What are the medical implications of taking pharmaceutical pills?

I know the usual, liver damage, kidney damage over long term use. But are there any more implications it can have on the body. Like the long term/short term usage of acetaminophen on the body. Can it produce cancer? Brain damage? Anyone know the other implications pharmaceutical drugs like acetaminophen, codeine, oxycodone, advil and SSRis, have on the brain and body? Can this give us cancer?

I do not know about long term effect of acetaminophen on brain, doubt it causes damage in low dosage. However as you mentioned it can damage liver in prolonged use/high dosage. As for cancer - also not very probable, unless high dosage messes up liver.
Ibuprofen (advil) can cause stomach bleeding /ulcers. Thus potentially it might raise a little risk for cancer due to inflammation in the area. But it is insignificantly low chance. Brain damage - also in doubt. AS far as acceptable dosages are used. People with asthma can have problems due to ibuprofen.
Codeine - can cause addiction in (very) long run. Constipation. Drowsiness. Cancer/brain damage - probably not (in normal dosage).
SSRIs can cause certain cognitive problems in rare cases. Of medications you mentioned they are most problematic. However cancer/brain damage chance is very very low. Those medication, in my opinion, are dramatically overused, however there are lots of cases when they are really needed. Uneducated guess - one third of users.
You can get great info on all known side effects/medical cases in library via pharmacopoeia or descent professional handbook. You can try and get doctors leaflet that has ton of info about it too.
Or even better - consult your doctor.

reply to post by Maddogkull


I ask my Doc and such he referred me to this...actually I got his old hard back copy, "cuz his was outdated" and just found this site...
I prefer personal research over others opinions...even if they are Doctors!
www.pdr.net...

ETA I spells bad

[edit on 27-3-2010 by Doc Holiday]

reply to post by Maddogkull


The short answer is no, these drugs cannot cause cancer or brain damage. None of these drugs produce radiation or anything else that can cause a mutation that would produce cancer. The way that opiates and SSRIs work is that they bind with receptor sites already present in the brain, which then either inhibit or produce neurotransmitters to produce their effect. The way aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen work is a similar way, except instead of having their primary mechanism be in the brain, it works on organs that produce hormones by inhibiting production of certain hormones. Of course misuse of these drugs, just like any drug, will cause harmful side effects, but if taken as directed they are simply mimicking chemicals that are already in the body.

Well today’s day in age we are finding out that certain foods might cause cancer because there is a bunch of chemicals in it. So why not pills. Wasn’t there an article on here saying a lot of pills are binded with nano dioxide or something, I don’t know the name of it. So couldn’t u get cancer from long term usage of pills? I might be wrong and if I am someone please prove me wrong lol.

One thing people forget is that many of these drugs do not break down into harmless inert substance after you excrete them. People that take those pharmaceutical drugs should be forced to take their bodily waste to a hazardous recycling center for the protection of the rest of us!!! Yuck, I don't want their nasty drugs in my drinking water.

[edit on 27-3-2010 by Divinorumus]

reply to post by Divinorumus


Then why don’t you move out to the country and drink well water..... Seriously that post didn’t even contribute to the discussion. If you know any implications it has on cancer or brain damage, you’re welcome to share it.

The bottom line is that you are better off taking them than not taking them. There are risks and side effects from every drug, you only take drugs when whatever you are trying to treat is worse than the side effects of the drug. Modern medicine has doubled the average life expectancy in the developed world. We can cure and treat disease effectively with drugs, and people are better off for it. If you're trying to figure out whether or not stop using medicine, the answer that you should not stop. Continue using the medicine because the benefits outweigh the risks.

Originally posted by Maddogkull
If you know any implications it has on cancer or brain damage, you’re welcome to share it.

Since neither of us knows for sure, I'd suggest hanging onto that excrement until we do know. Too many people just don't care about other people and they wizz that stuff they are taking into our drinking water every day without a second thought and that's just horrible of them.

I’d rather go to the washroom. But also I would rather take the pain, then taking pills that have cancer causing agents in them.

loss of internal stomach walls??? kidney failure

reply to post by jumpingbeanz


I know that I am just talking about the cancer causing agents more.

If it is available where you live, medical marijuana is a great alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

AFAIK There is no increased cancer risk and no organ damage caused by ingesting marijuana.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Cancer is caused by specific genetic mutations. Nothing in OTC pain killers will give you cancer, because they don't cause genetic mutations.

reply to post by JohnnyTHSeed


LMAO, maybe if you use a vaporiser. I hope you know once you combust that material it releases cancer causing agents. And sadly were I live, I cannot get medical cannabis. We can only get medical cannabis in Canada if you are dying of cancer or have AIDS or glaucoma. Not for back or neck pain.

reply to post by OnceReturned


I heard though there are cancer causing agents in the binders that bind the pills.

reply to post by OnceReturned


I heard though there are cancer causing agents in the binders that bind the pills.

There are literally hundreds of different drugs out on the market. Each has different properties and side effects. You cannot make blanket statements about any of the drugs.

It is important you ask questions of your doctor. Ask them about the side effects of the drug. More importantly, ask your doctor about what he knows about the drug. Does your doctor just read the pamphlets his sales rep gives him? Has your doctor consulted with independent literature? You may also want to do a little research on your own.

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


Well that is the thing; I doubt the doctor would know the certain binders inside the drugs. Maybe the main ingredients, but I doubt she would know. All I am wondering if someone has an article saying that there is or isn’t cancer causing agents inside pill binders?

Also I was not talking about all of them. I made a list of the certain pills I am talking about at the beginning of this thread.

[edit on 27-3-2010 by Maddogkull]

One thing to bear in mind is that drugs like Aspirin have been around for a very long time, so if there were any cancer inducing side affects, it would have come to light by now.