Medications

a generous amount of pills pouring forth out of two bottles

Acetaminophen

This class of medication can help with both acute and chronic forms of pain but also possesses fever-reducing properties.

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Anti-anxiety drugs

When the brain is processing both anxiety and pain at the same time, the pain tends to be experienced as being more intense. Reducing anxiety can both reduce the intensity of pain as well as improve mood.

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Opioids

While opioids tend to have some benefit for severe acute pain, little evidence supports their benefits when used in chronic pain conditions. They don’t actually “kill” pain, rather they help you not care about it at the cost of many side effects, including addiction and potentially fatal respiratory effects.

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Antidepressants

While this class of medication can be used to treat depression (hence the name), the chemical action of the drug can also help with pain at much lower doses. This class of medication supports the body’s natural ability to dampen the experience of pain. When depression and pain co-exist, the experience of pain tends to be worse. This medication can impact both problems.

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Gabapentinoids

This class of medication acts on the central nervous system to dampen nociceptive signals going to the brain for processing.

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NSAIDS

This class of medication can help with inflammation associated with both acute and chronic forms of pain.

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Cannabinoids

Some versions of cannabinoids make you high, while others have pain relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. Regulatory considerations have made it difficult to study this class of medication and guidelines and advice on how to cannabinoids have been challenging to produce.

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Muscle Relaxants

Some forms of pain arise due to muscle spasms. This medication can calm some of the nociceptive signaling to the brain caused by spasming muscles.

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