Do I wait until the pain is really bad before I take my pain medications?
No! Pain medications are an important part of treating your pain. It is important to treat your pain as early as possible. Controlling your pain early on helps prevent a cycle of stress and increased pain, and pain medications are more likely to work when your pain is less severe. Don’t wait till you cannot possibly bear it any longer before taking your medication.

What medications are out there?
Mild pain can often be controlled with over the counter medication. Moderate to severe pain requires prescription medication. There are many different types of medication, including analgesics (pain medication) and medications which work well combined with analgesics. Talk with you doctor about the best choice for you. Discuss with your doctor and pharmacist what medications you are using to control you pain. It is important for them to monitor the combination of drugs, including over the counter medications and herbal preparations.

Pain medication comes in the form of acetaminophen and anti-inflammatories or NSAIDs for mild to moderate pain, opioid analgesics such a codeine for moderate to severe pain, muscle relaxants combined with an analgesic, and topical analgesic creams and rubs. Some chronic pain is helped by other types of medications like antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs. Talk to your doctor or nurse about these choices.

What about addiction?
Addiction to opioids used to treat chronic pain can occur but is actually uncommon. Chronic pain occurs over a long period of time, and therefore many people rely on opioid analgesics daily to help them manage their pain. A physical dependence on opioids for pain relief is not addiction. Physical dependency occurs with many medications, not only ones for pain, and is solved by slowly lowering your dose before stopping these medications completely. Your doctor will help you with this process.

Addiction to opioids is more likely to occur if you, or a parent or sibling, have had a previous history of addiction to another substance such as alcohol. Slow-release opioids are less likely to cause addiction than fast-acting forms. Your doctor can help you switch over to the slow-release type of opioid if it seems you will require opioids for a long time.