Published October 5, 2002 in the North Island Weekender
Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something isn’t right. It signals you to stop using a shoulder or a knee, or it puts you to bed with a severe migraine headache. Your first instinct is to take something for the pain to make it go away now! This would be all right if this happened three or four times per year. Anything more frequent than that a cause of the pain should be found and natural therapies tried.
In a recent newspaper article from the US, advisors to the Food and Drug Administration calls for warnings on drugs that contain acetaminophen. Thousands of Americans (this would be similar for Canada) may unknowingly be taking toxic doses, which can cause liver damage. The best-known brand is Tylenol. Percocet and Vicodin also contain acetaminophen as well as 200 different branded and generic products. The problem is that acetaminophen is listed in fine print so you may not know you are taking it when you take a few different remedies to control pain. The FDA found 56,000 emergency room visits a year due to acetaminophen overdoses, one quarter of these unintentional. About 100 of these die each year.
Now let’s compare these stats with deaths caused by dietary supplements! According to Ron Law, Executive Director for the New Zealand National Nutritional Foods Association, dietary supplements account for 0.0001% of deaths. The single greatest cause of death is cardiovascular disease 47%, and the fourth leading cause of death is due to drugs 5.8%. The second is cancer and the third is smoking.
So when you come into my office and I find out you are taking acetaminophen type products it is my aim to get you off of them! Of 395 patients with liver disease in Dr. William Lee’s data base (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) 40% are
linked to painkillers more than any other liver harming medication.
In the case of Bill who did not come in complaining of headaches, but fatigue, I got him off his painkillers using nutrional therapy, feverfew, magnesium, structural adjustments and herbs supportive for the liver. Fatigue is a common symptom of liver sluggishness. Now this does not mean liver damage per se. Severely elevated liver enzymes usually indicate some sort of liver damage, which in some cases can be treated with naturopathic medicines. I have seen these enzymes come down quite nicely over time.
For those of you who have been on painkillers for years, seriously look at this aspect of your health. Have your liver enzymes checked, and seek alternative therapies to break the vicious cycle of pain. For some, the pain medication is actually contributing to the pain! You may need a slow weaning process combined with cleansing programs but you will feel better in the long run once your liver has a chance to rejuvenate. Morning fatigue is a key symptom of liver sluggishness. Many people say they don’t need a cleanse because they have good daily bowel movements and they don’t drink alcohol. This can hardly be true in our environment, which is wrought with chemicals no matter where you live. If you live in a place with clean air and water, it comes to you in your food and the chemicals you use on your body and your house.
Your liver has a tremendous ability to rejuvenate itself if given the tools. The first step is to remove the cause as much as possible then to assist its innate healing process.
Read your pain medication labels clearly, keep them out of reach of children and take yourself off the list of 100 million people per year who use acetaminophen!
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com