Coping with Chronic Pain, Part 7: Medications

As many of you know, Blogger was down yesterday, which explains the last of postage from many of your favourites :)

But I am back, and have some good news to share.

I finally got an appointment with a chronic pain specialist (you can read all about my adventure in the links at the bottom of this post).  There are a few steps we are going to take, but the first one was this:

He recommended following The Hormone Diet.  I read this book last year (from the library) and loved the concept of a holistic, hormonal approach to health so I bought it.

I actually paid full price for a book, I never do that.  I must really mean business.

I am going to re-read the book (I will do a review, I promise :) and keep you posted on my progress, :)

I thought this would be a perfect time to continue with the series on chronic pain.

Medications
This is a very controversial topic as many people and professionals feel that we are an extremely over medicated society.

I do agree to some extent, but I do believe medications have their place.  I think we should make every effort to treat the body naturally, but medication can make a difference when all other treatments fail.

I have listed some meds in this post that are commonly used in the treatment of chronic pain, so today I just wanted to share a few things to think about if you are considering going on any kind of medication.

(Note:  I am not a doctor or medical professional, these are things I have learned from experience.)

• Talk to your doctor or health care professional about all the options available to you and weigh out the pros and cons of each medication.
• Ask a lot of questions.
• Tell you doc about any other medication and/or supplements you are taking as there can be negative interactions.
• Always review the side effects of any medication.  Often these effects can be worse than the problem that you are trying to treat.
• If you do experience side effect, let you doctor know right away and follow his directions.
• If you are taking over the counter medications (like ibuprofen, ASA etc), be sure to check the recommended daily dosage.
• Some medications can reek havoc on your digestive system and other organs.  Talk to your doctor and/or naturopath about any modifications you can make to your diet or supplement routine to help.

Most importantly, listen to your body. If something doesn't feel right, you will know.

Have you read the Hormone Diet?  
Do you take any medication for your pain?  If so, which ones?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

P.S.  Have you missed some posts in the Coping with Chronic Pain series?  You can check them out here:

Part 1: Intro
Part 2: Intro Con't
Part 3: Exercise
Part 4: Diet
Part 5: Supplements
Part 6: Sleep