will help your doctor make minor changes in dosage or prescribe other, possibly more effective medication. Keeping track of the effects while you are still in hospital will also prepare you to be self-reliant in pain control once you get home.

Injections  You might be prescribed medication in the form of pills, liquids, rectal suppositories or injections. Pills, liquids and suppositories are familiar and usually easy to take. But many people are afraid to give themselves injections.
    These fears can be overcome with help and a little training in the proper techniques from hospital staff. After all, many diabetics give themselves injections every day. A nurse can show you and your family how to measure the medication and draw it into the syringe, how to prepare the skin and how to inject the needle. A little practice will be needed before you feel able to give a shot safely and comfortably. But once you know you can do it you will have more confidence that you can control your pain.

Where to Give the Injection  The doctor or nurse will also advise you about where to give the injection. Generally, medications that are either irritating to the skin or designed to act quickly are injected deep into the muscle tissue (intramuscular). Non-irritating medications are often injected just below the skin (subcutaneous).
    The three common places for intramuscular injections are the upper outer portion of the buttocks, the thigh midway between the hip and the knee, and the upper arm about a third of the way down from the shoulder to