Do mild painkillers have any known effects?

I have a lot of minor aches and pains. Sometimes they're annoying enough that I take a panadol (for headaches, mild back or shoulder pain) or ibuprofen (joint pain). Recently I had a string of times where my knee in particular was quite painful and so I took ibuprofen for several nights in a row about half an hour or so before bed. I noticed that I was sleeping better during the times I took something.

So I began to experiment with it. Every night for a few weeks I took either a panadol or an ibuprofen about half an hour before going to bed. And it helped my sleep tremendously. I went from 3.5 AHI average down to 1 AHI and also with less leakage. So I stopped taking anything for a few weeks to see if it was just random luck and my AHI went up again with more leaks.

Now obviously this is anecdotal and for all I know there could be some placebo effect going on, but I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone else has had similar experiences. Worth a shot.

You should sleep more soundly with medication, but you don't want to be on Ibuprofen indefinitely as you could end up with GERD and that will then wake you. And Panadol is acetominophen, not good for your liver long term and can encourage 'rebound' headaches. Short term gain of more stable sleep, but long term not so good.

Well, pain disturbs sleep so it seems quite likely that relieving it can improve your sleep. I can't say why your AHI would improve though as deeper sleep usually means worse apnea. Anyway, as Julie says, long term use of OTC pain killers is not recommended. Liver damage and high blood pressure are possible complications.

ddk, you may want to explore the thread which contains this post:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69730&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... 45#p667933

Here are some references I posted there:

Ibuprofen
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8047572 Ibuprofen disturbs

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17213002 Ibuprofen has no effect

Aspirin and Acetaminophen
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2743114 Both disturb but Acetaminophen helps arthritics

http://ep.physoc.org/content/94/2/199.full OSA increases toxicity of Acetaminophen

Aleve
viewtopic/t50061/Naproxen-Sodium-220-mg ... ml#p459603 more negatives on Aleve.

My assessment of pain relievers is that while they certainly may help with sleep, as stated above one must be on guard against possible side effects.

Jay

I switched taking my one baby aspirin form morning to night, about a month before starting cpap, I like the outcome.
I stopped waking up with the fluttering pulse--Still woke up--that's good.

chunkyfrog wrote:I switched taking my one baby aspirin form morning to night, about a month before starting cpap, I like the outcome.
I stopped waking up with the fluttering pulse--Still woke up--that's good.

Interesting that you mentioned the switch in time as I recently read an article that said that anyone on an aspirin regiment SHOULD take their aspirin at night instead of the morning. The rationale is that most heart attacks problems occur at night and taking your aspirin at night optimized the thinning of the blood and save your life.

Julie wrote:You should sleep more soundly with medication, but you don't want to be on Ibuprofen indefinitely as you could end up with GERD and that will then wake you. And Panadol is acetominophen, not good for your liver long term and can encourage 'rebound' headaches. Short term gain of more stable sleep, but long term not so good.

IMO one would need to take a truckload of acetaminophen to damage your liver, and if you're really concerned, you could always get regular blood tests for liver function. This med has a place in the management of chronic pain, which disturbs sleep and therefore promotes a viscious cycle of pain > sleep disturbance > pain.

IMO if you have found something that works, with minimal side effects, keep doing it. Like all medical decisions, run it past your doctor just to be sure.

BlueSky - one person's truckload may be another's toy truck, so I wouldn't sound quite so definitive, but if you have research that backs up what you said, feel free to post it. I know there's a ton out there to back up what I said.

BlueSky, how much acetaminophen you can take depends on the size of your truck. Actually, it depends more on how much glutathione is available to support the detoxification process (look that up - it was a basic part of my pharmacy training 30+ years ago). You can suddenly run out of glutathione reserves just after your last liver function test. Your next test may be done in the ER, or be scheduled too late. It would be interesting to know if acetaminophen would get FDA approval today. NO painkillers should be taken by the truckload, especially without medical supervision. They are ALL dangerous in excess.

With all do respect I believe you should be talking
too your own Doctor about Medications and side affects.

Let me sleep is right, I think. Anyone can post something that sounds authoritative here, and we have no way of knowing if they have any formal medical training or not. Please, folks, check with your doctor if you have any biochemical questions regarding OTC and UTC meds:?

I have always found the listed dosage of acetaminophen to have virtually no effect--and have always avoided it.
Aspirin is slightly more effective than self-hypnosis, and I take the tiny ones for my heart.
Meloxicam is effective for my arthritis, so that is all I need.

Let me sleep wrote:With all do respect I believe you should be talking
too your own Doctor about Medications and side affects.

That is fine if your doc knows about medications and side effects. As a trained pharmacists I probably know more about the possible side effects than many docs. However, it is always necessary to talk with the doc before going "off label", which includes dosage. Just make sure you check with your pharmacists as well. And tell them about everything you are taking. Especially herbal remedies.

SleepyToo2 wrote:

Let me sleep wrote:With all do respect I believe you should be talking
too your own Doctor about Medications and side affects.

That is fine if your doc knows about medications and side effects. As a trained pharmacists I probably know more about the possible side effects than many docs. However, it is always necessary to talk with the doc before going "off label", which includes dosage. Just make sure you check with your pharmacists as well. And tell them about everything you are taking. Especially herbal remedies.

Excellent point!

Julie wrote:BlueSky - one person's truckload may be another's toy truck, so I wouldn't sound quite so definitive, but if you have research that backs up what you said, feel free to post it. I know there's a ton out there to back up what I said.

No need to get so defensive, Julie. You said this med is "not good for your liver" - no need to post "research" to "back up" such a claim, it's on every drug information sheet or leaflet - everyone knows this med has risk to the liver, that does not equate to saying people should avoid it out of hand. This person needs to address their pain for the sake of their health and quality of life, and acetaminophen is, on balance, one of the least problematic analgesics available. As I am sure their doctor or pharmacist will tell them if they care to ask.