If you have recently had surgery, or you suffer from, you may wonder if you should take the pain medication as prescribed by your doctor. Given so much discussion these days about opioid and, it may seem reasonable to modify the prescription on your own, perhaps skipping a dose when you don't feel you need it. For example, if your prescription says to take your pain medication every four hours but you don't feel any pain, should you continue to take the medicine as prescribed or wait until you feel pain? There are cases in which your health care provider may prescribe a medication for you take when you feel pain and may be in addition to a regularly scheduled medication plan. This is often referred to as medication for.