Pain Management Research Papers

Imagine being a caretaker for an elderly family member. It is a difficult but rewarding role keeping them comfortable and with other loved ones in their final years. Now, add in a crippling chronic mind-altering pain that loved ones must face. It makes them cantankerous and melancholy, no current pain management techniques work. To smoke, or not to smoke? This is a question that many people in pain must ask themselves. With the fairly recent legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in many different states, a new alternative pain relief is in the hands of the many. With years of propaganda and fear tactics used to keep marijuana illegal, finding extensive, long term, non-biased research studies on the effectiveness of tetrahydrocannabinol,
Side effects are an unfortunate necessity when contending with pharmaceutical practices. The idea of practicing safe medicine is a balancing act where the rewards outweigh the risks. In the case of pain management, this means that controlling the pain must be worth the inevitable myriad of effects that come with medication use. The more commonly used pain medications, belong in the opioid family. These medications also have a long list of side effects. According to (Benyamin, 2008) common side effects of opioid administration include sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, physical dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression. Physical dependence and addiction are clinical concerns that may prevent proper prescribing and in turn inadequate pain management. Less common side effects may include delayed gastric emptying, hyperalgesia, immunologic and hormonal dysfunction, muscle rigidity, and myoclonus. The most common side effects of opioid usage are constipation (which has a very high incidence) and nausea. The most serious side effect that can occur is death. When using marijuana as a pain reliever the side effects that sufferers must contend with are; (WebMD, 2016) dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, dry or red eyes, heart and blood pressure problems, lung problems, impaired mental functioning, headache, dizziness, numbness, panic reactions, hallucinations, flashbacks, depression, and sexual problems. Most reported incidents of side effects related to marijuana use are extremely mild and occur infrequently and resolve themselves as the medication metabolizes. When basing a decision solely on the merits of how many and how severe the side effects are, then marijuana, again, comes out on