No good options for chronic pain

In some not so good news, the FDA has substantially strengthened its warning on the risk of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDS. Although aspirin is literally a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, and has overlapping mechanisms of action with these drugs, it is not formally classified as an NSAID, basically because the term is designed to exclude it, as I will explain.NSAIDS include ibuprofen, naproxen, and celecoxib, which was at one time heavily advertised based on safety claims. These are widely used by people with osteoarthritis and other chronic pain conditions. The problem, as the FDA now concludes, is that they strongly raise the risk of heart attacks and ischemic strokes. The risks are mostly reported in relative terms, so it's hard to pin down the absolute risk for an individual. But the risk is substantial even for people without heart disease or risk factors. And obviously, you really don't want a stroke or a myocardial infarct. The risk increases with dose and duration of use, which means that the kinds of regimens people take for moderate to severe arthritis are the most dangerous.Aspirin actually lowers the risk of heart attacks and ischemic strokes, which is terrific, but it creates a risk of bleeding, including (comparatively rarely) hemorrhagic strokes and more commonly gastrointestinal bleeds. You might say, well, that's better than a heart attack, and I tend to agree with you, but doctors are very concerned about these events because it can be hard t...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs