgesics on a strict time schedule, and then taper off until you are no longer taking any.
5. Get in the best physical shape possible, and keep fit.
6. Learn how to relax and practice relaxation techniques regularly.
7. Keep yourself busy.
8. Pace your activities.
9. Have your family and friends support only your healthy behavior, not your invalidism.
10. Be open and reasonable with your doctor.
11. Practice effective empathy with others having pain problems.
12. Remain hopeful!
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A new study finds that painkillers widely used to treat inflammation are associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder connected with a raised risk of stroke, heart failure and death.
Previous research has linked non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and newer anti-inflammatory medications known as cox-2 inhibitors to an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, but this is the first study to link the painkillers with atrial fibrillation.
Danish researchers looked at 32,602 patients who had a first diagnosis of atrial fibrillation between 1999 and 2008. Each of those patients was compared with 10 age and gender-matched controls from the general population in Denmark.
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Chronic pain can be debilitating, all-consuming and even frustrating — especially when you’ve taken every test and tried every medication and you still hurt. You start to think maybe it’s all in your head (it’s not) and there’s nothing else you can do (not true). Research shows the best way to control chronic pain is to tackle it from all fronts; in fact, a published review found that comprehensive pain programs — ones that address biological, psychological and social aspects of pain — are most effective at improving quality of life. For many conditions, medications help; to better manage pain, try these strategies, too:
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Hard-to-treat chronic pain, a condition that inflicts at least 116 million adult Americans a year, can cost the nation anywhere between $560 billion to $635 billion each year, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Addressing the highly common condition that is preventable and could be better managed requires a comprehensive strategy encompassing lost productivity and healthcare expenses, the report suggests.
Chronic pain is described as pain that lasts for more than several months.
The lasting pain can be triggered by many different ailments from arthritis to cancer; from spine problems to digestive issues; and from injuries to surgery. Furthermore, chronic pain can be its own disease, the report notes.
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