Pain killers are often prescribed to patients by medical practitioners for the purpose of pain management. However, the number of such prescriptions is increasing dramatically.
According to statistics, about 60 million prescriptions were made last year with respect to pain killers, out of which many were based on opioid-based pain killers. Having a pain-killer prescription does not allow a person to use such medicines on self-directed basis but, sadly, about 2 million people are addicted to use of such medicines, especially those which are opioid-based.
Toll of deaths due to accidental over dose of drugs is increasing day by day. This is mainly because patients are using prescribed pain killers as a long-term solution to their anticipated pain problems rather than for the purpose of pain management, for which it is prescribed.
Using pain killers with the purpose of managing your mental health or for the purpose of coping with day to day stress is not a recommended solution as well. Pain killers are addictive in nature and abuse of such drugs potentially results in devastating results. There are various reasons why pain killers should not be used on a regular basis for a long time.
Pain Killers Can Be Addictive, Especially For Woman
According to the biology of women, as reported in a study, they have more nerve receptors as compared to men. Women are more emotional and sensitive by nature because of varying hormonal activity in their body.
They often complain to their doctors about ongoing pains in their body due to unknown factors. In comparison, such complaints are not common with men.
Doctors prescribe pain killers for management of such pains but due to the sensitive nature of the female body, women have a greater tendency to become addicted to such pain killers. Such psychological or physiological dependence on such drugs is dangerous for their well-being especially if pain killers are opioid based.
Addiction of Pain Killers Can Lead To Addiction Of Heroin
When pain killers are opioid-based, then they have certain kinds of specific risks associated with them. Some people have the tendency to get opioid toxicity such that small doses of opioid might trigger respiratory issues, nervousness or seizures in them, while others may develop opioid tolerance in their body because of which higher doses maybe recommended to such people for achieving the effectiveness of the drug.
Because of an increasingly higher dosage creating increasing opioid tolerance, there is a risk that the body becomes used to the active ingredients in such drugs, and thus no longer be effective in achieving their purpose.
Consumers of such drugs then begin searching for drug solutions which are higher in potency for the purpose of achieving the desired analgesic effect. This search may lead them to start using heroin.
According to one study, women who are addicted to heroin often say that their doctors prescribed them opioid based pain killers for the purpose of managing pain and this ultimately led them to use heroin later on as the prescribed drugs ceased to remain effective in the long term.
Side Effects of Long Term Pain-Killer Usage
Even if you take your pain killers according to prescribed dosage, still you will feel its side effects if and when you consume pain them on a long-term basis. As mentioned above, pain killers create analgesic effects in the body, which means they make you feel relieved from the pain induced in the central nervous system for a temporary period of time.
People who have chronic pain are prescribed pain killers for months on end. This causes their body to modify its behavior to combat the effect of the pain-killer. Subsequently, when pain-killer consumption is stopped at the end of the prescription period, the consumer will have to face withdrawal effects.
If that consumer is you, then be prepared to feel aches in your body, fever, nausea, diarrhea or a deep feeling of exhaustion.
Instead of abusing pain killers to reduce your pain, it is much better that you go for other options to manage pain. It is very important to get your chronic pains sorted out with the help of some experienced doctors, however only those who do not prescribe opioid-based medications especially if your pain is not that extreme.
It is entirely possible that the pain you are experiencing is due to unresolved stress, trauma or emotional turmoil. If that is the case, then it is highly recommended that you resolve your psychological stress by taking help from a professional psychologist instead of taking pain killers. Go after the root cause and eliminate the problem once and for all.