By the way, almost all painkillers cause constipation, so changing painkillers is not a good way of dealing with this problem. You will probably need to take laxatives regularly. Read pages 130-31 for other suggestions.
Aim for the balance between pain relief and side effects that’s best for you. You may prefer to be completely free of pain, even if this means that you are drowsy and can’t concentrate on anything. Or you may prefer to have mild pain when you move about in exchange for feeling more alert.
It is almost always possible to relieve cancer pain with painkillers taken by mouth either in tablet or liquid form. Injections should be necessary only if you are vomiting, can’t swallow, or are too sleepy to take pills or syrup. An alternative to injections is suppositories. Some painkillers, for example, oxycodone, are available in this form. The painkiller is absorbed into the system through the lining of the rectum. Their big advantage over injections is that you can use them yourself at home. Another use for suppositories is as a supplement to painkillers taken by mouth. If you use a painkilling suppository last thing at night instead of your tablets or syrup, you are likely to get a longer stretch of pain-free sleep, because suppositories are longer acting.
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