What Effect Do the Pain Medications Have On Our Organs?

[GJZH]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever asked or spoken to/with their pain doc about the effect pain meds have on our organs and aging? I cannot imagine that we are going to live as long being on these drugs. It seems my meds are not keeping my pain away so maybe I need things tweaked a bit again...but I really hate to have things increased since my stomach stopped working...and then all the other problems that go along with the pain medications.....What do the pain docs say about aging and these drugs?

[BrokenBladder]

GJZH, I'm interested to know what kind of stomach problems you had since I'm having a hard time in that area right now.
Sorry I don't have an answer for you on the pain meds except to say I agree with you.

[Mark N]

I haven't talked to my doctor about this but it has been a point of contention on some of the boards. Many of the meds are harmful for our livers and we need to get them checked at least once a year. Opiates are not supposed to have any long term problems but the pain we take the meds for doesn impact our health. Stress has been shown to shorten our lives and pain is one big stressor in our lives. The bowel problems associated with the use of opiates seems like it would have an impact on our life span. It will be interesting to see what info comes out as you get more responses to your post.

[GJZH]

Brokenbladder,

I am having a problem with gastroparesis and am using Reglan now to aid in stomach digestion of food...I also use Miralax....and Nexium...I do have irritation in the stomach and the liver shows something, but I forget exactly what it said when they sent me for a scan....I also have cataracts on both eyes from steroids...I am watching my sugar by taking samples of blood, but it seems to have stabalized lately.

[goldenmain]

I have to say that I feel my pain meds are doing something to my gastro. I have put on 30 pounds in one year. I have taken them for about 3 years, but now since I have added methadose to my cocktail of meds, I have gained all this weight. I have had a ton of added stress this past yr with the death of a family member among many other things that have left me depressed, but I still say with the terrible constipation problem, my guts are screwed up and making me feel even worse with the CP. I did try some Miralax that my mom had gotton from the DR and I have to say it works great after you get past the nausea and gasey part, but then stools are soft and come out with ease and in one long piece,WOW a long time since anything like that. I am tired of enemas every other day. I am going to talk to my DR about having a slow digestive process and weight gain. I only consume about 1300 to 1500 calories a day. I should not be gaining this much weight on that. I will be very happy to hear what all of you have been going through and see if I am the only one? Donna

[GJZH]

Donna,

I developed gastroparesis because of the pain meds...I thought I would cut back to just one meal a day...If I am not moving very much I thought I should not consume very much...Well my stomach decided to stop working too...so be very careful about how you cut back on calories...

[ErinENj]

I think that's a great question. I've wondered for ages what effect these meds already have or will have on my body. For me, I'm pretty sure that I'm too scared to ask. I almost don't want to know, simply because I'm already terrified about my health over the long run and I think if my doc tells me, and it's what I think it is, I don't know if I could handle it. I had a hard time dealing with the idea that this will be the rest of my life, and still do have a hard time dealing with it. Also, my back problems seem to be mounting (my neck has been hurting and the pain that's usually in my legs is now in my arms too...yeah, I'm judging that might be a bad sign..going to the doc tomorrow to get all the tests done before I see my spiney) so I have to deal with that. I have to deal with the day by day of this. So I really don't want to add anything on to that.

I have no choice. I'm going to be on 'substantial doses' as per my doc, of pain meds for the rest of my life. I can hope that as time progresses, the newer meds on the market are engineered and manufactured to do less damage on the liver or kindey. I can't remember which one is the one that metablolizes pain meds. But, I'm sure I'm going to have damage to whichever organ these meds may effect. I just hope that the damage doesn't add to my misery. No, I don't ask that very important and pertinent question simply because I don't really want to know, as much as I know I need to know the answer. I don't need anything else to worry me about my future. Once I graduate, I think that future plate may empty out a little bit, so I might have room for that at some point. :D I just remembered. I do know of an effect on my body. My stomach. I've never had heartburn that was that intense ever in my life. I'd never even heard of it being that bad. It hurt to swallow because there was so much acid going in the wrong direction. But, it's under control with aciphex. I do know that these meds have started giving me more stomach problems. I had some issues early in my college career, but those were more from the stress of failing pretty much all of my classes and worrying, some homesickness, etc. But it was solved and I've been fine ever since, until a few months ago and the Opana ER. So that's one I do know about.

Donna: To be perfectly honest, I've packed on the pounds since this all started. I've been heavy since I had open heart surgery a little over 20 years ago (Yes, I was a child at that point. I was 5. It was somewhat traumatic. It's always a traumatic memory when you still remember every tiny detail 20 years later. I can even tell you what my roommate at the hospital looked like and how angry I would get whenever she touched any of the number of teddy bears I got while I was there, and that I still have somewhere in this house. Okay, totally off topic...thought I'd share...moving back to the topic at hand...I'm so good at going off on tangents...:p :D ). Basically, I hit a growth spurt after the surgery, but unfortunately it wasn't just vertically, it was horizontally too. They actually think that growth spurt is part of what made my discs so vulnerable and why I have CP now. I put on about 20 lbs in one summer at the pool that had an awesome snack bar. Then I just kept gaining. I finally leveled out, but I was nearly 250lbs when I graduated high school. Oh, a little FYI: I was 6'1" at that time. Now I'm 6' .5" thanks to my back surgeries. They took out about a half inch of my disks so I shrunk. My freshman year in college, something strange happened. I started out around 250lbs, but by the time I went home for christmas, I was 200lbs. Instead of gaining the freshman 15, I lost the freshman 50. It was fantastic! I had my first 2 major relationships soon after I dropped all that weight. I made tons of friends, I was popular on campus, the whole thing. It was everything I had dreamt of for years. I stayed at about that weight until 4 years ago when all this started.

After my first surgery, I didn't gain weight all that quickly. I maybe put on 10-15lbs just because of my drop in activity. But after my second and then my third, I packed it on. I honestly don't know how much after each surgery. What I do know now is that I'm somewhere around 275-290lbs. What's scary is that I refuse to make myself more miserable than I already am, so I eat what I want. I don't really go overboard, but I do have my vices that I just can't deny. It may be expensive, but I have to have my iced lemon pound cake from starbucks. It's just so good. I have a piece or two, depending on how bad the day was and how much pain I'm in, at night with my sleepy meds since I've found I need to eat with them or else they screw up my stomach. That, and occassionally I like a nice King-size snickers bar (has to be a king size because it doesn't have too much chocolate for me. I tend to have problems with my teeth if there's too much chocolate. The king size is just the right balance, and I eat less of them.), or a nice frozen Frosty from Wendy's. I get one of those every other friday. And, my worst vice: I eat a cheeseburger and fries with a large soda from McDonalds every day. I know, that one is the worst of them all. I'd almost be better off eating 4 or 5 king size snickers everyday than the fast food. I just have such a hard time trying to make myself lunch because that's one of my worst pain times of the day, and it's really hard to keep something in this house that I actually like. I grow tired of some stuff too quickly and I'd end up spending more comparatively. Plus, I go buy a large coke everyday and it lasts me throughout the entire afternoon, so it's just convenient.

I know that if I were to change my diet some, the weight would come off a bit, but I can't do those things that I need to do like exercising, it doesn't matter how much I change my diet, this weight is going to stay on. I can't push with school. I can't go out and walk even around the block and still be okay for school within a day or two. It just causes me too much pain. Especially when I'm already hurting from class. Right now, it matters a little to me that I'm this heavy, but it matters to me more that I graduate from college. So I'll do what I know makes me comfortable and content, no matter what. I'm also very stubborn and resist change with every single bone in my body. Change just makes me eat more, so if I change my diet, I'm just going to find something else to eat a lot of, and as we all know, if you're stressed or having an issue with something or just plain out emotionally exhausted, there's nothing better than chocolate, or for me, iced lemon pound cake from starbucks! :D

[Mark N]

I have gained about 25 or 30 pounds with my meds and no matter what I eat or don't eat it doesn't seem to make a difference. Short of starvation, I am not sure I can change my weight issues as my old methods just don't work any more.

[GardeniaGirl]

my rheumatologist has told me that opioids are very safe long-term compared to many other types of medications. (He is in private practice and also teaches at a big medical school, so he tends to be up to date with research issues).

I am fairly certain I will get some sort of cancer from the Enbrel and other immunosuppressants I am on. (methotrexate, Imuran).

The Enbrel is a new type of med and they have no idea what it will do to people long-term.

I have been on it sine June 2000.

I can't fathom living the way I am now for another 40+ years, honestly.

[ErinENj]

Gardenia: Not only do we have to deal with this situation for the rest of our lives, but we also have to worry about what the treatment for this situation is going to do to us and how it'll effect the rest of our lives. I just think it's too much to deal with. I have a hard enough time getting through today and worrying about tomorrow. And I'm already beyond petrified about what the next 75 years are going to bring. Maybe there'll be some miracle cure sometime down the road. But, there's also that huge possibility that there won't be. And the prospect of spending the next 75 years in pain, on the razor's edge, and knowing that this could very possibly just get worse. It's all just so overwhelming. I really think that all I can do is try to deal with the idea that I'm going to be in pain tomorrow, and that I'll be in pain next week, and that I'll have to have special arrangements for my graduation and might not even be able to walk in and sit with my class at my ceremony because I'll be in too much pain, provided I even make the ceremony, provided my pain stays low enough for me to be able to finish my classes well enough to be eligible to graduate. I just kinda think that we already have our plates full and trying to worry about 10 or more years down the road would just put us over the edge. It's a legitimate worry, but I think that there are more pressing ones.

Plus, I know I don't have a choice about being on these meds for the rest of my life, so I don't think it makes a huge bit of difference what effect it'll have on my body. I think that about the only thing I can do because I don't have a choice about it, may be to try to figure out some way to maybe get around that damage or balance things out by taking some sort of preventative measures. But who knows if there even is some sort of measure I could take. If I could figure out exactly which organ would go first, maybe I could just get myself on the transplant list now so that by the time my organ is toast, I have a shot of getting a new one and living a little longer.

I do think that, with pretty much everything else with CP, it's a crap-shoot. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[GardeniaGirl]

Erin, if anything I hope you don't let any of my comments bring you down.

You are much younger than me (I am 37), and I admire your optimism. You have more than I do.

I started getting seriously ill in 1997, so I have about 10 years under my belt. Perhaps that accounts for why I have lost some of my optimism.

Also, my condition is very slowly progressive.

I would not be honest if i said I am optimistic about my own future.

I can put on a happy face, go to my job (which is a passion that I love), spend time with friends, see a movie, etc.....but underneath all that lurks a part of me that doesn't want to do this (ie, live this life of mine with CP) much longer.

I'm not proud of this, but its true.

I know not everyone with CP feels this way -- so if you can hold on to your optimism and hope, I hope that you will.....from your posts it certainly seems that you still have those things going for you despite all the struggles you have been through so far in life.

[Mark N]

Gardenia girl, after dealing with this for so long I don't think it is realistic or even possible to be optimistic about our condition. When I first started getting treated for my pain I was very optimistic about the results of PT, treatments, and surgeries. I was even optimistic following my thoracic fusion but it is clear that my condition is also getting worse.

I am optimistic about my life and what today will bring but the optimism that something can be done about my pain is gone, you aren't alone:( .

[ErinENj]

Gardenia: No, not at all! What you said is very true. But I do hope that you don't end up with cancer from the enbrel! It's a wicked, wicked disease. Both of my grandfathers died as a result of lung cancer. My dad's dad died slowly over the span of 2 or so years (no one is 100% sure when he was diagnosed because he kept it to himself until it actually started to directly effect him. That's why no one knew to force him to stop his heavy drinking, which only helped the cancer. He suffered horribly to the point where my brother and I actually thought about calling Dr. Kevorkian to come and put him out of his misery. He died on christmas day nearly 10 years ago. My mom's dad, who was the only father who actually took an active interest in my life for most of my life, died from congestive heart failure because he had had half of one of his lungs removed because of the cancer. He died very, very suddenly. He woke up at 2am because he couldn't breathe and he was gone by 5am when I got to the ER. Also, one of my mom's friend's daughter is 21 and she was just diagnosed for the third time with a type of rare brain cancer. She's only expected to live for a few months and there's nothing they can do except try to make her comfortable. I really wouldn't want you to suffer like they all did! Pardon my ignorance, but what is it about that medication that makes someone more prone to the development of cancer?

And yes, I do have some optimism left. It's more than I had when I was a kid and teenager, but not as much as I did earlier on in my college career. I try to hold onto my hope that something may come along in my lifetime to give me some relief. I have optimism that it will happen because when I had my first two surgeries, artificial disk replacements were still being developed, and now they're helping many people reduce their pain levels. And that was only about 3 or 4 years. Who knows what kinds of developments will be made possible through technology? That's one of the reasons I consider myself kinda lucky to have had this hit so early in my life. There's a better chance that there will be something that might at least help reduce my pain, if not cure me. Plus, I haven't got much else, so I hold onto hope. I never know what tomorrow will bring. For all I know, I could wake up tomorrow morning perfectly fine, completely pain free. I know that the odds of that happening are less than none, but you never know. Tomorrow could surprise me! And hopefully that surprise will be a good one! And I think that because I've only been in this for four years, I still have that hope left because I haven't had every one of my hopes stolen away. I've had some, without question, but I still have a few hopes for my future left. I've gotten a bit more cynicism and my fantastic wit, sense of humor, and my amazingly strong sarcasm have all only improved. :D I think that everything's okay for those few seconds when you're having a great laugh! (Like earlier tonight, when I was watching "Dirty Jobs," a great show on the Discovery Channel, the host, who is very funny, was trying to catch snakes for a researcher. Luckily, they weren't poisonous snakes, because he got bit by a couple of them. Just the way he reacted when he got bit, it was beyond hysterical. My mom, who is in the adjacent room, actually came into my room to make sure I was alright because I was laughing so loudly! And for those 5 minutes or so, I felt great!) Laughter really is a great medicine. And there's no better feeling than making someone laugh and seeing the joy they get from it.

Anyways, it's 3am, so I'm off to bed. I'll share my hope and optimism if anyone needs a dose! :D

[Scar Tissue]

It seems like we've all gained about the same amount of weight with our meds. I've gained 30lbs. also! My PM Dr. checks my urine on a regular basis and at least once a year checks my blood work just to be safe if any effects are happening with my internal organs and if so to try and catch any problems early. I have had constipation and stomach issues also and she does her best for me with that also. We just have to hope and pray things go well for us and try to stay on top of any potential problems early. We don't have the choice of stopping these meds. we need them to be somewhat normal, and I hope we all stay healthy as we take them!!:) ! Thanks for a great post and I hope you stay well!!!;)

[Kathi49]

I gained about 25-30 lbs. during the 3 years prior to retirement. I believe the vast majority of the weight gain was from the anti-convulsant/anti-seizures med they had me try (Neurontin, Depakote, Lyrica) as well as the steroid injections. I know that right when I retired I was at 160 lbs. Based on the past, my current age, and my frame and height, I SHOULD try to be at around 130-135.

Now I am at 140 lbs. I didn't really diet at all. I DID meet with a dietician though because it was starting to get to me and I did have to change up a few things. But am I perfect at it? Oh heck no! I still have to have my Cheeseburgers and such LOL! Anyway, this was a SLOW weight loss...over 2 years I guess you could say. I think the biggest difference really was that I was no longer eating fast food or fatty foods for breakfast and lunch. I really try to stick with the cereals for fiber and add protein too. And for lunch, well, I wasn't going out to eat every day any more. So, it was tuna salad sandwiches, turkey and chicken with raw veggies instead of chips or fries. But I STILL have fast food for dinner sometimes. :)

Anyway, I don't really know what happened for sure because I really thought I would gain more by NOT working. But it seems to have come off for the most part. 5 more lbs. and I will be where I want to be.

Maybe once I ditched those other meds and tried a little harder to watch what I eat helped. And maybe just taking two meds rather than several helped. I don't know if it will stay off or not. But for right now I am doing okay with it. But watch me go back to the doctor and get weighed again and will have gained 5 lbs. after I have said all this LOL!

[bluebirdy]

As I've already posted about, I've also gained weight and quickly, so I do believe it's med-related.

Also - I developed Osteopenia from Topamax. So I cut down to the minimum dose of 25mg (just for migraine relief) yet I now have a stress fracture of my heel :( It probably occured when my leg collapsed in February due to spine problems. But ... I'm also wondering if my Osteopenia cleared up? I'm scheduling another bone density exam. I take Nexium for GIRD - also from all the meds I take - and now we hear that meds like Nexium can block calcium absorption :rolleyes: . I wonder now if I have bone loss from the Nexium ...

I too can't imagine living to old age ...

bluebirdy

[Scar Tissue]

I wonder if Neurontin is the common factor to some of our weight gains? I started off on small doses, but now I'm taking 2400mg. a day along with my MS Contin and others. How many of you that have had weight gain use Neurontin?:confused:

[Kathi49]

Me! :eek:

Neurontin and Lyrica...probably Depakote too.

[curiousforever]

Actually that's about what I gained.

I don't want to know what it does to my internal organs. I already have cracks in my bladder. Strange areas to my stomach.

Don't wanna know anything.

[freckles]

I am female, age 67, having had low back/leg/buttock pain for past 5 years. Have had both hips replaced trying to get rid of the pain and neither made any difference. Because of this, I certainly am less likely to look forward to future treatments with any hope that they will be the magic that stops my pain since the two major surgeries I did have didn't take care of the problem. I now don't trust future diagnoses to be any more correct than those were.

My pain doctor put me on Oxycontin about a year ago, trying to bring down the amount of Norco I was taking for BT pain. I've been on Vicodin, MS Contin, Fentanyl patches, Neurontin and nothing seems to work against the pain except meds that contain hydrocodone. The others either made me slightly nauseus so I didn't stay on any for long, or they just didn't work at all for the pain.

I started the Oxycontin (generic version of time-released) in Feb of last year at 10 mg 2 x daily. The next month he moved me up to 20 mg, the third month up to 30 mg, the fourth month up to 40 mg and the fifth month up to 60 mg, all 2 times daily. At 60 mg I still got what I thought was just very limited pain relief, so I asked to be taken off the med since it was also starting to effect my appetite and made me feel like I had morning sickness from pregnancy. I went off for a month, and the pain seemed a little worse so we decided that perhaps I was getting a little pain relief so he put me back on 40 mg. By this time I noticed that my weight was down about 5 lbs but I have always been careful with diet so I thought perhaps I was just eating better and it was working to keep my weight down.

When I went back on the Oxycontin, it was at 40 mg 2 x daily. The following month we did the "go to 60 mg" and I ended up at 80 mg 2 x daily after that. Well, at that point I was throwing up several times a week, had limited appetite and was not getting appreciable pain relief. So in November when I went back to see him, we took me off once again and I've stayed off since then.

I lost a total of 15 lbs between February and November 2006, and that is about all the weight buffer I can afford to lose since I am 5'10" tall and at 159 lbs now, the ratio is good and I shouldn't be any thinner. My weight stabilized in November and I've not lost any more weight. The nausea went away once I got off the Oxycontin although I find when my pain levels go up (if I don't take my Noroco on a regular basis) I do react with nausea until I get the pain back under control.

And it was very interesting to go off such a high dose almost cold turkey. The doc told me to cut back to 40 mg 2 x daily for a month, but I did it within a week and never never had any reaction at all. So much for why some people feel they are addicted to this medicine! I must be one of those people who the drug had no effect on at all. Guess that's the good news. I can't imagine people who pay good money over the internet to buy this stuff illegally. They sure must feel differently while taking it than I did.

Anyway, the only pain med I'm taking now is Norco 10/325 and I guess that's how it will stay for years to come. I seems sad to me that the drug manufacturers can come up with all these new drugs we see advertised on TV for other health conditions, but can't come up with something to kill pain that really works and has minimum side effects. I'm not knocking people who have other health conditions, but I have to think there are a lot more people in the world with chronic pain who could use the help also.

Luckily for me, I started the chronic pain around age 60 so I don't have a lifetime ahead of me like some of you to look forward to dealing with it. At my age, I am thankful for each day I'm alive, painful or not.

[GJZH]

When I tested positive for RA they put me on Plaquenil...but then went to have an eye exam only to find that I was losing my peripheral vision so I had to stop the Plaquenil. I have since been to another RA and he is running the blood tests for the third time to check for other things...He feels strongly that I do not have RA, but Fibro...I do not think I have Fibro..I think I have arthritis at all those pressure points...maybe not RA but Osteo...for certain....

I also developed cataracts from the steroids on both eyes...Although, cataracts are common after age 50...

I decided that since I was not moving I should just eat only one meal a day and would eat dinner with my family in the evening...by doing this I lost 30 pounds..This was great since I put on weight from inactivity from the pain....I also started to lose my hair and developed gastroparesis...so they then gave me Reglan..Reglan stimulates appetite, as well as makes the stomach churn...I was also afraid that the Topamax might be having an effect on my eyes so I stopped that for a while, but it was not the Topamax it was the Plaquenil...When I stopped the Topamax, they encouraged me to try the Neurontin that they have been after me for years to use...Well, I put on five pounds a week with Neurontin...My pain doc has since stated to me that Neurontin causes you to store salts...I think that is what he said...so that is the reason for the weight gain..so if that is true ...Why push this drug on people that have limited mobility....I stopped this drug after fifteen pounds...and I cannot get rid of that weight now...I am very depressed...so it is back to starvation before summer is here...

As for optimism...There is none here either...I cannot say I do not hope they might offer something...but I do not think my kids even hope anymore...They just keep saying please do not let them operate any more ...It is too scary...We are afraid you are going to die...

One friend keeps telling me I am not healed at one year from my surgery and in truth my surgeon told me it might take a year to eighteen months...My friend says it could take five years...I do not think so...I feel what I have right now is what I have...I know my body..I am healthy and feel I am healed..I feel the pain is getting worse too instead of better which is not a good sign either...


The new RA doc I saw was kind enough to inject both hips for bursitis...I have been complaining about bursitis forever...but it seems to fall on deaf ears or they will inject one hip, but not both...but this kind doc injected both...but now I can feel the pain going down the front of my legs and sciatica down the back...and the lower back pain is intensified....

The other problem is that I have three kids and husband....I do not have the luxury of just resting and relaxing...I do rest when they are in school ...But this is not such a bad thing either...I think the recuperation process is much overrated sometimes....I do not think we need to pamper ourselves as much as they lead us to believe...I think part of the healing process is getting up and moving around too....but anyway...I am rambling...I just wanted to add this to the thoughts posted here...

As much as I sometimes say I am not optimistic, I am, or I would not go to see all the doctors I do...I go in the hope that just once one of them will say...I can do this and it will fix this or this just came out...One young NSS doc at Jefferson told me to wait ten years to have surgery because there would be lots of new things out on the market...Ten years is a heck of a long time to wait when you are in pain and agony....and you know what.... lots of new things have come out, but there are always contraindications and I do not fit into their perfect little categories...and never will....I have too much degeneration and now too much surgery...

[bluebirdy]

I gained about 25 pounds from Neurontin but lost it when I went off the med. Now I'm wondering if Cymbalta is causing weight gain and notice others have thought so too. I read the PI sheet and Cymbalta is supposed to be more likely to cause weight loss ... said weight gain is being "investigated" as if it's a post-marketing thing. Yeah, right. :rolleyes:

bb