Painkillers are a way of masking the symptoms of pain. They don’t address the causes of it. Sometimes, they can be useful as a “quick fix” to a specific issue. If, however, you find yourself reaching for them regularly, you may want to investigate other options.
Check with your doctor
If you are routinely self-prescribing painkillers, then you clearly have a recurring issue. You should at least try to sort the underlying problem. That means visiting your GP. You should aim to contact your GP sooner rather than later even at the best of times. Right now, you should almost certainly aim to contact your GP as quickly as possible as you may need to wait for an appointment.
Make sure that you understand what your doctor suggests
If your GP offers you prescription painkillers (or suggests you buy non-prescription painkillers), then make sure that you understand the implications. Remember that your GP’s priorities may be different from yours.
For example, if you are experiencing serious pain, they may offer you a prescription to treat the symptom completely. That prescription might, however, be for a product with potentially serious side-effects. Your GP should explain these to you, but you need to make sure you understand their explanation. In other words, ask as many questions as you feel necessary.
Always check what other options are available to you, both on the NHS and, if you can, privately. See how they stack up against your GP’s initial suggestion. For example, they may provide less pain relief but also have fewer negative side effects.
Understand the plan for coming off the painkillers
As previously mentioned, painkillers address symptoms. They do not treat causes. This means that, ideally, your GP should have at least a basic plan for addressing the cause and hence getting you off the painkillers. Obviously, while COVID19 is still very much dominating the NHS, this plan may be both fairly long-term and fairly flexible. It should, however, still be there.
If you have a chronic condition, it may not be possible to address the root cause. This means that you may need to look at pain-management for the rest of your life. It does not, however, need to mean that you are on painkillers for the rest of your life, at least not as a matter of routine.
Your GP may be able to suggest other pain-management options available on the NHS. You may also want to look at what your options are for private treatment.
Learn the difference between painkilling and pain management
Painkilling is basically using some form of medicine (pharmaceutical or natural) to address the symptoms of pain. Pain management is essentially accepting that the pain is there, but training your mind to come to terms with it. Both strategies can be used at the same time. In fact, this can often be the most effective approach to dealing with chronic pain.
Depending on your situation, you may find that you start off relying on painkillers until you have developed your pain-management skills. You can then reduce your reliance on painkillers and rely on pain management. You may even be able to wean yourself off painkillers completely, although this is not guaranteed.
Get a second opinion if necessary
While there is a lot to be said for the NHS, one of the benefits of going private is that GPs may be more open to suggesting treatments which are, currently, not widely supported on the NHS.
For example, a private doctor might be in a better position to advise you if you would benefit from using CBD. This is an effective painkiller, but it is also a natural one. It may therefore be preferable to opioid-based treatments.
