Big Pharma's opiates will make you constipated

Thursday, March 03, 2016 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: opiates, constipation, pain relief

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(NaturalNews) Pharmaceutical science is pretty good at one thing: creating entirely new health problems. Take Big Pharma's opiate pain meds, for example. Researchers are now finding out that this common class of drugs causes severe opioid-induced constipation (OIC) which may lead to rectal tearing and abdominal pain. This condition, also known as opiate bowel dysfunction (OBD), occurs in up to 95 percent of patients who are chronic users of Big Pharma's opioid (narcotic) pain meds.

The Australian Pain Society reports, "One of the most common adverse effects of chronic opioid therapy is constipation. Up to 95% of patients prescribed an opioid report constipation as a side effect, which can occur soon after taking the first dose."

Opiates suppress one of the body's most important functions

A side effect like this is no laughing matter. Under the curse of the pain meds, one of the body's most important functions is being systematically suppressed, forcing the body to eat its own waste. According to the American College of Gastroenterology, "constipation may be debilitating among those who require chronic analgesia [pain relief]. ... OIC or OBD affected an average of 41% [of] patients taking an oral opioid for up to 8 weeks."

This happens because "opioids cause constipation by binding to specific receptors in the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, resulting in reduced bowel motility through direct and indirect (anticholinergic) mechanisms." These medications destroy the body's natural intelligence, blocking the messages that innately tell the body when to empty the bowels.

When bowel movements stop, the colon gets backed up with waste byproduct that breaks down and infiltrates the blood. This side effect alone can actually feed a person's pain long-term. Opioid pain meds do not help people manage pain; in the long haul, they shut down an all-important function of the body, instructing the digestive system to stop having bowel movements, and leaving rotting waste caked inside the body. It's a recipe for disease and chronic inflammation.

So, are pain meds worth the risk if they "may cause rectal pain and bleeding, abdominal pain and distension, urinary incontinence, faecal impaction, rectal tearing, and, in very severe cases, bowel obstruction and colonic perforation?"

Big Pharma's opiates cause greater pain long-term

As the Australian Pain Society points out, some patients would rather deal with the pain than be cursed with severe opioid induced constipation. "Some patients would rather endure chronic pain than suffer from the severe constipation that can arise with long-term opioid therapy. One study found that approximately one-third of patients missed, decreased or stopped using opioids in order to make it easier to have a bowel motion. ..." They found that in some cases, even after stopping the meds, the body continues to struggle to have a normal bowel movement.

It should also be noted that anticholinergic meds work by blocking a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. In doing so, these meds prohibit acetylcholine from naturally binding to its receptors in the brain. This slows cognitive processing, in practice affecting brain function.

The publication, Practical Pain Management, points out that Big Pharma's opioid pain meds are finally being investigated for all their debilitating effects. Even though they've been used for multiple decades, "we are only beginning to understand and identify the many side effects of opioids. Constipation, nausea, emesis, pruritus, respiratory depression, and somnolence are well known. However, not so well known are effects on immune function, urinary retention, endocrinopathies, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), gastroparesis, sleep apnea, cardiovascular system, osteoporosis, emotions, dentition, and renal function."

As Big Pharma's opiates are leaving people helpless in the long-term, exacerbating entirely new health problems, better pain management strategies exist. Several foods, herbs and spices contain anti-inflammatory compounds that reduce pain while promoting proper digestion and brain function. For example, the powerful compound in turmeric root – curcumin – is well documented for reducing inflammation throughout the body. Plant-based medicines such as ginger root, cayenne, boswellia, cherry, pineapple and devil's claw, provide pain relief through different mechanisms that work with the body, instead of against it.

Sources include:

APSoc.org

GI.org^[PDF]

PracticalPainManagement.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalAntiInflammatory.org

Science.NaturalNews.com