Will my loved one become addicted to their pain medications?

Will my loved one become addicted to their pain medications?

David Kessler (Director of Palliative Care, Citrus Valley Health Partners and Hospice) gives expert video advice on: How does hospice manage pain?; What should I do if hospice is not managing my pain? and more...

Families are often concerned that their loved one will become addicted to pain medications. There's a time in our lives to worry about addiction and there is a time in our lives to worry about managing the pain at the end of life. These two are very different times. Less than one percent of the population gets addicted to pain medications at the end of life. So, just know, we want to make sure that your loved one gets the pain management they need, and its very unlikely that they will get addicted. When people are concerned a loved one may be addicted, sometimes what's happening is what we call pseudo addiction. That is, all of a sudden, your loved one may want to take their pain medication more and more. From the outside it may look like drug seeking behavior. But really, what your loved one is doing is pain relief seeking behavior. Our goal is to get your loved one off that short term pain relief agent and put them on something more continuous that manages their pain medication without them to have to constantly ask for something every few hours.