Other Medications
Drugs can also play an important part in relieving symptoms other than pain and sleep problems. If you've been unfortunate enough to develop other symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome or migraine headaches, you may need medications to combat those problems, too. For example, your doctor may prescribe tegaserod (Zelnorm) and alosetron (Lotronex) if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. If you have migraines, you may need a triptan. If you have interstitial cystitis, you may need to take pentosan polysulfate (Elmiron).
Essential
If you're tired of buying so many medications — only to find they don't work — ask your doctor for samples. Pharmaceutical sales reps provide samples to physicians regularly. You should also call your doctor for samples to tide you over if you're out and waiting for delivery of your next bottle or package.
The challenge with medications is always to balance out the effectiveness with the side effects. Sometimes, you need to discontinue the first remedy and find a new one. In other cases, you may need to adopt a different regimen altogether. For most people, finding the right mix of medications is a lengthy process that requires patience.
