Pain management: What aging adults should know about painkillers
Often we associate pain with aging. As we get older, we tend to have more aches and pains in our body, and we assume this is a natural process. The pain may either be acute (begins suddenly and lasts for a short period of time) or chronic (lasts for several months or years).
While everybody experiences acute pain in their lifetime stemming from injury, surgery, or ailments such as an infected tooth or kidney stone, older people are most commonly affected by chronic pain. This pain usually comes from conditions like sciatica or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Sometimes the chronic pain begins after acute pain due to surgery or injury.
Chronic pain can cause degrade quality of life in several ways beyond the obvious. These decreases in quality of life may be things such as pain interrupting activities of daily living, disruption in sleep and eating habits, difficulty working, and depression or anxiety.
It is important to talk with your doctor about any and all pain you are having. Your doctor can then work with you on a treatment plan for your pain. This may involve medication such as common opioids such as codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. You may know these drugs by their brands names Tylenol 3, Vicodin, Loritab, Percocet and OxyContin.
These medications work by acting on opioid receptors in the spinal cord and brain to reduce the intensity of the pain-signal perception. These drugs also affect the areas of the brain the control emotion which further dampens the pain stimuli.
The risk of dependence on or addiction to these types of medications can be high if not taken properly. The risk of side effects is also especially high for older adults with opioids. It is important to discuss these medications thoroughly with your doctor on an ongoing basis.
When prescribed these medications by your doctor, it is important to do the following:
Only take the dosage exactly as prescribed by your doctor
Never mix these medications with alcohol, or other drugs that may be nervous system depressants such as tranquilizers or anxiety medications.
Make sure your doctor knows all of the other medications you take, including over the counter drugs.
Make sure to tell your doctor if you have a personal or family history of substance abuse.
Make sure you dispose of any unused opioid pain medications properly. This will help avoid the risk of addiction for someone else in your family or home. Teens are especially susceptible to this risk as opioids are often used as recreational drugs.
Most individuals who take doctor prescribed opioid medications do not develop an addiction to them. If these medications are taken specifically as directed by your doctor, you are not likely to develop an addiction to them.
If you feel these pain medications aren't working for you, talk to your doctor about it. There may be other avenues you can pursue such as physical therapy or Anodyne Therapy (read more about what these services are here). If you are home-bound and a Medicare recipient, Sunshine Home Care may be able to assist your with these options. Contact us or call us at 1-877-477-2014 for more information. (Learn more about our agency here.)
You can also request to be referred to a pain management specialist to assist with chronic pain.
