If you have a chronic pain condition, then you may want the best pain relief that you can get. This is understandable, as nobody wants to be in pain for weeks or months at a time. And, while opioids are effective in reducing pain, they are addictive and often not the best choice when it comes to long-term pain relief. So, your physician may be able to offer you a different type of relief medication. Keep reading to learn about a few different options.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are most often prescribed for depression and anxiety. However, there are some situations where the medicines are given for reasons other than depression. Pain relief is one such reason why an antidepressant may be prescribed. There are three kinds of antidepressants, and they all may be prescribed for chronic pain. However, SSRIs are not usually prescribed for pain because they are not as effective as SNRIs and TCAs. 

SNRIs are serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and TCAs are tricyclic antidepressants. Both of these types of medications help to make certain neurotransmitters more abundant and available in the body. It is not completely understood how this helps to reduce pain, but it is likely that the increase in chemicals is responsible for this. 

Keep in mind that the different types of antidepressants are prescribed based on the type of pain you are feeling. So, speak with your physician about the best option for you based on your medical need. 

Steroids

If your pain condition involves inflammation, like arthritis, then controlling the swelling may be ideal to reduce your pain symptoms. Swelling can be controlled significantly with the assistance of steroidal medications called corticosteroids. These medicines can be taken as pills or they may be injected directly into the inflamed site. Injections are common if your chronic pain is associated with an injury or with an immune disorder that affects several distinct sites on the body.

Steroid medicines or corticosteroids stop the body from producing the chemicals that are responsible for inflammation. There are only a few different corticosteroid medicines that are prescribed to patients and include prednisone.

Steroidal medicines can affect the immune system and make you more susceptible to infections. This is one reason why the medicines are typically only prescribed for a short period of time. If you need the steroids more long-term, then your doctor can give you advice on how best to avoid becoming ill from viruses. For more information, check out companies like Nyloxin.com today.