Drugs for Diabetes Pain

By David Spero Pain researcher Rebecca Sudore, MD, says, "Adults living with Type 2 diabetes are suffering from incredibly high rates of pain, at levels similar to patients living with cancer." Sounds awful. But what can we do about it? Actually, quite a bit. Let's look at medications first. Because chronic pain involves emotions, thoughts, stress, general health, and the entire body, there are at least six different categories of drugs that can help with pain. They include: narcotics, anxiolytics (“tranquilizers"), antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, medicines for seizures, and alternative treatments. With all those choices, nobody should have to live in severe pain. Unfortunately, many doctors know little about pain treatment and care even less. "I can't see it or feel it," they reason. "How bad can it be?" Doctors are often more likely to worry about patients' "drug seeking" than they are about relieving their pain. So it helps if people know their possible treatments and ask for them. Here's a brief run-down: • Narcotics (also called opioids) are derived from the opium plant or are chemical imitations of opiates. They include morphine, codeine, oxycodone, meperidine, methadone, and many, many more. They block receptors in brain cells that feel pain. Narcotics can help people ignore or cope with pain signals, but they don't calm the overactive pain nerves that send the chronic pain messages. Sometimes, they have to really knock you out before you get much pa...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs