TANSTAAFL – pain meds

Many patients have problems with pain control. As physicians we have difficulty in helping them balance between pain control and side effects. This NY Times article outlines the problem nicely – possibly even worthy of a patient handout!

Perils of Pain Relief Often Hide in Tiny Type

If ever there was a classic case of “no free lunch,” popular pain control medications are it. There’s not one without a potentially serious risk. Yet, far too many people use them carelessly, without adequate attention to dosage and warnings about possible risks.

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As with any other medicine, with acetaminophen it is critically important to keep in mind this irrefutable adage: The dose makes the poison.

This article focuses mostly on the risks of acetaminophen, because the risks of non-steroidals and specifically Cox-2 inhibitors have received all the focus recently. The article does not address narcotics – which are excellent for pain control. Unfortunately, many patients start to like narcotics a bit too much. This scares us as physicians, so we tend to underdose narcotic relief. We can control pain – but at what cost. TANSTAAFL (there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch)