The American Chronic Pain Association, the American Pain Foundation and The National Pain Foundation have gotten together to create a website clarifying pain relief options. Their website, called Making Sense of Pain Relief, offers up the answers to questions like:

• How do I understand the benefits and risks of pain medications?
• What should I know about NSAIDs?
• What else can I do to manage my pain relief?

While this website is supported by drug manufacturer Pfizer, Inc., I applaud it for its well-rounded treatment of pain relief, and its ease of use. It emphasizes patients' involvement in their own pain management, including techniques to do at home, how to evaluate the role of treatment options, and other topics. Getting through the critical information on this user-friendly site will likely take just a few moments per topic.

The website has downloads and links for further information. The "Discussion Guide" is a .pdf document accessible from the left side of homepage that will give you some ideas about what questions to ask your doctors on the topic of pain medications.

The About.com network has several excellent writers on the topic of medications:

• Improve Your Medical Knowledge Base, from our Nursing guide, Kathy Quan.
• Attention to medication labels should be given at least as much attention as nutrition labels. Kathy also has written Read Over-the-Counter Labels Carefully.
• Prescription Drug Packages Get a New Look, from About's Arthritis guides, Carol and Rick Eustice. Clue: the repackaging is meant to reduce medication errors.
• Reduce Medication Errors - Clear Out Your Medicine Cabinent, written by About's Lung Diseases guide, Stacey Lloyd.
• Avoiding Drug Interactions, from About's Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia guide, Karen Richards