DR ELLIE CANNON: Pain pills got rid of sciatica but caused headaches

ASK DR ELLIE CANNON: Pain pills got rid of my sciatica… but they’ve given me headaches

A few months ago I was diagnosed with sciatica after suffering severe pain in my back, hip and leg. 

My consultant prescribed a course of pregabalin – which worked wonders – and told me to reduce my dose gradually to finish, rather than stop dead. 

I cut back to one tablet per day and then one every other day. Immediately I developed a continuous headache. I told my consultant, who instructed me to stop completely, but I still have the headache, which has lasted for five weeks. 

I can’t sleep, and I feel depressed and irritable. My back is better, but how long will these other problems last?

A woman who used pregabalin to heal her sciatica is now suffering from headaches (file image)

Pregabalin is a specific type of painkiller used for nerve pain, of which sciatica is an example. Originally developed as an anti-epilepsy medication, it works on pain messaging within the brain.

Considered to be very effective with nerve pains that have not responded to other medications, it is therefore often used in hospital pain clinics or with specialists.

Medications never come without risks and withdrawal from pregabalin is known to exist, even at low doses.

Health hacks: Hand-write notes to boost your memory

We are all two-finger typists these days, but if you really want what you’ve written to sink in, grab a pen as you’re more likely to recall the material later.

In a 2016 study, researchers at the University of California and University of Princeton found that those who used laptops for note-taking in lectures did less well when tested to see what they had retained and understood of the material.

The researchers say that writing requires us to process and summarise the key points of information and this in turn promotes better retention and understanding of the material.

Typists often took down more notes in total – effectively transcribing the words they heard – but they processed it more superficially without real understanding of the meaning. 

Further experiments showed that students using laptops are also more likely to distract fellow pupils from the lecture or lesson, negatively affecting their performance.

It is not well documented in scientific literature as yet because pregabalin use is limited to the past decade, but there are many case studies and anecdotes that describe withdrawal symptoms from pregabalin, such as anxiety, mood swings, a racing heartbeat and confusion. Headaches, hallucinations and jitteriness are also recorded. The symptoms are thought to be like withdrawing from benzodiazepine drugs such as Valium.

A withdrawal headache should be less likely to occur if you taper down the medication. Withdrawal symptoms should last only a few days so prolonged headaches or other symptoms should be reviewed with a GP or pain specialist.

For the last 18 months I’ve suffered from an itchy ear canal, which is interrupting my sleep. My only relief is to insert Canesten cream and rake my ear with a hair grip. I feel this is a silly ailment to bother my GP with.

Itchy ears and other ear canal ailments are very common reasons to see a GP. They are not trivial concerns. As well as being a nuisance, they can affect hearing and cause serious infections.

The ear canal is lined with skin and that can be irritated just like skin in any other area.

Typically within the ears it is wax that causes irritation. Ear wax should be relatively moist so it can pass easily out of the ear, but when it is dry and clogged up, it can lead to itchiness.

• 
  ASK DR ELLIE CANNON: Why can’t I clear the big lump in my…

  
  ‘The suitcase is packed’: Jewish TV doctor Ellie Cannon…

Share this article

Softening the wax with pharmacy-bought drops can relieve the problem. Skin problems within the ear can be treated with careful application of creams such as emollients and steroids directly into the ear canal.

Scratching the ear with clips and cotton buds is best avoided as they graze the skin, making an infection more likely.

Put laxatives out of reach in shops 

Eating disorder charity Beat is calling for regulations on the sale of laxatives, which are commonly abused by people suffering an eating disorder.

Dr Ellie Cannon (pictured) says laxatives should be put behind the counter as people with eating disorders are abusing them

Regulating the sales of laxatives to put them behind the counter or subject to an age or quantity limit is an excellent idea: last year 412 people were admitted to hospital with laxative overdose. Other over- the-counter drugs that are commonly abused are sedative antihistamines and decongestants. Perhaps these need looking at too?

My salute to the first aid heroes 

I was humbled last week to attend the St John Ambulance Everyday Hero Awards, which honours ordinary Britons who have used first aid to save lives.

I presented an award to Gary and Ellis Kerr: during a round of golf, the father-and-son heroes saved a man’s life using CPR. Ellis was just seven at the time.

The Mail on Sunday and St John Ambulance are celebrating this year after the announcement that from 2020, all state schools will be required to teach first aid as part of health education.

A Swedish study could improve our understanding of burning mouth syndrome, a common issue for middle-aged women. The study found that sufferers have more allergies, a higher chance of skin disease and are more likely to be teeth-grinders than pain-free control subjects. This may hold the key to newer treatments.

Loneliness is not just a sad fact of our evolving society, it is actually a genuine health concern and, according to Age UK, the problem is worsening.

As a result of lengthening lifespans, care cuts and dispersed families, the charity predicts that two million over-50s will suffer profound loneliness by 2025.

Isolation has a direct impact on health: research shows that having more or better quality relationships is related to a reduced risk of mortality in the elderly.

Fundamentally, humans are social creatures, and we need that contact to feel healthy as well as happy.

We’d see ‘bunny boiler’ Alex differently now

Her iconic role as the jilted Alex Forrest in the 1988 film Fatal Attraction earned Glenn Close an Oscar nomination.

The movie also spawned the term ‘bunny boiler’ – defined by the Oxford English Dictionary definition as ‘a jealous or obsessive woman… considered desperate or dangerous’ – thanks to the scene in which Alex boils her ex-lover’s family pet.

But last week Close claimed that if she were asked to play the part today, she would approach it differently.

Her role as the jilted Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction earned Glenn Close an Oscar nomination

The character Alex is clearly mentally ill and Close, 71, believes the story stigmatised a serious health problem by showing the things she does, including self-harm, as causeless and one-dimensional.

A similar tale told now would acknowledge that behaviour such as this is typically the result of abuse, rather than portraying Alex as a psychopathic monster.

Like Close, I’d like to think if Fatal Attraction were remade, the same kind of understanding and sympathy would be displayed to Alex as we now offer many others suffering the mental-health consequences of trauma.

Source: Read Full Article