“Can taking painkillers for a long time impact the CNS?”
I am a 65 year old woman and I have been on painkillers for over 2 weeks now for my back pain. Though these painkillers give me a lot of relief in times of extreme pain, I am worried if they could cause a side effect and impact my CNS. Please advice.
6 Answers
Richard Grant Hunter
Neurologist
I'm not sure what is causing your back pain, so it is hard to say. If acute, the need will pass before there is much chance of addition. If permanent, get off the narcotics, which don't work very well. Get on anti-neuralgia drugs. These are effective if started early enough and in adequate doses, without fear of addiction. Uncontrolled neuralgia can travel up your spinal cord to your brain. PREVENTION is key here.
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
Yes, taking pain killers for extended periods of time can result in reducing your coordination and rapidity of thought.
Hello, Yes painkillers can severely affect CNS. Mainly affecting the androgenous release of hormone production. Please contact for further details.
At this time we have no evidence that short term use of analgesics is harmful to the CNS. Word of caution however,it has only been recently discovered that proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec are associated with dementia.
Two weeks is not a long time. You can take pain killer from time to time. It would be best to have neurological evaluation and see if can be cure for your condition so you don't have to use pain killer that frequent.
Taking painkillers for long time could build tolerance, physical dependency and even addiction. If you are taking a low dose infrequently, this may only delay such side effects.
