Buprenorphine is better at treating chronic pain than other opioids that carry a higher addiction risk and often cause constipation in elderly patients.
Some degree of pain is inevitable in older individuals, and as people pass 80 years of age, the harms of medications used to control chronic pain increase. Pain-reducing medication use in this age group may cause inflammation, gastric bleeding, kidney damage, or
Downstream effects of untreated pain could include a loss of mobility and isolation, Dr Meier said. And, as these harms are mounting, some clinicians may avoid using an analgesic that could bring great relief:," Dr Meier said, as something prescribed to treat substance use disorder. In reality, it is an effective analgesic in other situations.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy can both help people reduce the impact of pain, Dr Merlin said. And for people who can do so, physical therapy programs, yoga, or tai chi are all ways to strengthen the body's defenses against pain, Dr Merlin added."You can't get an older person to participate in rehab if they are in severe pain," Dr Meier said, adding that judicious use of medications should go hand in hand with nonpharmacologic treatment.
Dr Paauw works at the University of Washington in Seattle and treats people who are approaching 100 years old. As some of his patients have grown older, Dr Paauw's interest in effective pain management has grown; he thinks that all internists and family medicine physician need to know how to manage chronic pain in their eldest patients.
Pain Management Pain Chronic Pain Neuropathic Pain Addiction Geriatrics Elder Care Geriatric Medicine Older Adults Seniors Senior Citizens Elderly Elderly/Concerns Of Older Adults Elderly Depression Cyclic Antidepressant Tricyclic Antidepressant Tricyclics TCA - Tricyclic Antidepressant Constipation Costiveness Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Nsaids NSAID
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