William E. Morgan, D.C.

During the summer of 2004, I was exposed to a subculture that hitherto I had not known existed; the subculture was the world of organ transplant recipients. My son and I spent nine days caring for a friend who had received a kidney and pancreas transplant at the University of Chicago. After a few weeks in the hospital he was allowed to move to a nearby extended-stay hotel while his doctors fine-tuned his anti-rejection drug dosages. When my son and I arrived on the floor of the hotel reserved for transplant patients, we were greeted with the overwhelming stench of vomit. Nausea and vomiting were a common side effect of the anti-rejection medications. During the stay with our friend we got to know several of the transplant patients and their families.

Several of their stories were tragic. One woman took the shuttle every morning to see her husband in the hospital. He had rejected his organ shortly after the transplant surgery and what remained of his health and life was ebbing away day-by-day. Another woman had a transplant surgery that had succeeded, but her abdominal incision failed to mend due to the effects of the anti-rejection drugs. So six months after her surgery she had to remain trussed up in bandages lest her intestines spill out onto the ground. Of course there were several happier outcomes with successful transplantations. Our friend had a successful outcome, though he continues to have significant complications.

I share these experiences to humanize a growing epidemic: the high rate of end-stage organ failure that is attributed to NSAID and acetaminophen use. Organ failure is a high price to pay for being uneducated about the ill effects of drugs. A study published in the November 2005 issue of the Journal of Rheumatology demonstrates that the majority of patients taking NSAIDs are not aware of the side effects or complications. I am also convinced that the majority of physicians underestimate the side effects of analgesics. Often when I speak to physician groups I share studies which seem to surprise the audience:

• The death rate from NSAIDs rivals that of AIDS.
• 103,000 people are hospitalized yearly for GI bleeding due to NSAIDs.
• In 1997alone, 16,500 people died from GI bleeding associated with NSAIDs.
• Most NSAIDs inhibit the replication of chondrocytes and the production of GAG (glycosaminoglycan) - potentially worsening degenerative changes of joints.
• NSAIDs do not promote soft tissue healing and may even inhibit bone healing.

When medical doctors realize that their usual and customary treatment for NMS disorders is actually causing iatrogenic disease, they look for other ways to treat their patients in pain such as chiropractic, exercise, and lifestyle modification.

Chiropractors are not alone in their disdain for the overmedication of our society. Groups in gastroenterology and nephrology are also concerned about this phenomenon. Physician groups have organized patient and physician education programs such as: R.E.D.U.C.E. (Risk Education to Decrease Ulcer Complications and their Effects from NSAIDs), American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology. Collaborating with these organizations and these programs can be a good way to protect the health of patients who are tempted to take the medicine bottle approach to pain reduction.

Being integrated does not mean taking a medical orientation or becoming the lapdog of the drug companies. As we integrate into multi-disciplinary clinics and hospitals we need to stand apart as proponents of healthy alternatives to dangerous or unscientific treatments. We need to be advocates to the health care community about drug safety.

More information for consumers about the possible risks associated with NSAIDs is available at The American College of Gastroenterology - The Dangers of Aspirin and NSAIDs.