Administering Pain Medication at Home

Lizabeth Light, B.S.N.

Worried About How to Deal with Pain at Home?

Patients about to go home from the hospital are often worried about how to deal with pain. (These fears are also felt by patients who are not in pain or whose pain is occasional.) If they are being given medication by their nurses and doctors to relieve pain, they often wonder: "Who will give me the medicine at home?" "What if I run out of medicine?" "Suppose I should need an injection?" "What if I'm alone and the pain gets worse?" They might also wonder: "If I start taking medications frequently, won't I become addicted?" "Will I reach a point where the drugs won't work any more?"

The first important point to remember is that most pain can be relieved. There are many medications available, and one or more of them will certainly help to relieve your pain.

Communicate About Pain to Your Doctor

Usually all it takes to get pain under control is for you to note all the ways in which your medicine affects you, and to tell your doctor what you have observed. Your family members should also give their impressions of the way your medications work With this information, the doctor can make minor changes in dosage or type of medication that may make all the difference. If you find that one medicine is not working, there are always others that will probably help you.

Learn to Administer Your Own Medication

The second thing to remember is that you can learn to give yourself just about any pain medication you might need. And if this is not possible, your family can help. Most people are afraid to give themselves injections; but remember that many diabetics do this every day. By learning to overcome these fears, and learning to manage a daily medication program, you can free yourself from the hospital and start to control the pain yourself.

Acute vs. Chronic Pain

When we describe pain, we have to decide whether it can be called chronic or acute. Chronic pain is with you most of the time. Your medicine may relieve it for a while, but it usually comes back. This kind of pain needs continuous treatment; round-the-clock medication you would take in the same way as an antibiotic.

Acute pain is a pain which seems "new" to you. You may have had it before, but when it comes, it is sudden and severe. Anyone who has had appendicitis is familiar with acute pain. When your pain is of this type, you should notify your physician. It doesn't necessarily mean that anything is seriously wrong with you. It may be a sign of tension from fear or worry, or it might be a minor problem caused by something such as constipation. But your physician should investigate it to make sure.

Pain is a very complex event in the body. It is caused by a mixture of emotional and physical factors. It is often made worse by tiredness. Even so, some patients whose pain is severe are still able to be comfortable because they have worked out a good schedule for their medications and either know how to handle it themselves or have a dependable person who can administer them.

In order to overcome pain, you should remember that you are the expert. On the other hand, although pain is a private and personal thing, it will help you to share your feelings with those close to you, as well as with your physician.

Read Pain Medication at Home—Controlling Pain

*Adapted from A Comprehensive Guide for Cancer Patients and Their Families. (Bull Publishing Co., Palo Alto, Ca. 1980), p.p. 7-22 to 7-26, by Lizabeth Light, B.S.N.

Disclaimer: Gilbert Guide, Mount Zion Hospital & Medical Center, Marshall Hale Memorial Hospital and The San Francisco Regional Cancer Foundation do hereby disclaim any and all liability for any bodily injury, death or damage to property resulting from, in whole or in part, or in any way connected with the use by any individual in the hospital-based home care program known as "SENIORS AT HOME."

Posted in How to Care for Someone at Home, Injection How-to's, Managing Pain, Pain Management, Supportive Homecare