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Are Pain Medication Available Over The Counter?
Question: Are there any legal painkiller drugs that one can buy without a prescription? They will be used for a
person dying of cancer.
person dying of cancer.
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
I see that you have already tried aspirin and some strength of oxycodone/acetaminophen.
There are NSAIDs (non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Annaprox, Naprosyn) which are sold without prescription. These should only be taken with food in the stomach. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is non-prescription too, but you need to be careful about the total amount of acetaminophen taken in a day as it is part of oxycodone/acetaminophen preparations too. So the total amount of acetaminophen needs to be added together to see if it is safe.
But I am concerned as it is unlikely, if the patient has already tried some dosage of oxycodone/acetaminophen, that anything over the counter will be enough.
If the patient is dying of cancer, do they have a hospice or palliative care doctor? Because these doctors are experts in pain management and can provide prescription medication other than what has been tried to make this person more comfortable. I don't think trying over the counter non-prescription medicine is the way to go right now - it won't be enough.
If you don't have a hospice/palliative care doctor, talk with your doctor or doctor's office about setting your loved one up with this.
I hope this information helps.
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
I see that you have already tried aspirin and some strength of oxycodone/acetaminophen.
There are NSAIDs (non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Annaprox, Naprosyn) which are sold without prescription. These should only be taken with food in the stomach. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is non-prescription too, but you need to be careful about the total amount of acetaminophen taken in a day as it is part of oxycodone/acetaminophen preparations too. So the total amount of acetaminophen needs to be added together to see if it is safe.
But I am concerned as it is unlikely, if the patient has already tried some dosage of oxycodone/acetaminophen, that anything over the counter will be enough.
If the patient is dying of cancer, do they have a hospice or palliative care doctor? Because these doctors are experts in pain management and can provide prescription medication other than what has been tried to make this person more comfortable. I don't think trying over the counter non-prescription medicine is the way to go right now - it won't be enough.
If you don't have a hospice/palliative care doctor, talk with your doctor or doctor's office about setting your loved one up with this.
I hope this information helps.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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