Pain Medication

Tolerance: your body automatically becomes less sensitive to pain medication the longer you take them. Tolerance is due to faster clearance and less tissue responsiveness to a drug the body is repeatedly exposed to.

Side Effects: All drugs have unwanted side effects; some occur immediately while others build up over time. Common side effects include cognitive problems, slow thinking, memory difficulty, lethargy, lack of motivation, weakness, high blood pressure, diabetes and many others.

Complications: dependence, abuse, stomach ulcer, bleeding disorder, kidney failure, liver failure and many others.

Addiction: Both psychological and physical addiction to pain medication is common.

Abuse: Pain medication can be abused and used inappropriately.

Ineffective: Ultimately, pain medications cannot cure pain. The effect of medication is temporary and lessens over time making medications less effective the longer they are used to treat pain.