Painkillers and antidepressants combined increase the risk of brain bleeding
Sometimes it feels nice when we can play with our brains, numb them until we can get some goodnight sleep or boost them with stimulant impulses to take advantage of the energy they send back to our bodies. But this back and forth game can bring serious consequences to our brain functions and turn our minds and bodies into fried material. A new study suggests that taking painkillers along with antidepressants may cause bleeding into your brain and that is as dramatic as it sounds.
Antidepressants combined with substances such as ibuprofen or naproxen seriously increase the risk of brain hemorrhage. This comes as no surprise if we come to think about it, as both ranges of pills are known to play with our brains, antidepressants at a more serious level. Basically anything that proceeds with changes in our brain functions may bring some serious consequences. Some greater than others, as the recent study reveals.
The study was performed by a team of researchers based in Korea. They together embarked on a mission to compare the risk of brain bleeding among individuals treated with antidepressants, with and without non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).
Research was based on record files of patients who were prescribed painkillers along with antidepressants. Hospital records were analyzed to identify the exact time of admission with intracranial hemorrhage within 30 days of a new drug prescription recipe. The team of experts also took into account factors such as age, sex and use of other medication.
It is well known that more often than not, depression and chronic pain go hand in hand, hence millions of people are exposed to taking the two ranges of medication together. The study results are extremely insightful although the research was based solely on the analysis of NSAIDS, so the analyzed doses could have been higher than what one might regularly buy over-the-counter. Although the results could be based on an extreme, the study is bound to raise serious and legitimate questions about whether it is advisable to combine the two types of drugs at all.
People who take both treatments are exposed to a 60% greater risk of brain bleeding compared to people who take antidepressants only. No serious difference was highlighted concerning risks among the different types of antidepressants.
High risk of intracranial bleeding is especially heightened in men who are used to taking both antidepressants and anti-inflammatory pills. Doctors observed a 2.6 times higher risk for the above mentioned individuals, compared to men who take antidepressants alone. The risk for women was set to 1.2 times higher, compared to those who were prescribed only one type of medication.
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