Every drug has side effects even my diabetic drugs do. I have arthritis bad in my neck and back, plus i have a disk herniated in two places in my lower back anda pinched nerve as a result, sciatic pain is the norm for me along with a wore out right hip, i've had these conditions for years so i know a little about pain. OTC drugs if abused can lead to liver damage, however if used responsibly can offer relief if needed, i sometimes use ibuprofen, 800mg for my back, if my pain gets excrusiating i have prescription narcotics i use once in a great while . I'm not pushing drugs for pain but neither i'm i antidrug and antidoctor. There are times when all that will work is a pain reliever but i believe that they should only be used when all other measures fail. My first line of defense for the pain my athritis causes me is a hot shower or bath, followed by mild exercise and then go do something to get my mind off the pain.
There is pain that is uncomfortable and then there is pain the makes you feel like hell, that is unbearable, and a whole scale in between. If my pain is just uncomfortable or in the mid range, i never take the drugs, if it's unbearable as to where i'm in agony then i'll take the drugs, but only after all other measures fail. My back and neck cause me pain every day and always will, but the pain doesn't get in the way of making a living or enjoying life.
The abuse of drugs is harmfull but some drugs, alot of people including myself would be dead without the drugs we take for our diabetes or other ailments, so the key is to take them only when you need to.
Mike