Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain. This correlation is an important finding as researchers discover new ways to treat chronic pain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States. These patients often end up taking narcotic-type pain medication such as morphine, fentanyl or oxycodone.
This study found that patients who required narcotic pain medication, and who also had inadequate levels of vitamin D, were taking much higher doses of pain medication — nearly twice as much — as those who had adequate levels. Similarly, these patients self-reported worse physical functioning and worse overall health perception. In addition, a correlation was noted between increasing body mass index (a measure of obesity) and decreasing levels of vitamin D. Study results were published in a recent edition of Pain Medicine.
“This is an important finding as we continue to investigate the causes of chronic pain,” says Michael Turner, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study. “Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognized source of diffuse pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning. By recognizing it, physicians can significantly improve their patients’ pain, function and quality of life.”
Below is a link to an edited youtube video with Dr. Turner.
5 Comments
I am so impressed with the delivery of health information that can help patients and their physicians. Thank you for your information.
How much Vitamin D would you advise me to take? I take 600mg with my calcium. Thank you.
This is exactly what happened to me! Been well controlled for yrs on same dose of oxcodone until the pain mgmt group wanted me to keep an open mind and try other things. Went thru enormous pain for 3 1/2 months, & was shocked that when I got back on my “regular” dose, it took wks to even begin to touch the pain. I thot I’d almost be “high” from the low of where I had been…My primary doc ordered mineral & vitamin blood work…and sure enough, my Vit D level was low. (I had forgotten to take it with my calcium during this time.) Four wks later…on the Vit D & same dose of oxycodone…am back to baseline control. I can’t wait to take this article to the pain mgmt group…Thanks for your work!
Nationwide, prescription pills have become a societal force. Adults and children rely on them for a growing list of afflictions, including anxiety, depression, even shyness, for which few alternatives were available a generation ago. Nearly half of all Americans take at least one prescription drug, this findrxonline. Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer drug marketing that touts new and expanded uses has become widespread. Adults and children alike are exposed to print, television and radio ads promising happier, more fulfilled lives. For young people, experts say, all these factors appear to have blurred the line between the benefits and dangers of the medications.
Chronic pain opiate narcotics are effective but very dangerous, should be taken in moderation and prescribed by a physician, medications such as Darvocet, hydrocodone, Lortab, Vicodin, Norco, Percocet, OxyContin, are even more commercial and very useful for people with diseases like fibromyalgia, chronic pain, Parkinson’s, arthritis, arthrosis, should be restricted and controlled, as in findrxonline said the FDA does not allow them the freedom to market.
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[...] Thanks for visiting!Yet another study shows that Chronic Pain is a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency. This study, this time from the renowned Mayo Clinic, states that people with low Vitamin D levels use almost [...]