I am a nurse and this happens often. We call these patients drug seekers. She needs to explain to him and give examples of the pain scale. She can offer other measures before giving the pain medication such as position change, massage, ask visitors to leave if the are "bothering" him. Unfortunately many doctor's will still give the pain medicine to these patients and the nurse has to obey orders. If she does medicate him she can choose the lower dose medication first. Hope this helps.
