Mayo Clinic’s Health Letter from February explains that “Memories of past painful experiences can influence your current experiences.”
For example, a strong remembrance of past pain at your dentist office does not help any new pain threshold about to be realized there. Mayo continues, “And pain itself can predispose you to more pain.”
So how do you control chronic pain’s pain without further injuring the health of your body? It is a known fact that chronic pain leads to the loss of strength, stamina, and weight gain making even the functioning of daily tasks often impossible. This difficulty is compounded with the frequent loss of nightly sleep due to pain. Add to this recipe the vicious cycle of pain and stress accompanying each other. In fact, half of all chronic pain sufferers suffer induced-depression, along with the health issues caused by stress. Because many pain medications do not prove to be effective in the reduction of chronic pain, the serious problem of drug dependency and alcohol abuse creep into this sad picture.
Mayo does say this: “When used appropriately, pain relievers – both prescription and nonprescription – can be very effective at reducing pain and improving quality of life. Still it’s wise to be cautious and understand the risks.”
Nonprescription go-to-drugs including Tylenol (acetaminophen), Advil, Motrin, (NSAIDs/ibuprofen) and others can be too easy to use in higher quantities and for greater lengths of time. Mayo adds, “This is especially true in older adults, as natural declines in organ function – not to mention potential organ disease – may increase susceptibility to side effects.”
Possible medicine side effects, depending on the drug used, can include stomach bleeding, liver and/or kidney damage, cardiovascular risks, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). For that reason, acetaminophens should not be used in greater dosages than 3,000 milligrams and no more than 9 regular-strength or six extra-strength tablets in a 24-hour period. Ibuprofen users should limit their use to 1,200 mg daily, broken into doses of 200 to 400 mg every 4 to 6 hours. For Aleve (naproxen sodium), the top amount is just 660 mg daily, broken into 220 mg doses every 8 to 12 hours. Seniors are cautioned to not use NSAIDs for periods longer than 10 days consecutively. Medical professionals emphasize that muscle relaxants are not recommended for patients older than 65.
In some instances of extremely difficult to treat pain, your health provider may prescribe medications in the form of NSAIDs or other meds, including COX-2 inhibitors and opioids. Additional treatments, such as antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs, may be prescribed (and may work in some cases) to limit pain in a person’s life. But all of these prescriptions carry substantial risks and should be only taken as prescribed. Opioids especially can become habit forming and life-threatening. It is strongly suggested that you work with your physician to target the correct medication with the least amount of risks. When customary treatments fail to alleviate pain, doctors may refer patients to specialized pain doctors or pain rehab locations for other methods of discovering relief (Part 4 on this topic).
