Pain medications are a quick and effective way of coping with mild to severe pain. While these drugs do not treat the cause of the pain, they can provide enough relief to make people more comfortable and to allow them to carry out their daily routines. Most analgesics take from 30 to 60 minutes to start working if taken in tablet form. Intravenous or injected pain relivers are often much quicker to take effect. Types of Pain medications : There are two primary types of pain medications : Non-Narcotic Pain Medications : Non-narcotic pain medications, also known as non-opioids. These medications are milder forms of analgesics and include acetaminophen, the most commonly used over the counter non-narcotic analgesic. Other drugs are not technically part of the analgesic family, but are nonetheless considered analgesics in practice. These include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Narcotic Pain Medications : Narcotic pain medications, also known as opioids. These medications are stronger analgesics that are used when pain signals are too severe to be controlled by non-narcotic analgesics. Analgesics in this category include natural narcotics (derived from the opium poppy), such as morphine and codeine, and synthetic narcotics.