When you have chronic pain, it’s essential to work closely with your doctor to manage your condition and prevent complications from developing. Good communication, a clear treatment plan, and regular visits to your doctor can go a long way toward helping you take good care of yourself and stay healthy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to talking to your doctor effectively about chronic pain:

Step One: Set your targets.

Describe your pain to your doctor as specifically as possible, including where the pain is located, what it feels like (i.e., stabbing, throbbing, burning, or dull), whether it’s constant or comes and goes, and what makes the pain better or worse. When describing the intensity, it helps to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you can imagine. Also, be sure to tell your doctor how the pain is affecting your energy, sleep, appetite, and mood, your relationships and ability to function. Then, find out what treatments can ease your pain and what kind of prognosis you can expect over time.

Step Two: Manage your medicines.

Doctors use a wide array of medications—including analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, antidepressants, and anti-convulsant drugs—to treat chronic pain. Besides oral medications, there are injectable therapies, topical agents (from creams to patches), and implant therapies. With any medication, ask your doctor to explain why you’re taking it, how it works, how often you should take it, whether it should be taken with or without food, and what side effects or potential interactions you should watch out for. Should you take the medication at set intervals or only during a pain flare-up? Are there any over-the-counter or prescription drugs you should be concerned about taking (such as cough syrup or headache remedies, which may contain alcohol, or other pain relievers that can have an additive effect)? Are there potential interactions or side effects you should be aware of with other drugs or supplements you may be taking?

Step Three: Look at your lifestyle.

Find out how often you should exercise, whether physical or occupational therapy would be helpful, and what special measures you should take for getting more rest or managing stress. Also, should you try to lose weight? Being stressed out or overweight can aggravate many chronic pain conditions. Keep in mind, too: Feelings of depression or anxiety are very common with chronic pain; ask your doctor what you should do to manage your mood or deal with any downturns that may occur.

Step Four: Plan ahead.

Ask your doctor how often you should come for routine visits and what tests you should expect at these appointments. What kinds of assessments will the doctor do to see if a therapy or medication is helping? Also, ask if there are other medical conditions—such as depression or high blood pressure—that may complicate your pain management.

Step Five: Fill in the blanks.

To make sure you’re not overlooking anything important, it helps to ask your doctor a few catch-all questions, such as: What else do I need to know? What stumbling blocks should I watch out for in my care? What kinds of symptoms or changes should always be reported to you? When should I seek emergency care for the pain?