The Dangers of Long-Term Pain Medication Use

Dr. Travis Stork: Today's show is all about how the little choices we make can have a big impact when it comes to our health. And, Vanessa's questions is when I get all the time in the ER, and that is -- what's the right amount of pain medication we'll be taking? But, I want to ask you a few questions first. Vanessa: Okay. Dr. Travis Stork: How long have you've been getting these headaches? Vanessa: At least eight years. Dr. Travis Stork: Eight years, every single day? Vanessa: Everyday. Dr. Travis Stork: You're taking a lot of pain medications. Vanessa: I know and I don't like it. Dr. Travis Stork: Everyday? Vanessa: Yeah. Dr. Travis Stork: How many, would you say, you're taking a day? Vanessa: At least eight, sometimes more. Dr. Travis Stork: I want to talk you through a few things. Number one is, you are kind of addicted to pain relievers - not pain pills in a traditional sense; these are pills like narcotics but you need these each and every day? Vanessa: Yes. Dr. Travis Stork: When you take a pain medication, do you ever think about your liver? Vanessa: I do think it can't be good to take that amount of pills everyday. Dr. Travis Stork: So, I want to show you a visual. I want everyone in the audience to pay attention to this because... Vanessa: They are real? Dr. Travis Stork: Yeah. They are not fake! Do you want to put some gloves on? Vanessa: Okay. Dr. Travis Stork: Okay. Vanessa: Well. Dr. Travis Stork: So, a lot of people don't think about this, but whenever we take a medication, whether it's over the counter or prescribed, your kidneys or your liver metabolize it. In the case of the acetaminophen if you take too much of it, particularly for people who drink alcohol, three or more drinks a day, you can cause liver damage and feel that, that's a nice healthy liver. You are not thinking about that when you take medications, right? Vanessa: No, not at all. Oh, my God! Dr. Travis Stork: What if I told you that your liver could become diseased. I want you to feel this one. Tell me if you feel a difference. Vanessa: Oh, that's horrible. Dr. Travis Stork: Not a pleasant thought for you. Vanessa: No. Dr. Travis Stork: So, what I am trying to do for you today is make you realize that taking medications each and everyday, of your life, has consequences. So, I am going to show you something. One of the things that ibuprofen does is it decreases inflammation in the body, but it also does something else. Your stomach is filled with digestive enzymes and acids and all of these little dots are meant to represent acid. Well, our body and our stomach needs to protect itself, so you've got this nice big coating of mucous, that mucous layer protects the wall of your stomach from things like ulcers, but if over time everyday you are taking these, what's called nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, ibuprofen, naproxen every single day what happens is that medication prevents the mucous that protects your stomach from forming, slowly over time that area will thin. These little areas that you are seeing and where the mucous has not grown proportionately to what it needs to be to protect the stomach. Over time, that acid will actually erode into the stomach wall causing an ulcer, that is where people will come to the ER and say, I have pain in my abdomen everyday. It's annoying sensation, I feel nauseated, it is right up here doctor, I don't know what's going on. First question I ask, do you take over-the-counter pain medications? Vanessa: All right. Dr. Travis Stork: People don't realize that these medications can have ill effects. Not saying they are bad for you, they can be wonderful for relieving pain, but we need to get you to a point where you are not taking these, each and everyday. So, first things first, I think we need to get you set up to have a formal doctor's visit to talk to, do we need to do any imaging of your brain just to make sure there is nothing else scary going on, figure out are there any triggers, are there other modalities. Acupuncture has been shown to be very beneficial for people with chronic headaches, or should you be on a prophylactic medication to prevent these headaches from coming on each and everyday because your dependence on pain medications over time can cause problems. I don't want you to go through every single day needing these things. Vanessa: Yes, yeah. Dr. Travis Stork: So, I think we can get you to a place where you don't need this many medications. Vanessa: Yeah, great. Thank you very much. Dr. Travis Stork: Thank you for sharing your story with us and best of luck to you. Thank you, Vanessa.