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Overuse of Common Painkillers

Summary & Participants

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used by many people to relieve pain. However, since they are so commonly used, most people don't think twice about taking them. Learn why excessive use of these seemingly harmless medications can actually cause a variety of problems.

Medically Reviewed On: July 17, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: You may not know the term NSAIDs, but you do know what they're commonly used for: relief of everyday pain.

BYRON CRYER, MD: NSAIDs stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These are pain medicines that are commonly taken for conditions such as headaches or arthritis or various aches and pains. They are available in various forms. You can get them over-the-counter or you can get them by prescription.

ANNOUNCER: And while NSAIDs are a common sight in many medicine cabinets, they are still drugs and their use can create problems.

C. MEL WILCOX, MD: The most common side effect that we would see from NSAIDs are vague abdominal symptoms. But we know that patients can develop significant abdominal problems such as a bleeding ulcer or even perforation, which is a hole in the stomach related to NSAIDs which would require surgery.

ANNOUNCER: Often these side effects occur without warning.

GEORGE TRIADAFILOPOULOS, MD: One of the unfortunate issues with these drugs is that sometimes you may have absolutely no warning sign. Up to 80 percent, in one of our studies; 80 percent of people who ended up actually being admitted to the hospital and suffering major gastrointestinal complications had no warning sign that would have alerted their physicians to the possibility that they would get into trouble down the line.

ANNOUNCER: Frequently people put themselves at risk by taking more than the recommended dose of these medicines

BYRON CRYER, MD: Overusage of NSAIDs is a huge part of the problem and overusage manifests itself in a number of ways. For example, patients may take a greater number of capsules or tablets than indicated on the label or the prescription. Or they may take their dose at a time just before they're supposed to take it. Or they may take a greater number of doses per day. Or they may take various forms of NSAIDs in combination.

ANNOUNCER: Too often people are combining more than one NSAID medication without knowing it.

GEORGE TRIADAFILOPOULOS, MD: A lot of them are available over-the-counter. Therefore, patients may pick them up from the pharmacy without a prescription, use them as they wish, and sometimes, patients have already a prescription NSAID, given to them by their doctor, and then they add an additional one.

BYRON CRYER, MD: Physicians see this in their practice every day. About a third of the patients who are receiving a prescription for an NSAID are also concurrently taking another form of NSAID. Typically the physician is unaware of this combination and the patient is unaware of this problem.

ANNOUNCER: Avoiding trouble begins with being a smart consumer.

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