15
Pain
• Pain can and should be effectively treated in patients with
opioid addiction.
• For people who are not currently in treatment, methadone
or buprenorphine can be effective for treating both opioid
addiction and pain.
• The clinician may temporarily increase the patient's dose,
or the frequency of dosing, of methadone or buprenorphine
to effectively manage pain.
• The clinician may also prescribe additional pain-relieving
medications or other treatments (such as physical therapy).
• Methadone or buprenorphine does not need to be stopped
before surgery.
• If methadone or buprenorphine is stopped due to pain
treatment, it should be restarted as quickly as possible.
• Naltrexone blocks the action of opioid pain medications.
When needed, this blocking effect can often be overcome.
In these instances, patients should be closely monitored in
an emergency department or hospital setting.
• It is important that patients talk to their clinicians about
their opioid addiction and work together to develop a
pain management plan that both addresses the pain and
minimizes their risk of a relapse.
