Osteoarthritis Pain Medicine: Risks and Benefits
Osteoarthritis Pain Medicine: Risks and Benefits
Cox-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs that includes the prescription celecoxib (Celebrex), are NSAIDs created more recently to be safer for the stomach.
Certain people may be at greater risk for adverse effects when taking NSAIDs. Because the side effects of these medications can be serious, it is important to communicate any issues you notice to your doctor immediately. Also, certain people respond to different NSAIDs better than others, so be patient. You might have to try a few before finding the one that works for you.
Your doctor may recommend the use of antidepressant medication to help treat chronic OA pain whether or not you have depression. The exact way it helps curb pain is not known, but brain chemicals affected by antidepressant medications may play a role.
One antidepressant, duloxetine (Cymbalta), is FDA-approved for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain, including chronic osteoarthritis pain. Some common side effects include nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness, and constipation.
Doctors sometimes prescribe a tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline, desipramine (Norpramin), and nortriptyline (Pamelor) for chronic pain. These are most often taken near bedtime because of sedative effects. Other side effects include dry mouth, nausea, weight change, and constipation.
All antidepressant drugs carry a boxed warning of increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults. All patients starting antidepressant drugs should be monitored closely for any unusual behavioral changes, suicidal thinking and behavior, or worsening of a psychiatric disorder.
Injectable corticosteroids (also known as glucocorticoids or “steroids”) are injected directly into a joint to help ease joint inflammation and pain. The benefit of corticosteroids is that they act quickly and can be administered directly to the joints. Side effects may include allergic reaction but are mainly limited to the joint and include infection, bleeding, and skin changes. Because frequent injections to the same joint can cause damage to the joint structures, you generally should not have more than three injections in the same site per year. Injections should not be done if there is an overlying skin infection.
Osteoarthritis Pain Medicine: Risks and Benefits
In this article
- Analgesics for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Antidepressants for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Injectable Steroids for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Hyaluronan Injections for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Topical Pain Relief (Creams) for Osteoarthritis Pain
- Dietary Supplements for Osteoarthritis Pain
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) for Osteoarthritis Pain continued...
Cox-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs that includes the prescription celecoxib (Celebrex), are NSAIDs created more recently to be safer for the stomach.
Certain people may be at greater risk for adverse effects when taking NSAIDs. Because the side effects of these medications can be serious, it is important to communicate any issues you notice to your doctor immediately. Also, certain people respond to different NSAIDs better than others, so be patient. You might have to try a few before finding the one that works for you.
Antidepressants for Osteoarthritis Pain
Your doctor may recommend the use of antidepressant medication to help treat chronic OA pain whether or not you have depression. The exact way it helps curb pain is not known, but brain chemicals affected by antidepressant medications may play a role.
One antidepressant, duloxetine (Cymbalta), is FDA-approved for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain, including chronic osteoarthritis pain. Some common side effects include nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness, and constipation.
Doctors sometimes prescribe a tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline, desipramine (Norpramin), and nortriptyline (Pamelor) for chronic pain. These are most often taken near bedtime because of sedative effects. Other side effects include dry mouth, nausea, weight change, and constipation.
All antidepressant drugs carry a boxed warning of increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults. All patients starting antidepressant drugs should be monitored closely for any unusual behavioral changes, suicidal thinking and behavior, or worsening of a psychiatric disorder.
Injectable Steroids for Osteoarthritis Pain
Injectable corticosteroids (also known as glucocorticoids or “steroids”) are injected directly into a joint to help ease joint inflammation and pain. The benefit of corticosteroids is that they act quickly and can be administered directly to the joints. Side effects may include allergic reaction but are mainly limited to the joint and include infection, bleeding, and skin changes. Because frequent injections to the same joint can cause damage to the joint structures, you generally should not have more than three injections in the same site per year. Injections should not be done if there is an overlying skin infection.
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