Addiction Treatment Forum On-line -
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Published on: 6/15/2008
Last Visited: 5/13/2009
Joyce Lowinson, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, notes, "A major problem in the field of medicine in general is the undertreatment of pain.
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"It is preferable to be duped rather than to undertreat pain," says Lowinson.
However, realistic goals should be set.
The main goals are relief of pain and recovery from illness.
Following the World Health Organization's analgesic ladder is recommended by Lowinson.
Start out with NSAIDs and proceed to weak opiods like Percodan or codeine.
Lowinson prefers to avoid combination drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, or Empirin with codeine; it is better to separate the drugs to achieve more accurate titration.
Stronger opioids should be considered only after other analgesics have failed, according to Lowinson.