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Pain management through spirituality – pain of cancer
1. Pain Management through
Spirituality: Pain of Cancer
and Its Relief
Dr. Bhaswat S. Chakraborty
Senior Vice President and Chairman,
R&D Core Committee, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
2. Contents
Pain
Cancer Pain & QoL
Psychological & Spiritual Pain in Cancer
Untreated Pain and Suffering in Cancer
Psychological and Spiritual Treatments of
Cancer Pain
Mind-Body (Spiritual) Medicine for Cancer
Patients
Concluding Remarks
3. Pain
Untreated pain: devastating for an individual, his family
and his relations.
The cost burden of untreated pain is huge to an
individual as well as to the society.
Chronic pain has different characteristics from those of
acute pain.
Chronic pain associated with diseases and their
treatment can be so severe that patient may prefer to
die.
Chronic pain induces psychological fear and distortion of
reality.
In all chronic pain, addressing the spiritual, existential
and religious aspects are not only crucial but seems to
be ethically mandatory.
4. Cancer Pain & QoL
Cancer patients have diverse symptoms,
◦ Impairments in physical and psychological functioning
◦ Low quality of life.
◦ Compromised relations.
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)
instrument
◦ Impairments in the abilities of physical, social/family, emotional,
and functional well-being have been observed in all varieties of
cancers
◦ Pain increases with the advancement and metastasis of the
disease.
Prevalence of chronic pain:
◦ 30–50% (patients undergoing active treatment for a solid tumor)
◦ 70–90% (among those with advanced disease).
5. Somatic, Visceral & Neuropathic
Pain
Somatic pain is deep or shallow sensation of pain by the
tissues.
◦ Deep pain: cancer spreading to the bone (dull, achy feeling)
◦ Surface pain: surgical incision (sharp, burning)
Visceral pain is activity of pain receptors in viscera.
◦ Activation of pain receptors caused by a tumor putting pressure
on one or more of the organs, the stretching of the viscera, or
general invasion of cancer (throbbing, pressured sensation).
Neuropathic pain is the most severe of pain types.
◦ Caused by injury to the nervous system (burning or tingling)
◦ Tumor putting pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
◦ Chemotherapy or radiation induced damage of nervous system.
6. Breakthrough Pain
Unexpected pain that occurs between doses of pain
medicine (called a pain flare).
Pain gets very bad in 3-5 minutes.
Pain flares may last about 30 minutes.
◦ By doing something or without any obvious cause
Pain flares are not always the same each time you have
one.
Usuallytreated with a pain medicine that acts very quickly
and doesn’t last for long
Usually
means pain medicine needs to be adjusted (may
need more medicine)
7. Psychological & Spiritual Pain in
Cancer
Suffering in cancer includes psychological and spiritual pain.
Thepatient develops severe distress that threatens his
emotional coping mechanisms and “intactness.”
He also begins to ask profound existential questions about
meaning of life and interprets the suffering in his unique
spiritual way
Terminally ill patients attributed more positive meaning of
suffering than they had before.
Even those who are unable to find a positive meaning in
their suffering adjust better when
Ferrell et.al.(1993). Cancer Pract 1, 185-194.
8. Different Interpretations of
Suffering
Theory Example
Punishment My pain is the results of my sins
Testing God is testing my loyalty to Him
Bad luck The odds are against me
Submission to be laws of It’s nature taking here course, and I’ve got to grin and bear it
nature
Resignation to the will of God willed it – even though I don’t know why, so there is no
God way that I can avoid it
Acceptance of the human Pain is a part of life
condition
Personal growth This suffering is making me a better person
Defensiveness and denial I just don’t think about it
Minimization It could be worse
Divine perspective If I could see things from God’s perspective, I know I’d see a
reason for this pain
Redemption There is joy in my suffering because it has increased my
appreciation for Christ’s suffering
Foley (1988) Journal of Religion and Health, 27, 321-328
10. Untreated Pain and Suffering in
Cancer
Even strong opioids do not relieve pain in all patients
with severe pain
This is further complicated by the broad potential for
addiction and abuse.
Untreated pain is an ethical problem for all caregivers
as it produces hopelessness
Since ethical questions lead to spiritual questions,
because physical pain can contribute to spiritual pain,
therefore, ethical care requires spiritual care.
Thus, the issue of spirituality is highly valid in cancer
pain management.
Lisson E.(1987). Nurs Clin North Am, 22, 649-659.
11. WHO Recommends
Palliative Care (Cancer control : knowledge into action : WHO guide for effective programmes ; module 5.)
12. Confounding the Treatment –
Patient & Physician Attitudes
Patients’ attitude
◦ Negative attitude of patients about taking opioids (11.2%).
◦ Patients’ passive to cancer pain (9.4%).
◦ Fear of legal, government regulation (8.2%).
◦ Poor general image of opioids (8.5%).
Physician’s attitude towards patients
◦ When patients complained about pain, patients usually
exaggerated it (47.5%).
◦ Other half (51.4%) of the physicians thought that patients
exaggerated the pain for getting the attention of medical
personnel.
Kim et al., (2011). Jpn J Clin Oncol,41, 783-791
14. Psychological and Spiritual
Treatments of Cancer Pain
Psychoeducational interventions
◦ Cognitive behavioural therapy
◦ Relaxation therapy, guided imagery, other types
of stress management
◦ Other forms of psychotherapy
Spiritual Interventions
◦ Pastoral or Satsang services
◦ Shabad Kirtan
◦ Meditation
◦ End of Life Spiritual Counseling
15. Clinical assessment of the Need
for [Structured] Pastoral Services
Clinical
assessment of spiritual and pastoral
needs of a cancer patient includes
◦ Taking spiritual history
◦ Recommendations and physicians’ practice patterns.
◦ Clinical assessment of spiritual needs.
◦ Conceptual Considerations and Research
Instruments.
◦ Closeness To and Knowledge of God.
◦ Engagement with everyday life and orienting force.
◦ Relationship and support and religious and spiritual
struggles.
Okon T (2005). J Pall Med, 8, 392-414.
16. Pastoral Services
Cancer patients often receive regular visits by clergy over the course of
illness, making the clergyman a potential resource in attaining satisfatory
cancer pain management.
In a survey to assess the knowledge and beliefs of clergy about cancer pain
management was administered before (PI) and after (POI) an educational
intervention on cancer pain control.
Participants were asked to rate their support for series of statements
reflecting positive and negative perspectives on cancer pain and its
management in each survey.
The intervention resulted in less support for the punitive religious
statement and more positive outlook. It also decreased the notion that
narcotics be reserved for the dying and that reliance on drugs is an escape
from reality,.
The findings suggest that cancer pain management education for clergy can
improve knowledge among clergymen and potentially improve counseling
provided to cancer patients.
Stark et al.(2004). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 22, 8179
17. Satsang Services to a Patient
“He would make both Deepak and me sit in his meditation
room and pass on such aura around us that would calm our
nerves and take away our fears of still unknown.”
“He would speak to me for hours till late into the night and
urge me to speak to my pains internally to go away. He
would urge me to take strength from the universe and to
fight what I was fighting with Him for. Recharge me and my
spirit through his own spirit that emitted love and
understanding. This helped me recover fast and forget my
pains.”
Neetima Babbar (had crcinoma of tongue)
In the book “Back to Life”
Neeyati Publishers (2007)
18. Gurbani & Shabad
It was April 27th 2002 when three different teams of oncologists
and hematologists from Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad …
unanimous findings, …my life is going to end in a few days as the
deadly cancer called multiple myeloma.
…the moment the Granthi started reciting the Akhand Paath , I
began to feel streams of energy entering and flowing thru my body.
It rose majestically from the pages of Shri Guru Granth Sahib like a
serene cool flame of light … After 48 hours, I got up on my own
two feet and began to feel and enjoy such vibrant health that I
almost ran with joy towards Sri Arjan Dev Niwas…
Mr. Vasu Bhardwaj
Journalist, Science Writer,
Corporate Analyst
19. Meditation
Stage 1
◦ Removes lethargy
◦ Calms you down
◦ You become logical
Stage 2
◦ Doubts eliminated
◦ Certainty, decision making
ability increases
◦ Stamina increases
◦ Creativity is unleashed
20. Meditation
Stage 3
◦ Removes irritation, anger
◦ Feel rapture
◦ Successful and optimistic
◦ Stage 1 and stage 2
powers are intensified
Stage 4
◦ Anxiety eliminated
◦ Feel deep and full joy
(bliss)
◦ Feel very focused
whatever you engage in
◦ Tranquility is experienced
21. Mind-Body (Spiritual) Medicine for
Cancer Patients
Among the most useful are the so-called mind-body
approaches, which are classified as both psychological
and integrative interventions.
Some of these treatments can be offered by the
physicians or nurses who provide cancer care if access
to a specially trained health professional is restricted,.
Theyshould be regarded as mainstream adjunctive
treatments intended to reduce pain and anxiety,
improve coping, and increase self-efficacy.
– Russell K Portenoy (2011). Lancet, 377, 2236–47
23. Meditation-Based Stress Reduction in
Cancer Outpatients – an RCT
“These results provide evidence that a
relatively brief mindfulness meditation–based
stress reduction program can effectively reduce
mood disturbance, fatigue, and a broad
spectrum of stress-related symptoms in cancer
patients, consistent with other investigations of
similar interventions with different
populations.”
•Speca M. et al. (2000) Psychosomatic Medicine 62, 613–622
•Kabat-Zinn J, et al. (1992) Am J Psychiatry;149, 936–43.
•Kabat-Zinn J, et al. (1986). Clin J Pain, 2,159–73.
•Kabat-Zinn J, et al. (1998) Psychosom Med, 60, 625–32.
24.
25. Nirvichara Samadhi (Thoughtless
Concentration
Both Hindu (Patanjal) and Buddhist Shamata
support and teach this meditation
The state of awareness & concentration is
thoughtless
Itsuffuses with joy and bliss, thus transcends
the pain boundaries albeit not for ever
Regular practice enhances well being, defeats
suffering
26. Nirvikalpa Samadhi (Contrastless
Concentration)
Both Hindu (Patanjal) and Buddhist Mahayana
support and teach this meditation
Ittakes a higher concentration where
perceptions and mind’s contrasting dualities
(Vikalpa) have to be transcended
Highly blissful state of self realization
Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa demonstrated
this even with his cancer
27. Understanding Duality and
False Imagination
Duality is possibility or manifestation of a
second reality!
◦ E.g., good-bad, association-dissociation, spontaneous-
learned, samsara-moksha
◦ Indecision, feeling of separation, I and you, anger,
infatuation, me and the world are also duality
Duality is a product of underdeveloped
consciousness
Non-duality or oneness of reality is REAL!
Nirvikalpa Meditation allows to experience this
supreme, non-dual reality!
28. Samskara-Upeksha Jnana (Spiritual
Composure) of Lord Buddha
Physicality and mentality are interdependent
A diseased body will have mental formations that are
scary and will induce hopelessness
If the meditator has strong desire for release and is
neither excited about prognosis nor fearful of the
diagnosis, she can compose herself to a neutrality which
is liberating!
Thisstate (and higher) almost always transcends
psychological & psychosomatic Pain.
From such neutrality, a higher life can be touched and
lived.
29. How does mindfulness meditation
work?
Non-attached observation – an uncoupling of
sensory dimension of the pain experience from
the affective and evaluative alarm reaction
It reduces the experience of the suffering either
by cognitive re-appraisal or neutralizing the
mind states.
By coupling calmness and knowledge together.
There is even a potential for Highest realization
Generalization: Pain is a truth of life but is not
as great a truth as “pain can be treated or
cured.”
30. Concluding Remarks
Cancer patients experience severe pain – both from
the disease as well as from some of the treatments.
Human beings, including cancer patients, are spiritual
beings for their spirituality pervades their whole Being
and integrates and transcends their bodily and
psychosocial nature.
Spiritualityis also their super-human aspect which does
not get tainted by disease, birth and death.
Unfortunately very pronounced and sustained pain like
that of a cancer can bring to question the very
foundation of a man’s spirituality.
31. Concluding Remarks..
Thus, understanding the epidemiological aspects of
religiosity and spirituality of cancer pain would include
general trends of expressed attitudes in the general
population, patients and physicians.
Therapeutic options of religious or pastoral
consultation and their boundaries must be considered
in giving spiritual services to cancer patients.
A priest or otherwise spiritually competent person can
address the spiritual issues whereas an onco-physician
can look after the palliative drug and radiation therapy.
Patients with cancer have diverse symptoms, impairments in physical and psychological functioning, and other difficulties that can undermine their quality of life. If inadequately controlled, pain can have a profoundly adverse impact on the patient and his or her family. According to Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) instrument, impairments in the abilities of physical, social/family, emotional, and functional well-being have been observed in all varieties of cancers. Usually pain increases with the advancement and metastasis of the disease. The prevalence of chronic pain is about 30–50% among patients with cancer who are undergoing active treatment for a solid tumour and 70–90% among those with advanced disease.
Pain has been defined as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage" by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Medically speaking, pain is classified into three different types: somatic, neuropathic, and visceral. Somatic pain is the result of activity by pain receptors in the deep tissues of the body, or on the surface. An example of deep tissue pain would be that of cancer that has spread to the bone. The site of pain cannot be pinpointed, and has a dull, achy feeling. An example of surface pain is pain at a surgical incision site. People describe this pain as being sharp, and possibly have a burning sensation. Neuropathic Pain Neuropathic pain is the most severe of the three types of pain. It is often described as a burning or tingling sensation. It is caused by injury to the nervous system. The injury can include a tumor putting pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. Chemotherapy or radiation can also cause chemical damage to the nervous system resulting in pain. Visceral Pain Viscera are internal organs contained in a cavity of the body, like the chest, abdomen and pelvis. So, visceral pain is pain felt in one of these areas caused the activity of pain receptors in these areas. In cancer, the activation of pain receptors can be caused by a tumor putting pressure on one or more of the organs, the stretching of the viscera, or general invasion of cancer. This type of pain is described as having a throbbing, pressured sensation.
Unexpected pain that occurs between doses of pain medicine (called a pain flare). Pain gets very bad in 3-5 minutes Pain flares may last about 30 minutes Pain flares are not always the same each time you have one Usually treated with a pain medicine that acts very quickly and doesnt last for long Usually means pain medicine needs to be adjusted (may need more medicine) Pain Flares can be caused by: Doing something like moving, gardening Pain medicine does not last as long or relieve your pain as it should (You have pain before your next dose of pain medicine is due). Sometimes there is no obvious cause; the pain flare just happens
The World Health Organization (WHO) developed the analgesic ladder. It is designed to help healthcare providers manage cancer pain with medications in a systematic way. Step 1 of the Analgesic Ladder The WHO recommends a non-opioid (non-narcotic) medication as the first step. This can be given with an adjuvant medication. Adjuvants are medications that can give additive pain control when used with the primary pain medication. Common adjuvants include certain antidepressants, antiepileptics, and topical medications. Non-opioid pain medications include acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and the non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs include drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®) naproxen (Aleve®), Naprosyn®), piroxicam (Feldene®), meloxicam (Mobic®), celecoxib (Celebrex®), and many others. Step 2 of the Analgesic Ladder If pain is not controlled with a Step 1 medication, then one should proceed to Step 2. This would be adding or changing the medication to include a weak opioid. Weak opioids include the drugs such as hydrocodone or oxycodone with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin. Common brand names are Lortab®, Vicodin®, Vicoprofen®, Bancap HC, Percocet®, and Percodan®. Step 3 of the Analgesic Ladder If the weak opioid is not enough, then a strong opioid should be tried. Examples of strong opioids are morphine (Kadian®, MS Contin®, Avinza®), oxycodone (OxyContin®), fentanyl (Duragesic® patches), oxymorphone (Opana®), and methadone (Dolophine®.) Problems with the WHO Analgesic Ladder The WHO analgesic ladder has been a helpful guide to slowly step patients up as they need stronger medications. There has been some debate over where some medications fit on the ladder. Tramadol (Ultram®) Tramadol is a synthetic analogue of the opioid codeine. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) did not classify it as a controlled substance. This means that some see it as a Step 1 non-opioid drug. Others view it as a Step 2 opioid drug. It can be helpful for mild or moderate pain. It is one of the few medications that show benefit in patients with fibromyalgia. The term weak opioid is a confusing term. Combining a low dose of an opioid with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin, improves efficacy (gives the desired effect). Adding hydrocodone and oxycodone to other substances make them weak opioids. This is because there are dose limits to these products. The dose of the combined product is not limited by the opioid. It is limited by the non-opioid component. Exceeding the daily-recommended dose greatly increases the risk of dangerous side effects from the non-opioid component. Hydrocodone and oxycodone are low dose strong opioids without the added acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin. At first propoxyphene (Darvon®, Darvocet®, Balacet®) was called a Step 2 weak opioid on the analgesic ladder. However, it is no longer recommended for use in chronic pain. The potential side effects of this drug outweigh the benefits. It gives little pain relief and can cause serious heart and lung problems when taken for long periods of time. Just because medications are listed as Step 1 or Step 2 does not mean that they are safer medications than Step 3 medications. All medications have risks. The risks, or side effects, need to be balanced with their possible benefit. In chronic pain, the benefit you hope to get is pain control. Side Effects of Non-opioid (Step 1) Medications Acetaminophen Excessive doses of acetaminophen can cause liver failure. Accidental overdose is the most common reason for liver transplants. In healthy individuals the daily dose limit is 4,000 mg per day (8 extra-strength 500 mg tablets or 12 regular strength 325 mg tablets.) The dose limit for patients with a history of liver problems or a history of alcoholism (or heavy drinking) is 2,000 mg per day. This includes acetaminophen from all sources. You must read the labels very carefully. Acetaminophen is often included in other medications such as cold, flu, and sinus preparations. Ibuprofen and Aspirin (NSAIDs) Ibuprofen and aspirin belong to the NSAID (non-steroidal antiinflammatory) group. The recommended dose limit for ibuprofen is 3,200 mg daily in healthy adults. This is about 16 of the over-the-counter 200 mg tablets per day. For aspirin, the daily recommend dose is 4,000 mg per day. The problem with all NSAIDs, not just ibuprofen and aspirin, is that major side effects can occur at doses lower than the recommended daily limit. The most concerning side effects are stomach ulcers, kidney failure, and making congestive heart failure worse. The side effects are related not only to the dose but also to the length of time you take the medication. Long-term use of any NSAID can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Side Effects with Opioids (Step 2 & 3) Medications Although opioids do not cause liver or kidney damage, they have their own unique set of possible problems. Common Side Effects The most common side effects of all opioids are constipation, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness. Rash, itch and mood changes can also occur. None of these side effects are allergies. Except for constipation, all of these side effects are expected to go away over five to seven days. This works best if the opioid is started at a low dose and your body is allowed to adjust to it. Most patients need to take a daily laxative to prevent constipation. You must do so for as long as you are on an opiate. Sleep Disorders Inadequate sleep increases the intensity of pain and decreases your ability to cope with pain. Pain can cause sleep disorders. Anxiety, depression, and fibromyalgia are also linked with sleep disorders. And opioid pain medications can cause sleep disorders. The most common disorders associated with opioids are sleep apnea and altered sleep patterns. Sleep apnea is a condition in which you stop breathing during the night. The symptoms are loud snoring, gasping, and snorting while sleeping. Daytime drowsiness, fatigue, and/or falling asleep easily such as when driving a car or reading can occur. Opioids can make sleep apnea worse even to the point of causing death. If you think you may have sleep apnea, be sure to discuss it with your healthcare provider. If you have sleep apnea, you will need to treat it before starting an opioid medication. Opioids can change sleep patterns. Even though you could be getting the same amount of sleep, it may not be restful sleep. While tiredness the first few days on an opioid is common, it should go away quickly. If you find that you are still tired, it is likely that the medication is altering your normal sleep pattern. Changing the medication should improve sleep. It can also improve pain management and your ability to cope with the pain. Mood Changes Opioids can cause mood changes. Some patients feel dysphoric (unhappy or sad) or in a worse mood. The biggest problem with opioids is that they can cause euphoria (intense happiness) or improve mood. Some patients describe this as getting energy from the medication. This would be great if this energy high didn’t go away after one to three weeks. Many patients think that euphoria is the same thing as pain relief. Once the euphoria wears off, it’s easy to think the opioid isn’t working any more. This is what causes people to start increasing doses. It takes more drugs over time to get the same change in mood. Addiction Addiction is defined by craving, uncontrolled, or compulsive use of a drug. and using it even though it causes harm. Addiction is a complex chronic disease. Simply taking an opioid does not cause addiction. If you have no risk factors, it is rare to develop the disease of addiction. However, if you have the right (or wrong) genetics and psychological and social stressors, addiction can occur. There is no test for addiction. Addiction reveals itself by aberrant (abnormal) behaviors over time. Your healthcare provider looks for any of the following as a sign of a developing problem reporting that prescriptions have been lost or stolen asking for early refills not following medication directions taking extra medication without being told to increasing the dose without approval obtaining medications from multiple healthcare providers wanting to continue a medication despite major side effects wanting to continue a medication despite worse function using a drug for a reason other than it was prescribed (such as using a pain medication to calm down after a heated argument) Physical Dependence Physical dependence occurs when your body becomes used to a medication. Stopping the medication suddenly causes withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal can occur with many medications including antidepressants and blood pressure medications. Physical dependence is not addiction. Physical dependence can occur in anyone on a regular dose of an opioid for more than one or two weeks. Withdrawal from an opioid can be mild or severe. Symptoms can range from mild irritability to sweating, diarrhea, vomiting and muscle cramps. You may feel like you have a severe case of the flu. Withdrawal may be miserable but it is not life threatening. It can always be avoided. Slowly decrease the medication over several days to several weeks. Let your body readjust to the lower dose. Pseudo-addiction Pseudo-addiction is the term used to describe what looks like dangerous or aberrant behavior but occurs when pain is not adequately treated. For example: you are prescribed a pain medication and told that you can only take two tablets per day. You have constant pain all day and night. The pain medication that you are prescribed works and allows you to be active but it only relieves pain for four hours. You are only allowed two tablets per day. How would you respond? Some people take more medication than is prescribed. They run out early. Others complain bitterly at every appointment. They demand more medication, and appear to be drug seeking. Some may go to more than one physician to get what they think they need to relieve the pain. Under-treatment of pain can cause this type of behavior. An increase in the dose stops the behavior. Therapeutic Trial It would be wonderful if your healthcare provider could pick the right drug at the right dose at your first appointment. This doesn’t happen very often. Everyone responds differently to different drugs. Pain will respond to some drugs in some people and not in other people. In some people, the pain responds, but they get side effects. Others don’t have any side effects. It really becomes a process of trial and error. It can take several visits and perhaps several trials of different drugs for you to get enough pain relief with side effects you can handle. It is not uncommon to feel like a guinea pig. Don’t give up. Keep telling your healthcare provider how the medication is working for you. Polypharmacy It would also be wonderful if one drug worked well. However, most patients with chronic pain will not get enough pain relief from a single medication. Using two or more medications that complement each other is called polypharmacy . The drugs have different mechanisms of action and can give better pain relief. As the WHO Analgesic Ladder suggests, pain specialists often combine opioid medications with other adjuvant medications. The goal is order to treat chronic pain adequately. The most common adjuvants are the following Antidepressants: The two groups that are used in pain management are the serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). The SNRIs are duloxetine (Cymbalta®) and venlafaxine (Effexor®). The commonly used TCAs include amitriptyline (Elavil®), nortriptyline (Pamelor®), and desipramine (Norpramin®). Antiepileptics (anticonvulsants): These drugs are used to treat epilepsy and stabilize mood. They also work well treating nerve pain. Some of the antiepileptics commonly used in pain management are gabapentin (Neurontin®), pregabalin (Lyrica®), carbamazepine (Tegretol®), topiramate (Topamax®), levetiracetam (Keppra®), and lamotrigine (Lamictal®). Topicals: Capsaicin ointment and lidocaine patches are some of the medications that can be effective when applied to the skin. Choosing the Right Medication How do doctors choose the right medication? There are many things to consider when choosing the right drug(s) for patients. Patient safety and ability to tolerate the drug come first. Efficacy (how well the medication works for the condition being treated) is also important. Affordability and ease of use (such as how many pills need to be taken daily) are important factors, too. It may not be possible to use only one medication. But it is still best to treat with the fewest medications possible. Most chronic pain patients also suffer from depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. It may be possible to pick a medication that not only helps with pain but could also help with the other problems. Classifications of Pain Pain can be defined by the underlying mechanism. It can be classified as either nociceptive pain or neuropathic pain. Nociceptive means unpleasant pain. It occurs when the nervous system is working as it should. Pain is a signal that something is wrong. Pain is caused by a stimulus such as injury, infection, or inflammation. The pain signal is sent to your spinal cord and then to your brain. Your brain then interprets the pain and acts on it. Your brain can release substances such as your own natural opioid-like endorphins to calm the initial pain signal down and help you deal with it. The pain intensity is usually related to the degree of injury and amount of actual tissue damage. Nociceptive pain generally responds to opioid medications, NSAIDs, and acetaminophen. Neuropathic pain is caused by a nervous system that isn’t working right. Think of it as irritable nerve cells that react for no reason. The pain can arise from the central nervous system (spinal cord or brain) or from the peripheral nervous system such as in the legs, arms, skin, and so on. Insults such as trauma, inflammation, or diseases such as shingles, diabetes, and HIV can cause it. Neuropathic pain can be constant or episodic (comes and goes). It is often described as burning, streaking, lightening, tingling, or pins and needles. Neuropathic pain serves no known purpose. It is not related to the degree of injury or disease. Neuropathic pain is meaningless outside the amount of suffering it causes. It is usually more difficult to treat than nociceptive pain. Most often more than one drug is needed to control neuropathic pain. Opioids aren’t as effective for this type of pain as they are for nociceptive pain. The drugs that are considered first-line choices are the antiepileptics and the antidepressants listed in the previous section. Controversies About Opiate Treatment of Nonmalignant Chronic Pain Acute pain lasts a short time. This is the kind of pain you may have after breaking a leg or after surgery. Acute pain goes away as the injury heals. Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than expected after an injury. Cancer pain can be both acute and chronic. With both acute and chronic cancer pain, there is an expectation that the pain will go away sooner or later. As the injury heals or the cancer is cured (or the patient dies) there is an expectation of an end to the pain. Chronic nonmalignant (or non-cancer) pain is different. The pain can result from an acute injury that lasts beyond the healing or simply appears without a known reason. A few examples are diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia (shingles), low back pain, and fibromyalgia. Patients can have these painful syndromes for decades. It is acceptable to treat severe acute and cancer pain with opioid medications. However there is debate about treating chronic nonmalignant pain (CNP) with opioids. All medications carry risks. The hoped for benefit of a medication must outweigh the possible risk. Opioids have great risk for abuse and addiction, especially when used for long periods of time. Because of these risks, opioids are only used in CNP after other appropriate medications and non-medication therapies have failed. Most experts consider opioids as the treatment of last resort for CNP. Risk-Benefit Analysis of Opiates and Sedatives The biggest risks of taking opiates and sedatives are addiction and death. The overall risk of substance abuse in the general population is around 10%. Your specific risk depends on your own risk factors. If you have no history of addiction and no significant history of mental health problems, then you have a low risk of addiction. If you have a history of addiction or substance abuse, then you are at greater risk for addiction. But if you are in remission and have good support systems, you may still do well on opioids. You are at high risk for abusing an opioid or sedative medication if you are actively abusing alcohol and other substances. Untreated mental health issues and poor support systems add to your risk. There are ways to decrease the risk of addiction or substance abuse. Diagnosing and successfully treating any mood disorder reduces the risk. The most common mood disorders include depression and anxiety. Avoiding short acting opioids reduces the risk of addiction or abuse. Long acting opioids are safer as they are less likely to feed into the changes in mood that fuel substance abuse. The long acting opioid, methadone is considered the safest of the opioids. It causes little to no mood alteration. Long-acting morphine is usually the second choice. Opioids cause death by stopping the body’s drive to breathe. This can happen as an intentional overdose such as in suicide. It can also be the result of an accidental overdose when an addict tries to get high. Combining an opioid with another substance such as alcohol also decreases the desire to breathe, or makes sleep apnea worse. Death can be avoided. Don’t take extra medication without approval from your healthcare provider. Let your healthcare provider know about all other medications and drugs you take including alcohol. Finding out if you have sleep apnea and treating it is also important in preventing death. The benefit of these medications is better function and improved quality of life. If, after weighing your specific risks, you and your healthcare provider decide that the possible benefit is greater than the potential risk, then a medication trial is indicated. Careful monitoring of your response to a medication trial is essential. Risky behavior or serious side effects can be caught early. Preventing and solving problems before there is a bad outcome is important. Hyperalgesia Hyperalgesia is described as an extreme sensitivity to what is normally not painful such as a simple touch. This comes from nerves sending pain messages of increasing frequency and intensity to your brain. It can be from the same area that was previously hurt. Or it can expand beyond the initial painful area. Opioids can cause hyperalgesia. If you feel more pain after starting or increasing an opioid, you may be experiencing hyperalgesia. If hyperalgesia develops, stopping the opioid will improve pain control. Other treatment options can then be explored. Detoxification Detoxification (detox) is letting your body get back to its natural state without any pain medications in it. There are several reasons you might want to detox. One reason is hyperalgesia. Another reason is if you are on several medications and you aren’t sure if they are helping or not. Or you might be having a side effect and you aren’t sure which drug is causing it. By slowly going off one drug at a time, you can find out if the medication was helping or not. Likewise, you’ll see if it was causing any side effects. If the pain is worse when you’re off the drug, it can be restarted. It is surprising how many patients feel better after stopping many of their drugs. Some experts believe that your body stops making its own natural painkillers (endorphins) when it is given artificial ones. Stopping the medications for one or two months lets your body rest and reset its own natural response. Opiate rotation Opiate rotation is changing from one opioid to another. Opiate rotation is used when tolerance to the pain relief develops after several dose increases. If this happens to you, be sure to explore all the possible reasons for the medications no longer working as well . One reason for medications not working as well is if the there is a new injury or the underlying disease is getting worse. An example is a new compression fracture in someone with low back pain and osteoporosis. Once that is ruled out, keep in mind anything that makes you feel worse such as worsening depression, increasing anxiety, or stresses at home will make pain feel more intense. The best treatment is to treat the underlying problem. Once those issues are sorted out, it may be a good idea to switch from one opiate to another. Changing to a different pain medication can result in better pain control at a lower comparative dose and help keep opioid creep (when the dose of the opioid keeps slowly but relentlessly increasing over time) under control. Opiate Holiday Similar to detoxification, giving you a holiday from opiates for four to eight weeks can be a good idea. It helps reset your body’s natural ability to cope with pain. And it can help you decide if you even still need the medication. A drug holiday can also reduce tolerance and allow you to restart the medication at a lower dose. Some surgeons are reluctant to operate on patients taking high doses of opiates. Patients on high doses cope less well with surgical pain and recover more slowly after surgery. Tapering off the medications three weeks before surgery can be a good idea for two reasons. First, you may respond better to lower doses of the pain medication. And second, the surgery may give you significant relief so that you no longer need such a high dose anymore. Summary Chronic pain management is a complex process. Most chronic pain patients have both neuropathic and nociceptive pain, along with depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Chronic pain can also cause social stresses such as the loss of a job or contribute to the failure of a marriage. When constant pain is combined with these types of stresses, the overall suffering becomes much larger than just the physical pain. It can be a vicious circle as these stresses make the physical pain seem stronger. The risks associated with the medications used to treat pain also increase the complexity of the problem. However, with careful drug selection and close monitoring, it is possible to decrease pain, increase function, improve quality of life, and decrease the suffering associated with chronic pain.