Pain Management
Pancreatitis can be a very painful condition, making effective pain management a critical part of your child’s overall care plan. Repeated episodes of inflammation may cause irreversible damage, causing pain relief options to be less effective over time. This can make expert pain care even more important to your child’s wellbeing. Focusing on a multimodal pain management approach, our team consists of physicians with dedicated pain management training, psychologists, dietitians and physical therapists to address all aspects of pain management.
No matter your child’s condition, the pancreas care team will work to create a comprehensive plan to keep your child as comfortable as possible.
Achieving Effective Pain Relief Through Medication
Our pain management team will develop medication-based pain care strategies based on the cause and severity of your child’s pain. For mild pain and pain caused by inflammation, over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen are often used. If these are not effective at controlling your child’s pain, stronger prescription doses or mild opioids may be used. If these fail, stronger opioids, such as morphine, may be used. All opioid use is closely monitored to ensure your child’s safety and wellbeing.
In many cases, pain changes over time, so your child may be prescribed multiple medication options. You and your child will be taught how to match the level of pain to the type of medication that is most appropriate. In some cases, surgery becomes the best option to try to reduce pain and the use of medication for the long-term.
Additional Pain Management Options
Nationwide Children’s is constantly aiming to advance pancreas care, and we use a wide variety of pain control methods that can help your child. With this in mind, there are many ways to treat pain caused by pancreas problems and related health issues, including:
- Antioxidant therapies: These are new to the pancreatic pain relief scene, and several clinical trials are underway. Antioxidants may prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals in the body. Free radicals are naturally produced in the body due to many things, including the environment or outside stressors. Some antioxidant examples include vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, selenium, manganese and zeaxanthin.
- Stress and anxiety management techniques: Many children have pain that is not entirely caused by physical problems with the pancreas. In these cases, the pain may not respond to medication. If your child suffers from anxiety, our psychologists can use cognitive behavioral therapy or other counseling techniques to help resolve some of these issues.
- Treatment for acute illness: Infections and other health problems may be at the root of some of your child’s pain. Our multidisciplinary team will carefully monitor your child’s overall health to ensure that health problems are recognized and treated appropriately. For example, antibiotics or antivirals may help fight off infections causing your child additional pain.
- Celiac plexus block: This involves injection of a long-acting, local pain medicine to stop the nerves from transmitting pain from the pancreas to the brain.
- Sleep and physical activity