Toughing It Out

I've used 3 out of the 30 tablets

Over the years I've had a few outpatient procedures that resulted in residual pain. The doctors have prescribed oxycodone to be taken as needed, just in case ibuprofen or acetaminophen aren't sufficient to reduce the discomfort to tolerable levels.

The danger of addiction to opioids like oxycodone has been publicized for years, and it's prudent to stop taking it as soon as one can. Now there's another reason to set the bottles aside:

Hidden Dangers of Opioid Epidemic: Study Links Prescribed Opioids to Cardiovascular Disease

They focused on approximately 50,000 patients, 30% of whom had received prescribed opioids, over a three-year period. Those who had received prescribed opioids were significantly more likely to later develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), the researchers found. The researchers also found that higher doses were associated with a higher risk of CVD.

Although the exact mechanism by which opioids cause cardiovascular disease isn't established, it is known that long-term opioid use is correlated with higher concentrations of triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), as well as a higher incidence of atrial fibrillation (Afib).

Doctors prescribe medications because they believe that the benefits exceed the cost to a patient's health, but patients should not be reticent in asking about the side effects. In the case of pain relief and opioids, sometimes it is preferable to tough it out.