Medications

Most patients with chronic pain will use pain medication to help manage their pain condition.

5 Tips for medication use:

1. Carefully read the prescription drug medicine information sheets (provided by pharmacy)
2. Double check each time with pharmacist to make sure that your medication is correct.
3. Check yourself each time you pull the medication from the medicine cabinet.
4. Take medications exactly as directed by your doctor
5. Use the same pharmacy for all of your prescriptions to avoid confusion

Do you notice yourself:

• Needing increasingly larger doses to achieve the same level of comfort?
• Using more pain medication than was prescribed by your doctor?
• Using more than one doctor for your pain medication?
• Using your pain medication with other substances (such as alcohol)?
• Using your pain medication for any reason other than prescribed (such as for relief of anxiety)?

If you answered yes to any of these questions it is recommended that you discuss the results with your doctor.

Do you have:

• The right medication
• For the right person
• In the right amount
• At the right time
• In the right way