pain medicine effectiveness

[sugav38]

what is wrong when they do not work effectively any more.

[zyborg]

ya and 30% of chronic pain patients....smoke pot.....and are not on perscription drugs at all....lol

[sugav38]

thank you femmy29 you have given me a piece of mind

[femmy29]

You should have no worries about addiction.  Addiction is a psychological disease that despite the continued self destruction from taking large amounts of medications to get high, the person continues to use and use until there is no longer a high because they have built a massive tolerance from taking 5 to 10 times (many times much more than this) of what a compliant chronic pain patient takes for pain.  At this point, using only has one purpose...to feel normal.

As long as you are taking your medications as prescribed and for pain, you are not addicted.  Be sure to discuss any medication changes with your doctor first before taking more and you will be fine.  Only 1-3% of chronic pain patients actually become addicted to their pain medications.

femmy

[sugav38]

thank you so much for the reply i am new to this and you have answered a major question for me. i was worried about addiction.

[femmy29]

Hi and welcome to the community.

I am sorry to hear that your pain medications are not working as effectively as they used too.  Rest assured that this is normal and happens to most of us during the management of chronic pain.  It is not unusual to require regular dose titrations and even sometimes a rotation from one medication to a different medication.  

One reason behind why your medication isn't effective anymore is called Tolerance.  Over time, your body gets used to a particular dosage and requires more medication to achieve the same level of analgesia (pain relief).  Another reason behind the reducing effectiveness of your medications is that your pain has worsened.  I have encountered both scenarios.  

If the reduced effectiveness of your medications is causing increased pain that is intolerable or more pain than you would like to tolerate, I encourage to talk to your doctor about this to see if you need a medication titration or if a switch to a different medication at equivalent strength would be helpful in the management of your pain.  Another option is to add another medication for management of chronic pain such as an anti-depressant, anti-convulsant, or muscle relaxer.  Adding one or more of these types of medications have been effective at bringing pain levels back down to the therapeutic range or the range where you feel the medications are working effectively.

femmy

[zyborg]

it means you are,taking to many.....not at a time, but over time. your body has got to use to having them....whatever drugs your taking sometimes its good to give it a rest.....and lets be clear im talking about PAIN MEDS ........ive had a parianal absess removed in the past couple days and no pain medication ....at all ......was required for me.im not a doctor but what isnt working??and consult your doctor before you change any dosage on your medication.