Migraine Headaches: Are Pain-Killing Drugs Too Dangerous?
Patients with migraine headaches seek over-the-counter pain
pills by the multimillions. But are these migraine headache
sufferers actually helping themselves or are they taking
dangerous risks that they are unaware of?
All drugs are dangerous. Before a person suffering with a
migraine headache takes an over-the-counter medication they
should be asking the question "Is the possible benefit worth the
risk of taking that drug?" William Osler, M.D. once said "The
person who takes medicine must recover twice; once from the
disease and once from the medicine." Sadly, this can be all too
true.
Dr. William Bennett, head of nephrology at Oregon Health
Sciences University, estimates that over-the-counter painkillers
are responsible for as many as 20% of the 125,000 cases of
end-stage kidney disease in the United States.
Some medications have side effects that can be more serious than
the painful migraines themselves.
Aspirin can cause internal hemorrhaging, or bleeding in the
stomach. According to the Dec. 1996 issue of Health News and
Views taking Tylenol once every 4 days increases the chance of
liver damage by more than 400%.
The main pain-relief ingredient in Tylenol is acetaminophen
which has been shown to cause liver disease. "Tylenol," as
reported in the January 1998 issue of Forbes magazine, "can be
very dangerous in doses not much greater" than the recommended
dose. In 1989, Lacy Keele, a 5-year-old, took four extra
strength tablets in one day, or twice what a child should
receive. The overdose destroyed Lacy's liver. Within a week she
was dead. A jury found Tylenol to be a cause in her death.
There have been hundreds of fatalities and serious liver
injuries attributed to acetaminophen, Tylenol's active
ingredient, since Lacy's death. The biggest reason for these
deaths is because people "tend to use Tylenol in a casual
fashion." Think about it: You have a migraine headache so you
take a few pills. The migraine doesn't go away so you take a few
more. The difference between a proper dose and an overdose is so
small that dangerous amounts can easily be ingested
accidentally. "No other over-the-counter drug has a more narrow
range between therapy and toxicity than acetaminophen," says Dr.
William Lee, a professor of internal medicine at the University
of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
L.F. Kebler, M.D. once said "Why should a patient swallow a
poison because he is ill, or take that which would make a well
man sick?" And O.W. Holmes, M.D., Professor of Medicine at
Harvard University said "If all the medicine in the world were
thrown into the sea, it would be bad for the fish and good for
humanity."
In the September 29, 1996 issue of the Los Angeles Times
Magazine it makes it known that Ibuprofen kills thousands every
year. Ibuprofen, the active ingredient in many pain relievers,
including Advil, Motrin IB, and Nuprin, is known as a
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). People that take
NSAIDs like ibuprofen regularly to ease their chronic migraine
headaches are prone to gastric (stomach) disorders. Dr. James F.
Fries, a leading arthritis expert and professor of medicine at
Stanford University School of Medicine, says "there's an
epidemic of adverse drug reactions to NSAIDs. The FDA believes
anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 deaths each year are the result
of severe bleeding caused by NSAIDs. It's a big problem."
When taking medication to relieve migraine headaches it's always
a good idea to read the label carefully. If you decide to take
pain-killing medications for your migraine headaches be sure to
follow the directions. Using common sense can reduce your
chances of experiencing adverse reactions.
About the author:
Dr. Larry A. Johnson, D.C. has practiced chiropractic for 25
years and has treated many patients with migraine headaches. He
has patented a unique neck cushion that was designed as a method
of achieving relief from
migraine headaches. For information about his home remedy for migraine
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