Problems With Over-the-Counter Painkillers

Many people are under the misconception that prescription drugs can have side effects, but over the counter drugs are safe.  Unfortunately, over the counter drugs can also have many potential side effects.

Gary Kaplan, DO, medical director of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine has written a new book called Total Recovery: Solving the Mystery of Chronic Pain and Depression.

Dr Kaplan says "The biggest misconception people have about over-the-counter painkillers is that they're completely safe and harmless". They are neither of the above. In fact, most over-the-counter painkillers started out as prescription drugs but now are sold at lower doses without your needing to talk to a doctor."

This is Dr. Kaplan's list of common potential side effects from over the counter drugs:

 
#1: Gut Ulcerations - NSAIDs, particularly ibuprofen and aspirin, are rough on your stomach, and they're just as rough on the lining of your gut. They create ulcerations and inflammation in the gut lining, damage that causes something known as a "leaky gut." When your gut is leaky, it doesn't absorb nutrients, which can lead to deficiencies (which can also contribute to pain problems), and problematic proteins and allergens, such as gluten, soy, or egg proteins, can escape, triggering food sensitivities. "Your gut is a very sophisticated filter," Dr. Kaplan says. "It's a very complex organ that's not one to disrupt, but one that we disrupt all the time."

Furthermore, NSAIDs disrupt the gut bacteria that control your immune system. As a result, you get sick more frequently and you might develop more chronic ailments.

Sixty to 80 percent of people develop gut inflammation within 24 hours of taking an NSAID, Dr. Kaplan says, and 50 to 70 percent of people who take them long term will develop chronic small intestine inflammation. And initially that might present as just feelings of bloating, gas or changes in your bowel movements, but over time, you might start experiencing chronic fatigue or develop food intolerances.

#2: Liver Damage - Acetaminophen doesn't cause those gut ulcerations, Dr. Kaplan says. Rather, its problem is that it will damage your liver--sometimes, in unexpected ways. Things like alcohol can interfere with the way your body breaks down acetaminophen, even if you're taking a normal dose. "That leads to the potential to get a toxic level of acetaminophen in your system, which leads to liver damage," Dr. Kaplan says. He's also found that taking too many painkillers that contain caffeine can stress out your liver and interfere with sleep.

#3: Kidney Damage - Along with your stomach, your kidneys are a major production site of prostaglandins, the hormones that NSAIDs are designed to silence. In addition to controlling the acid secretions in your stomach, prostaglandins help the kidneys fulfill their function of removing proteins and waste from your blood. Too many prostaglandin-inhibiting NSAIDs can interfere with that process, leading to kidney damage and a buildup of toxic waste by-products in your bloodstream. "As soon as we start seeing damage to kidneys, we tell people to get off all anti-inflammatory medications," Dr. Kaplan says.

Furthermore, prostaglandin produces inflammation in response to damage your body is experiencing. "Inflammation is not always a bad thing," he adds. "It's critical for repair--inflammation cleans up damaged tissue and brings in new cells to repair it. When inflammation gets disrupted, the normal healing process gets disrupted."

#4: Heart Disease - You may remember a prescription painkiller called Vioxx that was pulled from the market a few years ago. The reason? It caused heart attacks, and it's not the only one. "It's a lower risk than with Vioxx, but all NSAIDs pose a risk," says Dr. Kaplan. NSAIDs block an enzyme called COX-2, which works with prostaglandin to protect your arteries. When both are silenced by chronic use of over-the-counter painkilllers, your risk of heart disease increases.

#5: Hypersensitization - Here's an ironic fact: Painkillers can heighten your susceptibility to pain. While this phenomenon has been seen mostly with prescription opiods (such as Vicodin or Oxycontin), studies have shown that acetaminophen and NSAIDs can have the same effect on headaches. "It's called a rebound headache," Dr. Kaplan says. "They dull your response to pain, so you need more medications to get to the same place. And you end up developing increased sensitivity to pain."

For More Information:

https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/5-problems-over-counter-painkillers-161900559.html