Instead of Harmful Drugs, Try Supplements for Chronic Pain Treatment.

Alternative remedies for chronic pain treatment, not prescription or over-the-counter medications, should be your first choice to control chronic pain, says James Braly, M.D., an allergy specialist in Boca Raton, Florida."Except in the case of extreme pain, such as the acute pain of multiple bone fractures or the chronic pain of terminal cancer, there is rarely a reason to use conventional painkilling drugs to control chronic pain to the exclusion of alternative methods," Dr. Braly states.

What's wrong with using medications to relieve chronic pain? Side effects from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) kill more than 7,000 people every year and harm thousands more, according to a national study commissioned by the American Gastroenterological Association and GD Searle and Company.

And, Dr. Braly says, there are alternative remedies that can be just as effective as prescription and over-the-counter medications in controlling chronic pain. (Check with your doctor before discontinuing any prescription medications, however.)

5-HTP: Tell Your Brain to Feel Less Pain
This natural substance (its full name is 5-hydroxytryptophan) boosts the levels of a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, called serotonin. When you're low in serotonin, you have a lower threshold of pain. You experience pain more quickly, more severely, and for a longer period of time than people who have normal levels, says Dr. Braly.

Plus, higher levels of serotonin help you sleep more deeply. "Deep sleep is an anti-pain phenomenon," Dr. Braly says. "People who sleep poorly are more prone to chronic pain."
Doctors have used 5-HTP to end the pain of fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, and arthritis-like symptoms. "By increasing your serotonin with 5-HTp' you may be able to reduce or even eliminate chronic pain," Dr. Braly says. He recommends taking 200 milligrams or less a day. But since it is still experimental, and the long-term effects are unknown, don't take it without a doctor's guidance. .

VITAMIN B6: Another Serotonin Booster

This vitamin is a "co-factor" for the production of serotonin, says Dr. Braly. "Scientific studies show that vitamin B6 helps clear up chronic pain and chronic pain syndromes," he says. He recommends taking a high-potency B-complex supplement that supplies a daily dose of 50 milligrams of most of the B vitamins.

MSM: Get the Pain-Relieving Sulfur
Your Body Needs Do you eat lots of processed foods? Are you under constant stress?
Then you're a typical American. Those two lifestyle factors rob your body of sulfur, a crucial anti-inflammatory, tissue-healing, anti-pain nutrient, Dr. Braly says.

"It is my opinion that sulfur is an essential nutrient that conventional medicine has overlooked," he says. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) helps heal connective tissue, aids in the production of pain-relieving, detoxifying sulfur-containing amino acids, and dramatically decreases inflammation.
Various sulfur-containing supplements can help relieve arthritis pain, "but MSM is the best sulfur donor of all supplements and has the strongest ability to relieve pain," Dr. Braly says. "MSM should be part of the healing therapy for anyone with chronic pain." As a starting dose, he recommends 500 milligrams three times a day.

BOSWELLIA: A Powerful Anti-Inflammatory
The herb boswellia blocks the production of inflammatory substances called leukotrienes, thus reducing inflammation and pain, says Dr. Braly. "And, unlike NSAIDs, it doesn't pose the risk of GI bleeding, ulceration, and kidney failure." He recommends taking 250 milligrams
, three or four times a day as long as you have pain. Look for a product that's standardized to contain 37.5 to 65 percent boswellic acids, the active ingredients in the herb.

TURMERIC: Mellow with Yellow
The Indian spice turmeric, an ingredient in some kinds of mustard, is rich in a substance called curcumin, which can reduce the joint swelling, stiffness, and chronic pain of arthritis as well as or better than NSAIDs, but without the side effects, says Dr. Braly.
Curcumin relieves pain by blocking a number of inflammatory processes in the body and improving circulation to the painful area. Dr. Braly recommends taking a 200-milligram supplement two or three times a day until you are pain-free.

BROMELAIN: Speed Blood Flow to Injured Tissue
Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme, a substance that digests proteins. It also can "digest" small blood clots in the body, improving blood flow to chronically injured and painful areas, says Dr. Braly. And as a bonus, it's an anti-inflammatory.
For chronic pain, he recommends 500 milligrams a day. Look for a product with at least 1,200 mcu (milk-clotting units, a scientific measurement of bromelain's strength).

ZINC: A Pain-Causing Deficiency Is Common
Inadequate levels of zinc in the body can cause chronic pain and inflammation, a tendency toward upper respiratory infections, and delayed healing, Dr. Braly says. Such deficiencies are quite common, particularly among people over 50 (zinc levels drop as you age) and people who eat a lot of gluten cereals as found in baked goods, crackers, chips, bread, and pasta. For chronic pain, he recommends taking a daily supplement that provides 25 to 50 milligrams of zinc. Drop the daily dosage down to about 15 milligrams (which is about what is in a daily multivitamin supplement) when the pain is gone.

For Post Surgical Pain, Try Glutamine.
It's a sad scenario that's familiar to surgeons. A patient (usually over age 60) has major surgery and heals poorly, perhaps has a chronic infection, may have muscle wasting, and is always in pain. The problem is called post surgical chronic pain syndrome, and some surgeons are preventing it with a nutrient that you can take safely and easily on your own.

It's an amino acid called glutamine, the primary fuel for the lining of the small intestine. Under the stress of surgery, this lining can become permeable, or leaky, triggering all kinds of problems that lead to post surgical chronic pain, says James Braly, M.D., an allergy specialist in Boca Raton, Florida. "Getting supplemental glutamine in the diet protects the intestinal lining by, among other things, boosting the production of protein (which helps prevent muscle wasting), enhancing the absorption of nutrients, increasing the amount of growth hormone (a natural painkilling substance manufactured by the body), stimulating the immune system, and accelerating the healing and detoxification process;' he says.

Beginning 2 weeks before surgery, patients should add a rounded teaspoon (about 4 grams) of glutamine powder to an a-ounce glass of water and take it three to five times a day, for a daily intake of 12 to 20 grams. They should continue this dosage after surgery until any pain and inflammation are gone. Thereafter, Dr. Braly recommends a maintenance dose of 4 to a grams a day for those who drink alcohol, take non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications for any reason, exercise vigorously, are under a lot of stress, or are HIV-positive. Glutamine has no side effects, but people who have end-stage liver failure or kidney failure should not use it, Dr. Braly says.