Many medicines can decrease pain, including the ones listed below. Each one may have side effects. Some side effects can be serious. It's important to listen to your family doctor carefully when he or she tells you how to use your pain medicine. If you have questions about side effects or about how much medicine to take, ask your doctor or your pharmacist.

Acetaminophen (one brand name: Tylenol) helps many kinds of chronic pain. Remember, many over-the-counter and prescription pain medicines have acetaminophen in them. If you're not careful, you could take more acetaminophen than is good for you. Taking too much acetaminophen could cause liver damage. If you often have to take more than 2 acetaminophen pills a day, tell your doctor.