Pain relief is essential in many cases, the most powerful and effective pain killers can only be acquired by receiving a valid prescription from your doctor. Such a category of medication often receives negative coverage in the news, due to drug abuse. Therefore, some individuals may be hesitant to use such drugs. In reality, there is nothing for you to worry about, in this article about prescription pain relief meds we will tell you everything that you need to know in order how to purchase and use these products safely.
Different Meds for Different Conditions
Painkillers are a broad category of drugs that treat a variety of different forms of pain that can be caused by a wide number of health conditions. Below, we will explain some of the main sub-categories of pain relief drugs.
- Anticonvulsants, these types of drugs help to prevent the seizures or alternatively limit the severity of these seizures. Additionally, anticonvulsants can be used to treat pain caused by the nervous system either due to damage or disease.
- Antidepressants, apart from dealing with depression and other mental health issues, these drugs can also help with pain associated with stroke, diabetes, and fibromyalgia.
- Opioids are one of the most powerful painkillers, they are named after the opioid receptors which reduce the sensation of pain. They are usually for severe or long-term pain.
- Corticosteroids, a type of steroid hormone which is used to tackle illnesses caused by inflammation or the immune system such as arthritis, asthma, and even hay fever.
- Compound Painkillers, another major subcategory are compound painkillers, this is essentially when two or more different painkillers are combined together in order to help treat different types of pain at the same time. These types of painkillers are specially tested by drug companies to make sure that they are safe.
Insurance Coverage
You have to also check whether your health insurance provider offers coverage for the pain killers that you need to help improve your quality of life as recommended by your doctor. Furthermore, it is important to highlight that now all health insurance companies will offer coverage for pain relief products that are needed for the long-term.
Therefore, this is something to keep note of in order not to experience any nasty surprises. This information should also be used in helping you choose your insurance company and the insurance quote that you sign up for. It may also be a good idea to check out the online pharmacy reviews available online about the individual insurance companies. As many insurance companies also directly sell medication.
Read the Instruction & Safety Manual
Even though the medication has been prescribed by your doctor, you should still read the instruction on how to use the drug as well as the safety manual. Painkillers as with all drugs carry the rare possibility of side effects which you should be aware of. Moreover, you need to know the intervals that you need to abide by when taking medication. This is because painkillers are very addictive, meaning that there is usually a maximum period of time for which you can take the medical products. Usually, for powerful drugs such as opioids, there is a limit that ranges from a few days to a few weeks. You are also welcome to check out the informative prescription safety video that we have included below.
Prescriptions for Pain Relief Are Very Strict
Prescriptions for pain relief drugs are very strict, this is due to the high possibility of abuse due to their potentially addictive nature. Doctors or the health professional that you are in contact with will make sure that you truly need this medication and that it will actually benefit you. Painkillers are generally not the best-term solution for long-term illnesses if there is another solution available. Long-term painkiller usage can lead to addiction and even negative side effects due to damage to your body.
USA Equivalents
If you happen to have used medication to quell your pain abroad you may not be able to get hold of the same products in the USA. This can be due to various reasons, such as your US-based doctor not approving your prescription or the drug itself not being legal in the USA for whatever reason. What you could do in such a situation is asked for an equivalent of the painkiller in question. This may not guarantee that you will receive the drug you want to help your health condition but it is an option worth trying. You can also do some research yourself online about equivalents in your country, but before you purchase from any of those healthcare providers you need to make sure to read the online pharmacy reviews about those e-commerce platforms.
What to Do If Your Pain Medication Has Gone Missing
If you have purchased pain relief meds and they have gone missing you should report them to your doctor and to the local law enforcement. Of course, first, it may also be a good idea to verify with your friends, family, or roommates that they have not moved it by accident or taken them for whatever reason. By getting a valid police report about such unfortunate circumstances you can more easily get a replacement prescription for the medication that helps you maintain a high quality of life.
Stay Away from Unregulated Pharmacies
There are many unregulated online pharmacies out there that will offer you the opportunity to buy pain medication without the need for a valid prescription. Such too good to be true offers are to be avoided. If you do use these illegal services you will either send money to a scammer who will not send you anything in return or you will receive drugs that pose a danger to your health. This is why you should always order from pharmaceutical websites that are members of regulatory bodies such as HIPPA, CIPA, and MIPA. In such a situation you should also check out the online pharmacy reviews on leading platforms such as TrustPilot.
Taking More Than One Painkiller at a Time
You also have to be careful with the drug concoctions that you are consuming. Just because two different drugs may be beneficial to you this does not mean that they are safe to consume at the same time. Therefore, you should be fully transparent about the medication that you are consuming with your doctor. This applies to both non-prescription and prescription painkillers, it also includes other types of drugs and medication.
Usually, there are no issues with taking two or more painkillers at a time, however, you need to verify this for peace of mind and for the benefit of your own health. Testimonials and reviews about the experiences of patients may also be a good reference point to find out if there is a potential issue that you need to talk about with a health professional.
Don’t Consume Alcohol
It is not just other medical drugs that you should keep a track of. Alcohol combined with painkillers can lead to a number of negative health effects. For example, the pain relief product Ibuprofen when combined with alcohol can lead to ulcers and internal bleeding in organs such as the stomach. Moreover, such a combination can make you feel tired and even physically sick. This is very key to be aware of if you are going to be driving a vehicle or working heavy machinery since the likelihood of accidents is increased.
The severity of this combination will depend a lot on the amount of alcohol that you consume, if you consume low amounts the effect will be small or even non-existent. However, it is best to simply avoid the consumption of all alcohol while you are medicating yourself with pain relief drugs as it is very easy to simply drink more than you planned to.
Painkillers Are Not Always the Answer
Severe and persistent pain can be terrible, and prescription pain relief meds can seem like the obvious solution. However, there are actually a lot of other options available to you in order to help make the painful sensations that you are experiencing a lot easier to cope with. For example, agonizing skin conditions can be treated using pain relief creams.
Moreover, different kinds of therapy can be effective, this tends to be a much more expensive option however the benefits of this are that it prevents drug addiction and also can lead to long-term improvements in your illness or injury. Such therapy can be physical therapy as well as counseling sessions that can improve your mental health. Another innovative solution is what is known as TENS, this treatment involves placing patches on areas of your body where you are experiencing pain. These patches produce electrothermal signals that help to reduce the sensation of point, such treatment is effective only for physical pain with a popular reason that it is used is back pain.