Patient was educated on how to take opioid pain medications as follows:
- Take opioid pain medication pill with or without food along with a full 8 oz. glass of water. Taking the medication with food helps prevent any nauseating sensation.
- Drink 6 to 8 full glasses of water daily, while you are taking opioid pain medications. Liberal intake of water with opioid pain medications helps prevent constipation, which is one of the major side effects of opioid pain medications.
- Evenly space out the doses of pain pill and take the dose at the scheduled time every day.
- Keeping to the schedule of opioid pain medication intake helps to avoid forgetting the medication.
- Do not wait for the pain to peak to have your opioid pain medication pill. Pain medications work best when taken at the first appreciation of pain, before the pain peaks.
- Do not crush or chew the opioid pain medication pill. Swallow it whole. Breaking the pill may cause too much of the drug to be released too quick at one time, thus compromising the therapeutic effect of opioid pain medications.
- Maintain strict compliance with intake of opioid pain medications as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication. Noncompliance with recommendation on opioid pain medications intake can result in ineffective pain control.
- Do not change the dose on opioid pain medications without consulting your doctor.
- Opioid pain medications are one among the most commonly abused drug group. Do not share your opioid pain medication with any family and friends. Keep a regular track of the number of pills left in your pillbox, to prevent a chance for abuse.
- Do not take opioid pain medications with alcohol. Both alcohol and opioid pain medications depress the respirations. When taken together, their effects on respirations can get added up and lead to severe respiratory depression and can even be fatal. Some opioid pain medications can individually have the potential to damage to the liver and combining them with alcohol can increase the chance for liver injury many folds.
- Do not abuse opioid pain medications by continuing to take the medication, even after the pain has resolved.
- Watch out for any continuing or worsening pain, to report to your doctor immediately, so that, a change in plan could be considered.
- If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.
