Antidepressants Blog

One of the main, if not the main function of the doctor down through the ages, has been the relief of pain.

Perhaps, with the rapid increase in the means to actually treat the underlying cause, doctors have not recently concentrated enough on relieving chronic pain.

Certainly, the best pain-relieving drugs are those derived from opium and this hasn’t changed for centuries but doctors are again looking at the problem of pain and trying to do something about it.

Pain management clinics have sprung up in hospitals and as private clinics and usually consist of several different specialists working as a team.

The discovery of substances called endorphins occuring naturally in the body has prompted research to stimulate their production. These are pain-relieving chemicals believed to be stronger in action than morphine and heroin.

Acupuncture is believed to work in relieving chronic pain by stimulating the formation of endorphins and some forms of massage can do the same.

Chronic pain causes depression and, perhaps, depression itself is a cause of pain.

No longer is there any justification for the physician or surgeon to say to a patient with chronic pain that she will just have to learn to live with it. Referral to a pain clinic will bring the sufferer not only hope but, in many instances, considerable relief as well.

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Constipation leads to a bloated, uncomfortable feeling in the abdomen, to headaches and lethargy. These symptoms were once thought to be due to absorption of toxic products from the bowel. Experiments have shown that these symptoms are due only to distension of the bowel and not to any ‘poisoning’.

There are many causes of constipation. Some may be normal or physiological, such as from dehydration, from starvation or from a low or non-residue diet.

Local disease of the bowel, such as cancer or diverticulitis, may cause obstruction and so constipation.

General disease elsewhere may affect the bowel. When the thyroid gland is under-active (myxoede-ma) all the body functions slow down. Drugs may be a common cause of slowing down of the bowel activity. Opium and all its derivatives, including codeine, are constipating.

Prolonged immobility, from confinement to bed or a long car or plane trip, can be a cause. Constipation may also result from depression.

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