Top 5 Reasons to Reconsider Long-Term Pain Medication

23 Mar Top 5 Reasons to Reconsider Long-Term Pain Medication

It might be interesting to research how many Texas pain management clinics attempt to manage chronic pain the way a GP or family physician does. Generally, such treatments revolve around prescription pain medication. We do things differently at Lone Star Pain Medicine. We look for other ways to treat pain.

We understand that sometimes pain medication is truly the only an avenue for providing relief. But ‘sometimes’ doesn’t mean ‘always’. At our Weatherford, Texas clinic, we prefer to utilize a more holistic approach. We try to find the root cause of each patient’s pain rather than attempting to mask it with a prescription.

Are you suffering from chronic pain? If so, does your treatment revolve around pain medications? We invite you to reconsider your options. Below are five reasons to see if there could be another way to treat your pain.

1. Pain Meds Can Be Addicting

There is no way for us to know what pain medications you are taking. But we can say that pain meds have the potential of being addicting. The more tolerant your body becomes to them, the more you need to find adequate relief. When that happens, you are starting down a path that likely will not have a good ending.

Of course, the risk of addiction is associated mainly with pain medications containing opioids. If your doctor has prescribed a non-opioid pain medication, addiction is probably not a primary concern.

2. Pain Meds Offer Limited Relief

Whether you use opioid or non-opioid painkillers, you are taking multiple daily doses for the simple fact that medications only offer limited relief. You could be taking two or more doses daily depending on what your doctor has prescribed. Is that something you want to do for 6 to 12 months, let alone your entire life?

Many of the treatments we offer provide long-lasting relief. For example, one injection every few months may be preferable to 3 to 4 doses of pain medication daily.

3. Pain Meds Don’t Change Root Causes

Next, pain medications are designed only to alleviate pain. They do nothing to address underlying causes. Your chronic pain may be the result of something for which there is no appropriate treatment. But what if we can find an underlying cause that is treatable? Wouldn’t it be better to address your chronic pain by addressing the root cause?

4. Pain Meds Don’t Account for Your Overall Health

As pain specialists, we fully understand the connection between chronic pain and a person’s overall health. We do not want to simply write a prescription send you out the door. Rather, we want to help you improve your quality of life by improving your overall health. This is a big reason why we take each patient’s overall health into consideration before recommending a treatment.

5. Pain Meds May Not Improve Function

There are times when taking pain medications is enough to allow for full function of the affected area. But more often than not, chronic pain leads to loss of function. We prefer other treatments that are specifically designed to improve function. We believe this is key to better overall health.

Pain clinics throughout Texas treat chronic pain patients every day. Some rely mainly on prescription pain medication to help patients find relief. When appropriate, we are not opposed to pain medication here at Lone Star. But we also believe that other pain treatments, offering better results, are available to the majority of our patients. If you suffer from chronic pain and are not satisfied with treatment based primarily on pain medication, contact our clinic. We might be able to help.