What are prescription pain relievers?

If OTC pain relievers don’t relieve your pain, your provider may prescribe something stronger. Many NSAIDs are also available at higher prescription doses.

The most powerful pain relievers are opioids, sometimes called narcotics. They include strong prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, or morphine. Opioids are sometimes used to treat moderate to severe pain. Your provider may give you a prescription to reduce pain after you have had a major injury or surgery.

Is taking long-term pain-relief medicines dangerous?

Regularly taking pain-relief medicines can be important in managing certain health conditions, such as arthritis.

Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you about any side effects associated with long-term use of your specific medicines. They can also recommend ways to help minimise any unwanted effects, for example, taking the medicine at a particular time of day.

Some types of pain and health conditions, such as chronic pain, may be managed together with non-medicine strategies. Talk to your doctor to see if these methods could help you.

Read more on options for managing chronic pain.

Do pain-relief medicines cause side effects?

Most medicines can cause some unwanted effects. You might have side effects even if you take your pain medicines exactly as your doctor prescribes.

Some side effects can resolve after you have been taking the medicine for a while. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping your medicine or changing the dose, so you understand what to expect.

Opioids can cause serious side effects at any time during their use. This may include potentially life-threatening breathing problems.

If you have side effects that concern you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible. Every medicine has its own list of possible side effects. More information about side effects of each medicine can be found in the Consumer Medicines Information (CMI) leaflet in the package