Your patient comes into the office one week after surgery. He complains that he

Your patient comes into the office one week after surgery. He complains that he is not sleeping well due to pain from the surgery. When you ask what he is taking for the pain, he explains that when he went to get his prescriptions filled the pharmacist told him the drugs were opiates. He has heard about opiates on the news. He did not get the prescriptions filled because he did not want to get “hooked” on anything. This patient has no history of substance abuse.
1. What do you say to this patient?
2. What do you recommend that your patient do for his pain?