Prescription Analgesics for the Treatment of Arthritis Pain

Prescription Analgesics for the Treatment of Arthritis Pain
www.allaboutarthritis.com
DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.

Prescription analgesics are one of the many types of medication used to treat arthritis pain. They do not treat inflammation, or the underlying disease condition.

Prescription analgesics are classified as either narcotic or non-narcotic. They may be prescribed along with other types of arthritis medicine.

Doctors in the past reserved the use of narcotic analgesics to relieve short-term acute pain – such as pain resulting from an injury or surgery. Many physicians sought to avoid prescribing narcotics for chronic pain over the long term due to concerns about drug dependency or addiction. Physicians also posed concerns about side effects such as chronic constipation, dizziness, nausea, and breathing problems sometimes associated with narcotics.

According to Arthritis Today (September-October 2001), pain relief medications may have an important role in the treatment of arthritis pain. The magazine reports that the American College of Rheumatology recently presented new guidelines that note the drug tramadol (Ultram®) may be appropriate for patients unable to take other types of arthritis medicines such as NSAIDs, or whose pain is not controlled by these alternative drugs. Ultram is a synthetic drug, not a narcotic, although it has a mild narcotic effect.

In light of this new guideline, according to Arthritis Today, patients should talk with their doctor again about arthritis pain relieving medications, particularly if more conservative medication measures haven’t been successful.

Narcotics

Examples of commonly prescribed narcotic products are:

Codeine (narcotic ingredient in Tylenol with Codeine®).
Oxycodone hydrochloride (narcotic ingredient in Percocet® and OxyContin®).
Hydrocodone bitatrate (narcotic ingredient in Vicodin®).
Meperidine hydrochloride (the narcotic ingredient in Demerol®).
Propoxyphene (narcotic ingredient in Darvon®).

Some products combine a narcotic with other medications such as acetaminophen or aspirin.

The Non-narcotic Analgesic in Ultram

Tramadol hydrochloride is the non-narcotic ingredient in Ultram. Ultram is a synthetic drug, similar to narcotics in the way that it functions, but may have a reduced risk of dependency. Reported side effects of Ultram include agitation, anxiety, bloating and gas, constipation, convulsive movements, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, feeling of elation, hallucinations, headache, indigestion, itching, nausea, nervousness, sweating, tremor, vomiting, weakness, abdominal pain, confusion, coordination problems, feeling of illness, flushing, frequent urination, inability to urinate, loss of appetite, menopausal symptoms, rash, sleeping problems, and visual problems.

Side effects common among many prescription analgesics include dizziness, lightheadedness, drowsiness, and constipation. Narcotics also pose a risk of dependency. In addition, over time, a tolerance to narcotics can develop, requiring larger doses to achieve the same level of arthritis pain relief. When making choices among prescription analgesics to treat a patient with arthritis a doctor generally tries to select the medicine with the fewest side effects for a particular patient and seeks the lowest dosage that produces relief, moving to stronger medicines if needed.

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