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Acupuncture and Narcotics

Most of our patients who come for acupuncture for pain relief for the first time and are taking “pain medicines”/narcotics express to us that they feel frustrated taking these medicines and they want to discontinue using them.  However, due to the complex nature of pain and how the body responds to narcotics, many patients are unprepared and uninformed on how the body will feel and what they will experience once these medicines are discontinued.  This letter will clarify the role of acupuncture in patients taking narcotics for chronic pain. 

Narcotics are a group of pain relieving drugs that work at the level of the brain to alter the perception of pain.  Narcotic medications include Percocet, Percodan, Lortab, Darvocet, Darvon, and Demerol.  Longer-acting narcotics, such as Methadone, Oxycontin, and MS Contin are commonly prescribed for chronic pain syndromes.  In severe cases of chronic pain, such as cancer pain, the Duragesic (fentanyl) patch is worn on the skin to provide a continuous level of medication for pain relief.

Side effects of narcotics are increased tolerance to the drug, itching, constipation, euphoria, drug addiction, sleepiness, foggy-thinking, and headaches.  Upon discontinuation of the medications, or decrease of the dosages prescribed, withdrawal symptoms may occur.

Acupuncture and narcotics do not mix well together. One explanation for how acupuncture works is that it stimulates the human body’s own production of endogenous endorphins, which are naturally-produced narcotic-like substances.  Taking a narcotic in pill form will suppress the body’s own production of these substances, interfering with acupuncture treatment’s ability to effectively raise endorphin levels.

In general, if you are taking narcotics on an ongoing daily basis for chronic benign pain, acupuncture will work more slowly and less effectively, and may not be the best option for pain management.  However, if you are wishing to eliminate narcotics, acupuncture can be helpful by reducing symptoms of withdrawal when decreasing dosages of narcotics (decrease in body aches, decrease in cravings, decrease in anxiety, and improved sleep).  Auricular acupuncture is performed every few days to decrease withdrawal symptoms.

Pain usually increases when narcotics dosages are decreased.  Acupuncture can help promote your body’s production of endorphins and decrease pain.  This is a process that occurs over several weeks.  It may be necessary to increase the frequency of acupuncture treatments during this time.