Arthritis sufferers 'misusing painkillers'

[Guest guest]

Arthritis sufferers 'misusing painkillers'

Meikle, health correspondent

Tuesday April 2, 2002

The Guardian

Thousands of patients with severe arthritis are adding over-the-counter

medication to prescribed drugs because GPs are limiting their doses amid

safety fears, it is claimed today.

The effectiveness of conventional painkillers is being hamstrung by

concerns about their side effects, such as bleeding and other severe

intestinal problems which can be fatal, according to researchers

including Green, chief executive of the charity Counsel and Care

for the Elderly.

They report that GPs are not always prescribing to appropriate levels,

meaning the drugs are not controlling pain as they should, and that

doctors seem reluctant to use a new generation of drugs which have fewer

side effects. Patients, therefore, are often turning to other

pain-relieving drugs and creams instead.

Work by Mr Green and Crichton, a GP and GP trainer in the West

Midlands, suggests that a quarter of patients take over-the-counter

medications as well as their prescriptions, and a quarter of doctors

order low doses for drugs they prescribe, hoping they can control pain

without side effects.

The pair report the findings from an electronic poll of 2,000 doctors

and questionnaires returned by more than 3,100 patients with

osteoarthritis in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinions. The

research was funded by the drug company Merck Sharpe and Dohme.

It is thought that 2,000 people a year might die from complications

linked to conventional treatments, still small compared with the

millions suffering from osteoarthritis - many of whom are not on

prescription drugs at all.

The research suggests patients are four times more likely to be

dissatisfied with the poor pain relief caused by the drugs than by side

effects such as stomach upsets.

The government's national institute for clinical excellence, which

monitors the cost-effectiveness of treatments, last year endorsed the

new generation of drugs only in those patients who might be at high risk

of developing stomach side effects.

These included people over 65, those with gastrointestinal problems, and

those already taking other medicines that could cause ulcers. The drugs

themselves cost more money, but their supporters argue they more than

make up for that by preventing return visits to GPs, hospital treatment

and the need for other drugs to counter side effects.

Dr Crichton said: " If you are on a prescription painkiller and it is not

working for you don't add another painkiller you have bought yourself.

Always ask the advice of your doctor or local pharmacist. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,677392,00.html

[Guest guest]

Is it any wonder we are not using the painkillers right? We are told that

painkillers are bad and addictive from the moment we are able to take

medicine. With RA, we do have so many other problems ,other than the joint

pain, that we are more succeptable to the side effects. I am lucky to have a

rheumy who takes me seriously and knows that when I say that I can't take the

pain and the meds aren't helping, that I am serious and not just a drug

seeker. He does what he can to help me. We discuss the side effects to see

if " I " am willing to put up with them. Like I said, I am lucky. There

should be no reason to deny someone who has the type of unrelenting (and

sometimes unbearable) pain like we have. Our condition is not one which will

go away. There is no cure. Are we expected to accept living in pain for the

rest of our lives? Here I go again, ranting and raving. Oh well, it helps

to let it out sometimes.

Stacey in PA

[Guest guest]

<<. There should be no reason to deny someone who has the type of

unrelenting (and

sometimes unbearable) pain like we have. Our condition is not one which

will

go away. There is no cure. Are we expected to accept living in pain for

the

rest of our lives?>>

Boy, , I couldn't agree more. If you were to have asked me a couple of

months ago, I would have said I'd rather not take any pain medication. Now

I can't imagine any doctor not allowing the judicious use of pain meds in

RA.

Warm regards,

Carol in FL

Re: [ ] Arthritis sufferers 'misusing painkillers'

Is it any wonder we are not using the painkillers right? We are told that

painkillers are bad and addictive from the moment we are able to take

medicine. With RA, we do have so many other problems ,other than the joint

pain, that we are more succeptable to the side effects. I am lucky to have

a

rheumy who takes me seriously and knows that when I say that I can't take

the

pain and the meds aren't helping, that I am serious and not just a drug

seeker. He does what he can to help me. We discuss the side effects to see

if " I " am willing to put up with them. Like I said, I am lucky. There

should be no reason to deny someone who has the type of unrelenting (and

sometimes unbearable) pain like we have. Our condition is not one which

will

go away. There is no cure. Are we expected to accept living in pain for

the

rest of our lives? Here I go again, ranting and raving. Oh well, it helps

to let it out sometimes.

Stacey in PA