Painkiller Addiction Side Effects

Marianne was 30 and had a weird fetish for pain killers. It all started when once after taking a pain killer she realized that it gives a little bit of that 'kick' or a high, as you call it. The next time she took it, she made it a point to notice if the painkiller is having the same effect. To her astonishment, it had the kick kind of effect. From then on, it became an addiction for her. But after a certain period of time she started experiencing some side effects.

This is not a very uncommon occurrence, for many who have this addiction for painkillers. To describe in brief, pain killers or analgesics work by way of acting on the peripheral and central nervous system. They basically reduce the strength of the pain signals to the brain from the body and the response of the brain to those signals. As it directly works on the brain, there is no need to say that there are side effects of painkillers. Let's decipher how these pain killers are harmful for our body if we get addicted to them.

Side Effects of Painkillers

Nausea
Prescription pain medication when consumed in a wrong way can result in nausea and vomiting. This is especially the case with painkillers containing morphine. If you have too much of this morphine pain killer, you are bound to get nauseous.

Constipation
Painkillers can have a significant impact on the bowel movements. One consequence of this is constipation. This is a very problematic condition, as it can give rise to other health problems as well.

Dizziness
Just as you could experience nausea as a result of overdose of painkillers, dizziness is another similar effect of the pain relievers. When you take painkillers, what happens is that they relax the pain messages which are sent to the brain and in reaction to those signals. The result is a totally relaxed state of the body and a certain amount of drowsiness. This state could really put your life in danger while driving and would create problems in doing anything which requires logical judgment.

Cardiovascular Issues
In case someone already has a specific health condition where she has to take a certain medicine, painkillers can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. The painkillers addiction in this situation could lead to respiratory depression which could be fatal. This is one of the very serious side effects.

Dryness of Mouth
Pain suppressants given for pain control obstruct the working of the salivary glands, causing dry mouth.

Amongst other things, long term side effects of pain killers could be constricted pupils, menstrual irregularities, moodiness and severe constipation. To talk about side effects of pain medication, in fact addiction is one of the side effects of the pain killers, along with all the others mentioned above. More than over-the-counter pain medications, the prescribed painkillers have that quality of inducing addiction. Some of the addiction effects and side effects are-

• Hallucinations
• Hives
• Delirium
• Muscle Rigidity
• Bradycardia - slow heart rate
• Tachycardia - rapid heart rate
• Flushing
• Hypothermia
• Elevated intracranial pressure

The side effects enumerated above are the most primary side effects, and they are more often than not experienced with regards to any kind of painkiller. Still, all painkillers do not have similar side effects. They may vary depending on what kind of painkiller it is.

Painkillers should be avoided as much as possible. It is okay if you pop a pill for headache once in a while. But if you are doing it often, probably you need to introspect and see if you are getting addicted. If that is the situation, please consult a doctor and avoid the side effects of pain medication. Take care!