Hi Sandy,

Does your prescription say to take "as needed" or around the clock, like "every 8 hours", "3 times a day", etc.?

If it says to take it "as needed" that's fine. However, if it says to take it continuously, you should be doing that - take it however your doctor has prescribed it.

Some pain medications need to build up in your system, and then be maintained at a certain level, in order to work most effectively. It may seem the right thing to do to "tough it out" as long as possible, but then you wind up either with too low a level to control the pain, or on a kind of pain rollercoaster, with pain levels rising & falling. When the med levels get too low, it requires more medication to get back up to where it needs to be to control the pain than if you just take it as directed - even if it feels like you don't need it all the time.

So... whatever the doctor prescribes is the correct way to take it. Do not fear addiction. Pain patients who take their meds as directed rarely have addiction issues, and even then, only if they have a pre-existing substance abuse or psychological issue.

Doc