aging

About six months ago I was thinking about my health,again! In a little over a year I will be 80 years old.I am beginning to have aches and pains. I am wondering about pain medication and how to plan for the future. As the body gets used to narcotics such as codeine and aspirin, and since you have to increase the dose to effect the pain I don't want to take these medications unwisely.

So, I decided to make my own pain scale. If I have pain that I can ignore through activity I will not take any pills. If I sit down to read and pain interferes with my concentration I will take two Tylenol or Motrin depending on the reason for the pain. If the pain comes from a recent muscle pull I will take Motrin to lessen swelling. I will only take the pills twice a day, when I sit down to read and when I wake in the middle of the night.This will lessen the chance of liver complications over the long haul.

I had a serious fall four months ago. I was in the yard and fell flat on my face. I had tripped over a small fence. I sat for a minute or two and then scrunched over to a chair to help my self up. I took half a codeine and aspirin and a half a librium which I had on hand from years ago when I had panic attacks.My husband also took half as he was scared too. I did not have to go to the emergency room as I had no injuries except for aches and pains and cuts.

In my plan for pain medication I am taking my mother's death age as my possible demise. And as such will be conservative on my pain medication plan. If I ever have a problem I will always try to get off the strong medications as fast as I can. Then if something happens I will not have to use stronger and stronger medications.