Are there addiction risks to some pain medicines?

Pain medicines called opioids can increase the risk of addiction if they are prescribed for more than 3 months. You might have heard names such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone and tramadol. Pain medicine specialists are very aware of this issue and can prescribe lower doses combined with other pain management strategies, or talk to you about different options altogether. If opioids are a key and useful part of your treatment plan, your specialist will discuss with you a plan for the end of treatment and how you will phase them out.