Tolerance to pain medicine sometimes happens.
Some people think that they have to save stronger medicines for later. They’re afraid that their bodies will get used to the medicine and that it won’t work anymore. But medicine doesn’t stop working—it just doesn’t work as well as it once did. As you keep taking a medicine over time, you may need a change in your pain control plan to get the same amount of relief.
This is called tolerance. Tolerance is a common issue in cancer pain treatment.
Medicine tolerance is not the same as addiction.
As mentioned, medicine tolerance happens when your body gets used to the medicine you’re taking. Each person’s body is different. Many people don’t develop a tolerance to opioids. But if tolerance happens to you, don’t worry.
Under your doctor’s care, you can:
The goal is to relieve your pain. Increasing the dose to overcome tolerance does not lead to addiction.
Taking pain medicine will not cause you to “get high.”
Most people do not “get high” or lose control when they take cancer pain medicines as prescribed by the doctor. Some pain medicines can cause you to feel sleepy when you first take them This feeling usually goes away within a few days. On occasion, people get dizzy or feel confused when they take pain medicines. Tell your doctor or nurse if this happens to you. Changing your dose or type of medicine can usually solve this problem.