If you are taking pain medication, you may be concerned about becoming addicted or dependent on it. This is a valid concern, especially if you know you have addictive tendencies or have a family history that includes addiction. If you believe you are starting to become dependent on your pain medication, here are some steps to take.
Signs You Are Becoming Dependent
If you believe you’re starting to become dependent on a medication, there are a few different signs to look for. Do you feel a craving for the medication? If you delay taking it for an hour or so, do you feel any effects? Another sign is that you feel the need to take your pain medication more often than instructed or you want to take more than you should.
Call Your Doctor
Immediately call your doctor if you believe you’re starting to become addicted to your pain medication or any type of medication. If you can’t talk to your doctor right away, ask to speak to a nurse or your doctor’s assistant. Call 911 if you believe you have overdosed or if you are experiencing dangerous symptoms.
Return to Following Your Doctor’s Directions
While your instinct may be to stop taking the pain medication immediately, that can cause further problems. Stopping some medication cold turkey can be dangerous. Instead of stopping, do your best to return to taking the medication as instructed until you can reach your doctor.
Consider Alternatives
If you are concerned about becoming dependent on a medication or already have, talk to your doctor about alternatives. While pain medication may be easy and convenient, it’s often not the best option for managing or reducing the amount of pain you’re in. There may be some exercises that will help your body build up injured muscles or that will help take some of the burden off the injured part of your body. Alternative treatment options such as chiropractic care may also help.
If you need to discuss these alternative options or if you believe you’re starting to become dependent on pain medication, the team at Maximum Orthopedics can help. Contact us today to make an appointment.
-
Posted on: Jan 25 2021
-
By: admin
While dealing with workers’ comp claims is often a necessity for business owners, the best option is to never have those cases come up at all. You may not be able to completely avoid dealing with workers’ comp claims, but you can do a lot to reduce the chance of accidents occurring. Here are some preventative care tips you should share with your employees to help them remain healthy and avoid injury.
Take Breaks
It’s important that your employees take regular breaks throughout the day, especially if they do repetitive tasks that could damage their hands, wrists, or arms. Taking breaks helps reduce the chance of chronic issues such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow. It’s also important that employees take breaks from looking at their computer monitors to relax their eyes. This helps reduce the risk of headache and eyestrain. Taking regular breaks also helps with mental strain and has been shown to improve productivity.
Get Up and Move Around
In addition to taking breaks, your employees need to get up and move around. Stretching, walking, and in general simply moving helps reduce the risk of a wide number of diseases and other issues. In terms of workers’ comp, moving around helps keep the muscles loose and warm. This, in turn, helps reduce the risk of an accident due to a muscle cramp or other issue.
Create a Safety Program
A safety program will help your employees learn to recognize the routine risks they will face during their regular workday. Your safety program should identify health risks that can be removed or reduced as well as teach employees how to protect themselves. This program should also put standards in place to ensure that equipment is maintained and that procedures are followed. Train your employees regularly on these standards and provide reinforcement training at least every year.
Have a Plan in Place for Injuries
While you can’t prevent all injuries, you can and should have a plan in place for handling them. On-the-job injuries can get much worse if they aren’t attended to quickly. Have fully stocked first-aid kits on hand, and check them regularly to make certain they are still stocked and that everything is up-to-date. If you do have an accident, the team here at Maximum Orthopedics is ready to help. We will assist your employees with diagnosing and treating any workers’ comp injury.
-
Posted on: Jan 15 2021
-
By: admin
