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posted by takyon on Sunday July 12 2015, @07:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the anti-vascular dept.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a new ruling on a category of drugs known as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), strengthening the label warnings that taking the medications increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. NSAIDs include both prescription drugs and popular over-the-counter medications, including ibuprofen (sold under brand names including Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (brands include Aleve). NSAIDs reduce the body's production of prostaglandins, compounds which may play a role in inflammation.

The new warning guidelines stop well short of recommending that mostly-healthy people not to use NSAIDs, partly because the science isn't settled. Some doctors already report that patients are confused by the new advisories.

Aspirin is also an NSAID, but was specifically excluded from the FDA advisory. Acetaminophen, another popular drug for pain relief (e.g. Tylenol), is not an NSAID, but some researchers have cautioned that studies show correlations between heavy acetaminophen use and early mortality and other adverse medical effects.


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  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @08:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @08:06PM (#208229)

    Doctors should only prescribe aspirin or opiate, for long term pain management as, nsaid are dangerous and acetaminophen is as effective as placebo for acute pain according to the linked articles. Opiate are quite safe given access to standardized preparation as long and as much as the patient needs. The harm from opiate addiction come from the criminalization as it cause unsanitary conditions, high price and varying substance and quality without indication on the relative strength. If heroine baggies were marked with the relative potency vs Morphine most of the overdose would be suicide de.... Opiate addiction used to have no effect on life expectancy when opiate tincture was legal.

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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Flyingmoose on Sunday July 12 2015, @08:19PM

    by Flyingmoose (4369) <mooseNO@SPAMflyingmoose.com> on Sunday July 12 2015, @08:19PM (#208234) Homepage

    My friend's dad is a heroin addict, and high doses have fried his brain. He is mentally ill because of it, so I don't think what you're saying is true.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @09:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @09:29PM (#208250)

      One anecdote and I doubt that you could conclude that heroin was the only thing in an addict's life that could contribute to mental illness.
      Anyone know if there is a causal relationship of patients on morphine and mental illness?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @09:45PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @09:45PM (#208253)

        I have an uncle who fell off a roof and got put on painkillers. A few years later they found him wandering the streets naked and put him in a nursing home at ~50 yrs old. I met a homeless guy in new orleans once who kept repeating everything and apologized for it, blaming years of painkillers. I have a friend who needed to get brain surgeries for a birth defect and was constantly on painkillers for headaches. Now in his 20s he is paranoid as hell and has trouble distinguishing dreams from reality. Last I saw him he was sitting in his room all day listening to the talking heads. In all cases there could be other explanations though.

        • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday July 13 2015, @01:43AM

          by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday July 13 2015, @01:43AM (#208293)

          The plural of ancedote is not data. However I would agree that heavy opiate use is really... really bad for one's health. But being in horrific constant pain is as well.

          --
          "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
      • (Score: 2) by tathra on Monday July 13 2015, @04:00AM

        by tathra (3367) on Monday July 13 2015, @04:00AM (#208333)

        the only physiological change caused by opioid use is the unbinding of G proteins from their respective receptors (which can be undone with the use of opioid antagonists, which cause the G proteins to re-bind). opioids will not cause mental illness or anything like that at any higher rate than anything else; in fact, opioids are the safest of all medications and recreational drugs.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @05:51AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @05:51AM (#208351)

          Do people build tolerance to opioids?
          There are many feedback loops in biology. That is why many medications require steping-down the dose. Long term treatment may cause a change in sensitivity or the number of G proteins.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @01:19AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @01:19AM (#208285)

      Heroin is not Laudanum and to your annectdote I oppose Thomas De Quincy (1785-1859). Also pure pharmaceutical grade Heroin is not brain frying, residual solvent and cutting agents are. And guess what if it was accessible and unstigmatized, neurotoxin solvents nor would be present

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @03:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2015, @03:56AM (#208332)

    Opiate are quite safe given access to standardized preparation as long and as much as the patient needs.

    The problem is on the doctor's side - the DEA won't hesitate to throw doctors in prison and strip them of their medical license because they've deemed the doctor is "prescribing too much", despite having exactly zero knowledge of medicine or pharmacology.

  • (Score: 1) by jb on Monday July 13 2015, @07:04AM

    by jb (338) on Monday July 13 2015, @07:04AM (#208363)

    Doctors should only prescribe aspirin or opiate, for long term pain management as, nsaid are dangerous

    Err, you do realise that aspirin is an NSAID, right?