Here are some possible complications that too many painkillers could cause in the long run.

Are You Addicted?

Your body may not be addicted to painkillers but, your mind certainly is. You may feel the need to pop in two painkillers at a time in order relieve the pain.

Self-medication and increase of dosage could cause serious harm.

Physically your body might not be addicted to painkillers but psychological dependence is a possibility.

A clear sign of dependence is when you pop in a painkiller and immediately start feeling the difference.

If you are a regular with pain killers at times your body is immune to them

If you take a painkiller empty stomach or after a light meal there are chances you could feel dizzy,nauseous,stomach pain acompanied with acidity.

Kidney Failure

Long term and frequent use of painkillers is likely to cause kidney shrinkage and other functional kidney disorders.

In severe cases, it could lead to chronic renal failure. "The mechanism of the painkiller targets certain molecules in our body that restrict the supply of blood to the kidney, leading to all sorts of acute and chronic renal failures," says Dr. Sirsat R. A, Nephrologist, P. D. Hinduja Hospital.

A No, No During Pregnancy

During the first trimester of your pregnancy, your baby's vital organs start to form. It is very important to avoid painkillers at this time.

The medicine is likely to cross the placenta and reach the baby's bloodstream. Painkillers could lead to various forms of abnormalities in your pregnancy and the baby might suffer developmental delays.

Your baby's growth may get altered and it can also lead to closing of the major arteries of the baby's heart.

Bleeding and Anaemia

Gastric bleeding is a very common effect of a painkiller overdose. You might suffer from several other stomach-related problems such as acidity.

"Gastric bleeding leads to anaemia and other blood loss-related problems such as blood dyscrazias (lowering of the blood platelet count)," says Dr. Deepu Banerjee, Consulting Neurosurgeon, Wockhardt Hospital.

Pain Relief Without Pain Killers

Dr. Mahendra Navre, Surgical Oncologist, Jaslok Hospital gives you a few easy ways to tackle pain.

• Treat the underlying diseases instead of taking painkillers.For example, Migraine causes severe pain, instead of taking painkillers constantly treat the root cause and have the specific medicines that are prescribed for migraine. Don't use pain killers as a remedy.
• De-stress at the end of the day. Maximum painkillers are consumed for stress-related pains and other pains caused due to lifestyle problems such as long hours of work.
• If you suffer from orthopaedic pains, then don't discontinue the exercises that you have been asked to do.
• Try a local painkiller patch that work locally on the area of the pain. These are much safer as they work from outside and have nothing to do with your internal organs.

Every pain has a cause and a specific remedy, so a general painkiller is not advisable. Consult your doctor and get the root cause treated.