Alternative Names
End of life - pain management; Hospice - pain management
Palliative Care
Palliative care is a holistic approach to care that focuses on treating pain and symptoms and improving quality of life in people with serious illnesses.
End of life - pain management; Hospice - pain management
Palliative care is a holistic approach to care that focuses on treating pain and symptoms and improving quality of life in people with serious illnesses.
One of the problems a serious illness can cause is pain. No one can look at you and know how much pain you have. Only you can feel and describe your pain.
Pain that is always or almost always present can lead to lack of sleep, depression, or anxiety. These can make it harder to do things or go places, and harder to enjoy life. Pain can be stressful for you and your family. But with treatment, pain can be managed.
First, your health care provider will find out:
You can tell your provider how much pain you have by measuring it on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (the worst pain possible). You choose the number that describes how much pain you have now. You can do this before and after treatments, so you and your health care team can tell how well your treatment works.
There are many treatments for pain. Which treatment is best for you depends on the cause and amount of your pain. Several treatments may be used at the same time for the best pain relief. These include:
You can also take medicines, such as:
Understand your medicines, how much to take, and when to take them.
If you have concerns about your pain medicine, talk to your provider.
Some people who take narcotics for pain become dependent on them. If you are concerned about this, talk to your provider.
Call your provider if your pain is not well controlled or if you have side effects from your pain treatments.
Abernethy AP, Kamal A, Currow DC. When should nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs be used to manage pain? In: Goldstein NE, Morrison RS, eds. Evidence-Based Practice of Palliative Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2013:chap 10.
Ellershaw JE, Dickman A. Pain control in the care of the dying. In: McMahon SB, Koltzenburg M, Tracey I, Turk DC, eds. Wall and Melzack's Textbook of Pain. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2013:chap 76.
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