Ok so I know that muscle growth occurs when small tears are created in the muscle as you work out, and the muscle is expanded in size as these tears are repaired. That is a very simplified explanation of course, but that is kind of the bare minimum summary.

So my question is if painkillers, meaning basic anit-inflammatorys and other otc's like tylenol or advil can interfere with this process.

This question probable stems from me having no clue exactly how such painkillers work, and effect your body, but this is merely a point of interest that I have been wondering about. I very rarely use any pain killers or otc meds, but I was thinking about this and couldnt help but ask.

Any ideas?

I HAVE NO IDEA. Opinion = any drug is destructive to muscles

NSAIDs lower the Adrogen receptors sensitivity to Androgens in........lower absorbtion of your test or cycle! plus it lowers prostoglandins the pro inflamation our body produces naturally which start a cascade of hormones being released into the tissue!

not to mention they CAN and DO cause ulcers...especially in the doses athletes take them. Ichiro has an ulcer right now and I have to believe NSAID's are the culprit. I've also heard they raise cortisol levels, cortisol being the body's main anti-inflammitory. cortisol = bad for our goals. I'd rather take tramadol every time I had a headache, but the FDA would rather us damage our bodies with toxic anti-inflammitories than let us have over the counter access to a harmless, mild, yet effective opiate. Got to love America.

tramadol is not actually an opiate

so are opiates not damaging to are androgen receptors and all that. Not damaging to our goals??

so by the sound of it, yes they do interfere with muscle growth?

Originally Posted by thaOrleanyte

tramadol is not actually an opiate

good call...I was always under the impression that it was a mild and synthetic opiate that acted on other systems as well. Now that I google it I see that it does act on opiod receptors, but clearly different in chemical structure from opiates. I guess the term I was goin for was analgesic. The government would rather us take physically harmful NSAID's that mild analgesics such as tramadrol or soma. Pisses me off, personally.

Originally Posted by buster0371

so are opiates not damaging to are androgen receptors and all that. Not damaging to our goals??

This is from a study by JP Sheridan and JM Buchanan (don't want to follow proper works cited protocol, sorry)

Many heroin addicts and addicts on methadone treatment exhibit sexual dysfunction. It is believed that the primary site of action of the opiates is the hypothalamic-hypophyseal system. Although it is not known how the opiates might alter the hypothalamic-hypophyseal system, it has recently been suggested that the opiates might mimic the steroids by binding to steroid hormone receptors. To test this hypothesis, in vivo autoradiographic studies and in vitro biochemical studies were conducted to see if the binding of androgen to receptors in the central nervous system would be affected by the opiates. In the autoradiographic studies, animals were treated for 10 days with saline, morphine sulfate (50 mg/kg), or methadone hydrochloride (10 mg/kg) and then injected with 3H-dihydrotestosterone (DHT-0.5 microgram/100 grams body weight). The animals were killed 1 hour later and their brains were removed and processed for autoradiography. No significant effects of opiates on nuclear uptake and retention of androgen by the limbic system were found. In the in vitro binding studies, 3H-DHT (5 X 10(9) M) and 3H-estradiol (5 X 10(-9) M) were incubated with cytosol prepared from brain in the presence of varying concentrations of morphine sulfate (10(-3) - 10(-9) M) and methadone hydrochloride (10(-3) - 10(-9) M). Using three different assay systems (LH-20, hydroxylapatite, and sucrose density gradient centrifugation), no consistent effects of opiates on steroid binding to its receptor could be demonstrated. These data along with previously reported data suggest that the opiates do not induce sexual dysfunction by interacting with steroid receptors.


IMO opiates are far less damaging to our bodies and goals than NSAID's. However, since they make one feel good, they must be bad and put under strict control laws. Our government wouldn't want our people feeling good or anything, they couldn't handle that.

lol true dat. i think the reason i cant bust a nut on vicodin or other opiates is because my **** is too numb. BUT IT IS SOLD AS A ROCK THOUGH.

excuse my vulgarity

haha I know what you mean...especially if you're already on PH's...having an orgasm while taking opiates (which I, personally happen to be quite fond of) is a rare occurence. You become a stud as far as she's concerned though. That's a plus.

Originally Posted by indianballer

haha I know what you mean...especially if you're already on PH's...having an orgasm while taking opiates (which I, personally happen to be quite fond of) is a rare occurence. You become a stud as far as she's concerned though. That's a plus.

Hahahaha...AMEN to that! Had many an experience as well..hehe..but it has also been shown that the body heals itself faster when not in pain, so I would say that despite the liver toxicity the Opiate painkillers have (since most are mixed with Acetaminophen) should not effect your muscle growth....just F' up your liver.

I love a good 2 or 3 vicodin buzz as much as the next man but with everything we take that puts any bit of strain on our livers its risky to mix. Its that Acetaminophen sh!t. Honda or Sony needs to come out with the steel liver.

look at the wwf ..those guys abused steroids and painkiller for many years of their lives, they look alright

oxycontin makes me huge!

pros: i can last hours while slamin my chick
cons: doesnt feel as good be atleast shes happy.... so not really a con

Have your doc prescribe you 10/325 norcos


thank me later!

(low acetaminophen, high opiate! **** those 5/500 bull****s!

heroin is the ultimate pain killer

Originally Posted by buster0371

heroin is the ultimate pain killer

yea and we all know your sitting there smoking it right now
disscusting.

pain killers and working out dont mix

A string of local college athletes have become hooked on prescription pain medication dating back to the 1980s. Some moved to cheaper street drugs like heroin. They begged, borrowed and stole to feed their habits. They washed out of sports and school. They ruined relationships. They landed in jail. At least two died.

anyway your cutting one pain but gaining another either way
****s you up big time while working out
weak muscles, injuries, muscle break down, etc. cant see damage as fast on the outside as the inside

you can get a crookid ddicck while your on that **** from beating it so many times dieing to bust your nut. :/
hope you all get a crookid ****

Be happy you can take painkillers, much less use them to help you work out. Being allergic to 90% of them im stuck with extremely low doses of ibuprofen. lol

Opiates kill your appetite (at least mine.) They should only be used when they NEED to be used, not recreationally.

Recreational use of opiates is basically playing with fire. If you think you can control the habit, think again!

Originally Posted by buster0371

heroin is the ultimate pain killer

Yes when you overdose and die, there is truly no more pain.

Except for your family and friends.

Originally Posted by wbted23

Ok so I know that muscle growth occurs when small tears are created in the muscle as you work out, and the muscle is expanded in size as these tears are repaired. That is a very simplified explanation of course, but that is kind of the bare minimum summary.

So my question is if painkillers, meaning basic anit-inflammatorys and other otc's like tylenol or advil can interfere with this process.

This question probable stems from me having no clue exactly how such painkillers work, and effect your body, but this is merely a point of interest that I have been wondering about. I very rarely use any pain killers or otc meds, but I was thinking about this and couldnt help but ask.

Any ideas?

To directly answer your question:

opiates work off the opiate receptors in the brain and do not have anti-inflammatory properties.

and I think the whole tylenol/advil thing hurting muscle gains is a bunch of BS. If I do a 20 rep squat day, no matter how many tylenol I take, I'm still going to hurt, and I'm still going to get huge.

Thats-my-word

If you have a really foward thinking doctor you can get opiates w/o the NSAIDs mixed in! Just complain about stomach cramps or something an liver concerns! It's hard for them to prescribe because those prescriptions are watched like a hawk! The Goverment could care less about your liver they just dont want you hooked on opiates (then u dont work) ie no tax revenue

Originally Posted by bigzach1234

look at the wwf ..those guys abused steroids and painkiller for many years of their lives, they look alright

True, but Christ knows how they get out of bed each morning and at what time. I would imagine, staggering and walking tippy toe all ***** up until they drink a hundred cups of coffee, sit on the couch forever and 3 days later they're ready for their match or TV interview.

Opiates do not have any effect on muscle growth. The reason why you see heroin addicts all skinny and run down is because of malnutrition. You don't give a **** about eating if you're an opiate (heroin, vicodin, oxy) addict. You nod off and and sleep pretty much 75% of the time. Getting your proper protein and workout for the day is the last thing on your mind, along with anything else besides getting your fix. It's a horrible horrible addiction. Opiates are seconded to benzos in terms of withdrawal symptoms which can even lead to death in some people without proper withdrawal treatment. Coupla vic's every now and then ain't a biggy, but don't make it a habit! Its very easy to build up a tolerance and dependence with opiates.