Weighing the Pros and Cons of Taking Certain Pain Medication

Written By: Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead, LMFT, ACRPS, CADC-II Date: February 3rd, 2010. Topic: Member Blogs.

Some pain disorders require pharmacological (prescription drug) interventions. Other conditions may respond to over-the-counter medications like aspirin or ibuprofen. Still other conditions may need a combination of both. However, some pain disorders can be effectively treated without any chemical interventions at all.

It’s important to remember that any psychoactive medication could be problematic for people with a genetic or personal history of an addictive disorder. Unfortunately, there may be times when opiate (or opioid) medication management is needed, but there are risks. I think it’s important to be aware of both the benefits and potential consequences of using opiate medications for chronic pain management.

Pros and Cons of Opioid Medication Management

Opioids have been shown to effectively reduce cancer and acute pain conditions and they can also share a role in the management of chronic pain.
Opioids may be inappropriate for patients with substance use disorders or a history of those problems. If any psychoactive medications are used, providers must take special precautions.
Concerns about side effects, such as functional impairment and physical inactivity, as well as concerns about physical or psychological dependence, must be taken into consideration when using opioids for chronic pain management.
Physical dependence is a physiological adaptation to a substance, defined by a growing tolerance for its effects and/or withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or ends.
Psychological dependence (often called addiction) is a primary, chronic, neurobiological disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations.
Psychological dependence may occur with or without physical dependence and is conceptually characterized by impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving for the psychic effects of the drug.
What appears to be psychological dependence may be due to pain that is under treated. This is also known as pseudoaddiction.

To learn more about the pros and cons of prescription medication in chronic pain management check out my article titled America in Pain: Turning to Prescription Drugs – a Blessing or a Curse, that you can download for free on our Ariticles page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To see an online overview of Cognit delivering Addiction-Free Pain Management® please go to this Link for a free demo.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.