Symptoms of a Drug Prescription
Self-Care
Managing Your Pain
By Nikki and Anne Heart ♥ July 4, 2024
*Although we wrote this post together, we have chosen to present the following through Mom’s eyes.
How often do you go for that quick fix when you experience pain?
We all know how easy it is to pop a pill to get relief from that wicked headache pain you want to get rid of fast.
I admit I go for that quick pain relief, because isn’t that what the pill is for.
The truth is do we actually know or even think about where the pain is coming from?
Let’s begin by exploring what pain is.
What is pain?
I started to think about pain after reading the “The War on Chronic Pain” by Jessica Migala in the AARP Bulletin, June 2024 edition.
After reading this article, I started digging deeper into what exactly pain is.
Pain is broken down into two categories:
- Acute Pain is instant pain. It is the pain you experience when you cut yourself, break a bone, have inflammation in your body, etc. It can be intense and severe or mild and uncomfortable, but it typically resolves as your body heals from the cause.
- Chronic Pain is pain that lasts much longer, months or even years. Unlike acute pain, the cause may not be clear. It can occur with a long illness or damage to and dysfunction of your nervous system. Sometimes if happens without any obvious reason.
Most of us have experienced some form of pain in our lifetime whether acute or chronic pain.
And when we seek help for our pain from a health care provider, most often the first thing that is offered is a drug prescription.
I don’t discredit this. Of course, at times a medication is needed.
But is a drug appropriate for every individual and for every pain they have?
Everyone is unique.
Not only do we all experience pain differently, but we all tolerate pain medication differently as well.
How does pain and pain medication affect us?
For me, I feel I probably have a high tolerance to pain or maybe I just have convinced myself I do.
I generally don’t like taking any type of medication. It tends to make me nauseous and zombie like.
When I recently had my hip replaced, I only took acetaminophen, and this got me through the pain.
However, my surgeon prescribed oxycodone even though I stated I didn’t want it, and I indeed didn’t need it.
On the other hand, my husband had knee replacement, and he took oxycodone. I agreed he needed it, but I closely supervised it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s obvious pain affects us differently.
So, treating pain has to be individualized.
Next, let’s take a look at the types of pain relievers available to date.
What are pain relievers?
According to the definition in MedlinePlus, pain relievers are medicines that reduce and relieve headaches, sore muscles, arthritis or other aches and pain.
The type of pain you have determines how the pain will respond to the medicine.
It is also essential to keep in mind that each person will have a different response to a pain reliever.
Pain relievers can either be over the counter (OTC) or prescription.
The two types of OTC pain medicines are:
- Acetaminophen
- Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Prescription pain medicines are:
- NSAIDs in a stronger formula
- Topical Creams
- Oral Steroids
- Anticonvulsants
- Depressants
- Anti-depressants
- Muscle Relaxants
- Opioids
Taking a closer look at pain and treatment
I have learned over the years that it is very important to determine where the pain is coming from.
We all recognize that when we break a bone, of course we will experience pain.
Recognizing that your mental health can cause physical pain is very important.
What you should also be aware of is that your brain learns from past experiences.
If you had pain from a previous injury, even though your new injury might not be as bad, your brain would treat it the same way.
I believe this is extremely important to recognize. You may not need that pain reliever this time even if your brain is telling you otherwise.
It is beneficial to stop and think “Do I really need to take a pain reliever now?”
Maybe a non-drug pain management program will help at this time.
Types of Non-Drug Pain Management
Start by looking into different non-drug treatments that can help your pain.
Some alternative- treatments include:
- Mindfulness
- Meditation
- Physical therapy
- Relaxation therapy
- Massage therapy
- Electrical stimulation
- Acupuncture
- Psychotherapy (talk therapy)
- Surgery
- Self-care
You have to be aware that not all treatments will work for everyone.
And most of the time, the treatment is not a cure.
Even when taking a pain medication, it helps relieve the pain but isn’t a cure for the pain.
“We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.”
-Winstan Churchill –
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Note: All information in “Nikki’s Story” are based on detail journals covering seven years of Nikki’s life on prescription drugs.
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