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Be skeptical anytime you hear "cure" for any medical condition, especially with regard to something as enigmatic and complex as pain or the nervous system. And

by notadoc 10y ago

Be skeptical anytime you hear "cure" for any medical condition, especially with regard to something as enigmatic and complex as pain or the nervous system. And no, another pill a patient has to take every day is not a cure.

jacquesm 10y ago
I'm pretty sure a patient that is suffering from chronic pain would happily take a pill if that would make the pain go away without the risk of addiction.
- Turing_Machine 10y ago
  Not just addiction, but the high risk of death from central nervous system depression. That's what usually kills people who are on opioids.
- ChristianGeek 10y ago
  Chronic migraine sufferer here...would happily swap the pills I currently take daily just to reduce the frequency of my migraines for one that eliminated them.
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    Migraines are ugly. I used to have a business partner that suffered from chronic migraines. Onset would be so quick that he wouldn't be able to drive home so I got to drive him whenever this happened.
  - notadoc 10y ago
    I'm sorry to hear about that. Do you take magnesium supplements? There is some evidence it can be effective at reducing pain and frequency of migraine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=magnesium+migraine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=magnesium+migraine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286809 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286809 Alas, it too is a pill regimen and also not a cure.
- notadoc 10y ago
  Regardless taking a pill masks the symptoms, it is not a cure. Pain is not like a bacteria and the pills are not like a targeted antibiotic. You do understand that, right?
Turing_Machine 10y ago
It seems to me that the only possible "cure" here would be to replace the defective gene. That said, anything that can eliminate extreme pain (or help the people who don't feel pain at all, causing them to severely jack themselves up without even knowing it) would be a friggin' blessing, even if it is a "pill that you had to take every day".
- notadoc 10y ago
  My personal opinion is that doctors and patients should be able to use anything at all that works for them, assuming risk is understood sufficiently. It is, frankly, nobodies business but theirs.
codingdave 10y ago
No, it is not a cure. But until a cure is found, I'll certainly take it as a 2nd choice instead of living with the pain and being stubborn about it. I did resist pills as the answer to my chronic pain for years. And I still refuse to use opioids as the answer. But we did find a non-opioid med that reduces my pain, so while I wish there was a better answer... pills give me my life back. I'm able to exercise again. To play with my kids. To do my job. It isn't my preferred solution, but I'm not going to get idealistic about it and go back to sitting around all day in pain while waiting for the perfect answer.
- notadoc 10y ago
  What sort of chronic pain do you have and how do you manage it? Pills are often necessary for chronic pain patients, as are opioids which are inappropriately demonized due to some recreational drug abusers.

by notadoc 10y ago

jacquesm 10y ago

I'm pretty sure a patient that is suffering from chronic pain would happily take a pill if that would make the pain go away without the risk of addiction.

Turing_Machine 10y ago
Not just addiction, but the high risk of death from central nervous system depression. That's what usually kills people who are on opioids.
ChristianGeek 10y ago
Chronic migraine sufferer here...would happily swap the pills I currently take daily just to reduce the frequency of my migraines for one that eliminated them.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  Migraines are ugly. I used to have a business partner that suffered from chronic migraines. Onset would be so quick that he wouldn't be able to drive home so I got to drive him whenever this happened.
- notadoc 10y ago
  I'm sorry to hear about that. Do you take magnesium supplements? There is some evidence it can be effective at reducing pain and frequency of migraine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=magnesium+migraine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=magnesium+migraine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286809 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28286809 Alas, it too is a pill regimen and also not a cure.
notadoc 10y ago
Regardless taking a pill masks the symptoms, it is not a cure. Pain is not like a bacteria and the pills are not like a targeted antibiotic. You do understand that, right?

Turing_Machine 10y ago

It seems to me that the only possible "cure" here would be to replace the defective gene. That said, anything that can eliminate extreme pain (or help the people who don't feel pain at all, causing them to severely jack themselves up without even knowing it) would be a friggin' blessing, even if it is a "pill that you had to take every day".

notadoc 10y ago
My personal opinion is that doctors and patients should be able to use anything at all that works for them, assuming risk is understood sufficiently. It is, frankly, nobodies business but theirs.

codingdave 10y ago

No, it is not a cure. But until a cure is found, I'll certainly take it as a 2nd choice instead of living with the pain and being stubborn about it. I did resist pills as the answer to my chronic pain for years. And I still refuse to use opioids as the answer. But we did find a non-opioid med that reduces my pain, so while I wish there was a better answer... pills give me my life back. I'm able to exercise again. To play with my kids. To do my job. It isn't my preferred solution, but I'm not going to get idealistic about it and go back to sitting around all day in pain while waiting for the perfect answer.

notadoc 10y ago
What sort of chronic pain do you have and how do you manage it? Pills are often necessary for chronic pain patients, as are opioids which are inappropriately demonized due to some recreational drug abusers.