Medication Management
The use of medication to treat pain is often a complex, challenging, and time-consuming process. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of medications currently available to treat pain! Pain can be acute (new) or chronic (months-years), associated with recognized injury or pain can be felt by the patient despite lack of objective evidence of injury. Pain is often associated with surgery, cancer, trauma, diabetes, stroke and can also result from the natural process of aging. Many of these pains cannot be eliminated fully. Management of chronic pain intensity to decrease suffering and to improve daily function, allowing individuals to live a more active, productive, and joyful life is the goal of pain medication. The challenges in finding the right medication at the right dose for the right patient are often daunting. There are multiple factors to take into consideration when choosing medications. These include side effects and toxicity, age of patient, pain generator (cause), co-existing diseases, other non-pain related medications, activities of daily living, mental status, family involvement, cost of medications and the legal and safety concerns for stronger opioid medications. SJ Pain Associates are recognized experts in this field of comprehensive pain management. Medication management is a difficult process that requires cautious trialing and use of a variety of medications that must be carefully monitored and followed. We are willing to use our expertise in managing these important mediations, ideally working closely with primary care physicians to ensure continuity of care.