Managing Pain

There are three general rules of pain management to always keep in mind.

1. Don’t try to be too tough or act "macho". Untreated pain takes a toll on the body, forcing it to expend a lot of energy fighting it.

2. There might be a very simple solution to the pain. Some very simple and easy to take medications might be enough to ease the pain.

3. Don’t worry about becoming addicted to pain medication. The most common reason that doctors are afraid to prescribe strong pain medications and that people are afraid to take them is fear of addiction. But that’s mostly because people don’t understand the differences between addiction, physical dependence, and tolerance.

Addiction is a psychological and behavioral syndrome in which there is continual or increasing use of a drug despite negative physical, psychological, or social consequences. Taking pain medications to feel healthier and stronger would seem to be exactly the opposite of addictive behavior.

Someone who is physically dependent upon a drug will not be able to cope with its loss if it is stopped or if the dose is lowered too rapidly, and symptoms of withdrawal will be seen. This is why doses of strong pain medications are usually tapered, or gradually lowered, before stopping, giving the body a chance to adjust to its loss.

After using a certain drug for a long period of time, the body will become tolerant to it, to the point where the drug is no longer effective. Slowly increasing the doses over time can help to avoid the onset of tolerance, but that’s only a temporary measure, and you’ll likely have to switch to a medication that works in a slightly different manner before you can find relief.

Note that every pain medication, like all other medications, has its own set of side effects. Constipation is the most common side effect of pain medication use; other side effects can include nausea and vomiting, sleepiness, and confusion. Knowing which side effects to expect can help decide how best to deal with them.

Additional Reading:

Chapter 8: Managing Bone Metastases and Pain