Medication Management

Medication management ensures the drugs you take are safe and effective. The pain management specialists offer medication management services at Spine & Pain Center of San Antonio’s offices in San Antonio and Live Oak, Texas. With their expert support, you can be confident that your treatment is the best available and won’t put your health at risk. Call your nearest office today or request a medication management review appointment online.

What is medication management?

Medication is often a fundamental part of treatment plans for patients with chronic pain. While it should never be the only treatment, it can have benefits when used wisely. However, expert medication management is vital to protect your health.

Medications tackle pain in different ways; for instance, some reduce inflammation, some relax your muscles, and others act on the nerves transmitting pain signals. Drugs used in pain management include:

• Anti-inflammatories
• Muscle relaxants
• Low-dose tricyclic antidepressants
• Anti-seizure medicines

There are numerous drugs within these broad classes that people respond to differently. In some cases, patients require opioid medications like morphine or oxycodone for pain, but due to their high risk of causing substance use disorder, these drugs are usually a last resort.

What does medication management involve?

Managing your medication involves finding the most effective pain relief, which varies depending on the condition and the patient. Spine & Pain Center of San Antonio aims to minimize the medications you take to reduce the risk of adverse effects, while ensuring you benefit from well-controlled pain and optimized physical function.

The practice offers regular medication management reviews where your provider evaluates how well your treatments work. They can help with problems like difficulties remembering to take your medications or concerns you have that deter you from using your meds.

Regular reviews ensure that you only take the medicines you need and administer the correct dose at the right time in the right way. For example, you must take some medications before or after a meal, and some just with water.

What happens at my medication management review?

When you visit the Spine & Pain Center of San Antonio for a medication management review, your provider looks at your medical history and asks about your current symptoms. Tell them how well your medications control the pain and report any side effects that could be due to your medication.

Your provider also needs to know about the medications you take for other health problems. For instance, you might take metformin because you have Type 2 diabetes or fluoxetine for depression. Drugs can interact, changing their effects. Sometimes, they don’t work as well, and some combinations are potentially harmful.

That also applies to over-the-counter medicines, complementary therapies like herbal remedies, and dietary supplements. Give your provider a list of everything you take so they can offer you the best advice.

If you take pain medicines and want to ensure you’re on the most effective, safest regimen, contact Spine & Pain Center of San Antonio. Call the office or book an appointment online today.