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SALT LAKE CITY — Pain medication is not designed to remove your pain; it is designed to lower the intensity of pain. Not understanding this fact has led to prescription drug overdose becoming a disturbing trend across the U.S. in recent years.
“Overdoses involving prescription painkillers — a class of drugs that includes but not limited to hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, oxycontin and oxymorphone — are a public health epidemic,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states.
Prescription pain medications work by binding with receptor cells in your body chemistry to decrease the sensation of pain. Some pain medication will work for some people, but give no relief for others. This is related to their chemical makeup.
Too many people think if a prescribed dosage of pain medicine does not take the pain away, they should take more. Others think they need to take the pain medicine the way it is prescribed, no matter what, to prevent severe pain. Both of these assumptions are wrong and can be dangerous.
Here are seven rules for using prescription pain medication I think every person should be aware of in order to stay safe:
- Your name is important. The only person who should use a prescription painkiller is the person it is prescribed for. Selling or sharing these drugs with others helps to increase misuse and abuse. It is also considered an illegal act.
- Less is more. Your health care provider should have a clear understanding of what your medication will and can do, as well as the safe dosage to prescribe for you. If the prescribed dose is too much or too frequent and makes you sleep all the time, it is too much for you. Reduce the amount and frequency immediately. Pain prescription amounts and types are a guess of which will work best for you, not an exact science.
- Watch for bad reactions. Some narcotics will make you itch. Even if you don’t experience a full-blown allergic reaction (i.e. hives or anaphalaxis), itching is another way your body chemistry is telling you the pain medication needs to be changed.
- Eat something. Because of the irritation to the stomach, all pain medications need to be taken with food. An even better suggestion is to eat, and then wait 15 to 20 minutes to take your pain medication. This will help prevent nausea and vomiting.
- Know of extra risks. Other unrelated health conditions may need to be considered when you take a prescribed painkiller. For example, if you have sleep apnea you need to use extreme caution when taking any kind of pain medication. You must wear your CPAP or BiPAP equipment when taking the medication before sleeping. Not doing so can be life-threatening. As a general rule, if you cannot wear your respiratory equipment, you cannot have pain medication.
- Store safely. Store prescription painkillers in a secure place, and then dispose of them after they are no longer needed. Teenagers and substance abusers often steal medications from parents and friends to use as a recreational drug.
- Get help early. If you do suspect you or a loved one may be developing a substance abuse problem because of painkiller use, get help early. These problems do not get better on their own. In fact, they get worse without intervention and treatment.
Utah has one of the highest rates in the country for prescription overdose deaths by prescription drugs. When I educate on pain management issues and concerns I have, I emphasize that no one dies from pain; they die from poor pain management.
Contributing: Jordan Ormond
Suzanne Carlile, "Nurse Suzy," has been a nurse since 1982. Her main focus is critical care and nursing education. She holds a master's degree in nursing, is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and a member of NNSDO Intermountain West Chapter.
