Choosing Pain Relievers of the Correct Strength and Release System
Pain relievers often come in various levels of strength and rates of release. It is important to choose pain relief medication that has the right strength and rate of release to go with the characteristics of the pain you suffer from.
Advice from a health professional will help you determine how strong your pain is considered to be and what type of release is preferable taking into account the usual pattern of your pain. For example, a type of pain that is considered of medium strength and of a continuous pattern should be combated by pain relievers of medium strength and with a slow release (SR) system.
Normal release (NR) pain relievers take about one hour to enter the blood stream via the gut and are then effective for between 4-6 hours. Pain relievers with normal release are most compatible with intermittent pain patterns.
For pain pattern that is continuous but also with intermittent peaks it is recommended to try a combination of slow release pain relievers, for the continuous pain, while taking other normal release pain relievers for coping with the intermittent peaks of pain.
