Pain Management: The Problem with Self-Prescribing
Perhaps you have seen those commercials warning you that if you don’t use their medication as directed, they don’t want you to use them at all. Why shouldn’t you be able to take one extra pill if two is not giving you enough relief? Why can’t you handle the dosage of these simple medications that seem to cause you no harm when you do? What is the big deal? People are often confused by what is happening with their pain medications. Some believe that if there is more pain that they need to give themselves a larger dosage. Perhaps this thinking seems logical, but the problem is that in most cases, self prescribing pain medications is not going to do you any good, but has the potential of doing very bad things to you, too.
In some cases, pain medication when taken as prescribed has no problem for your body. You will feel the relief and no other symptoms. In other cases, medications can cause a great deal of potential symptoms that are not okay and shouldn’t be taken because of these conditions. Yet, even when this is not the case, there are reasons to avoid self prescribing you own medications beyond doses that are recommended.
What Happens?
Have you gotten to the point where you think the medication isn’t working for you in the current dosage? Perhaps it just doesn’t do what it was doing for you and so, upping the amount you take seems to be the logical solution. The problem is that many people do this the wrong way and at the wrong time. You should never up the dosage because you want to get rid of the pain faster. It doesn’t work that way. It hurts more, so you up it again. This is bad because it allows your body to develop a tolerance to the medication. The higher your tolerance goes the less effective the medication can be for you. Yet, taking more is not a good thing either.
When it comes to taking medications for pain, follow the dosage as prescribed by the little bottle. Don’t take more than it is required. Always take the least amount to handle the pain you are feeling. IF you have found that taking two little pills doesn’t make your pain go away, don’t increase your dosage. Talk to your doctor. This way, when in fact there is a need to increase it is monitored because, remember, the side effects can and do worsen over time and with increased amounts. By doing this it will prolong the benefit that you receive and will keep you healthy.
