Advice On Pain Relief

Trayguy

Hi, I am hoping someone can give me a bit of advice on pain relief. I have osteoarthiritis in both of my knees and am in a lot of pain - mainly when I walk but it has started to give me quite a bit of pain during the night. I have been to my doctor and he has given me co-codomol which I just cant take. They make me very dizzy and feeling sick. I was then given Nefopam but they made me really ill. I was then advised there was nothing else unless I want to go onto morphine. I really dont want that so am trying to find a pain killer that will work for me. Does anyone know of anything else I can try. I have got an appointment at the pain clinic but it is not until next year so need to try and sort something out. I wonder if anyone has taken paracetamol and it worked for them. Thanks Tracey.

trisharay

Hi Tracey, I have never found paracetamol to be very effective on it's own but if you took them with an anti-inflammatory like Neurophen plus it might help. Also you could ask your Dr to prescribe Tramadol for you, it's really strong and usually takes most of my pain away. What I find really helps sometimes is Chinese Acupuncture. When I first went for it, the last thing I wanted was someone sticking a needle into my aching joints but after it was done I felt a lot of relief. Hope this helps. trisha x

skezier

hi Tracey,

pain is evil and oa pain doesn't seem to let up so i do sympathise with you.

i think you need to go see your gp and get a change in meds, ideally to an anti-inflammatory and then something to help with the really bad pain as and when needed. there are so many things you can try so go back to your gp and talk it over with them to see if they can give you something else flower. fingers crossed and in the mean time sometimes oa pain likes to have a bit of support round it and either bandaging or some kink of support might help but make sure its not too tight and only ware it when you need it etc cus keeping the muscles strong is important.

really hope it will ease for you. Cris x

Trayguy

Thanks for the replies. Trisha do you know if Tramadol has any nasty side effects? If not I will get down to my GP and see if he will give me some. Tracey

suzygirl

Hi, I use tramadol and it suits me. It made me a bit groggy to startwith, but it quickly cleared. It takes time to find pain meds that suit us. Everyone is different. I also use, heat, ice, splints, anything I can find really!!

Hope you find something that works.

elnafinn

Hi there

Tramadol can have nasty effects - I have witnessed that when my mum was prescribed trams in the hospital.

Everyone reacts so differently to prescribed meds, so you are best to discuss it with your gp.

Elna x

elnafinn

When my knees were bad before my TKR's I was prescribed cocodamols which I appreciate you have said you cannot tolerate and also an anti inflammatory drug. I had diclofenac which is excellent but after 2 years it gave me stomach discomfort so I was taken off that and scribed Etoricoxib (Arcoxia). You could perhaps discuss Amitriptyline with your GP. This med was used as an anti-depressant for many years (rarely these days) it can also be used at low doses to help burning, shooting or stabbing pain caused by irritated or damaged nerves. It is not a sleeping tablet. The most noticeable side effect that people find is a dry mouth. If you take it early enough in the evening this helps to eliminate the feeling of drowsiness the next morning.

I do hope that you find something to help you with your knee pain. We do need our sleep to cope with what each day throws at us.

Welcome to the forum.

Elna x

trisharay

Hi Tracey, as we all know here that we all seem to get different reactions but I have actually found that if I have a short nap after my tramadol I seem to wake up energetic. Hope it works for you. Not much works for me, but as a fellow RA warrior, I soldier on, trying and hoping xxx

dreamdaisy

It's not easy. I have PA and OA and of the two pains the OA is by far the worst. I manage on just co-codamol (anti-inflammatories have not helped with pain relief for me) and I save the tramadol for the really rough days simply because there is nowhere else to go after that. Even that does not take it all away, but at least it takes me away. There are varying strengths of all sorts of the dullers and this is something that you should nag over with your GP. I wish you well. DD

traluvie

Hi Tracey,

Can be hard to find the right balance that works for you..
I would definately talk to the GP/pain clinic to see if you can try an alternative, i take tramadol, diclofenac and paracetamol on bad days.. felt weird when i first started them but am ok on them now, i have found that is the best combination to suit me..
Hope you find something that works for you..x

hileena111

Hi
Sorry I'm late coming into this discussion.
I know you say the pain clinic appt isnt until next year so meantime just keep going back to your doctor until you do get something that suits you. He's not right saying that there is nothing else except morphine.
We arent doctors so are only speaking from our own experinces.
Its my hips and spine....not my knees but OA is OA. I am on paracetamol and naproxen slow release twice a day. Tramadol didnt suit me but thats not to say you couldnt cope with it.
I fractured my pelvis on top of everything recently and the GP put me on morphine but that was a last resort and she kept monitoring it, decreasing it, until she told me to stop it....couple of weeks ago. It did the job at the time....in fact it was fantastic ....but I wouldnt want to be on it long term.
What are the chances of changing GP's.......a lot of them just think OA...wear and tear...its normal....give you a prescription and arent really interested after that. Talking about my ex GP :roll:
Good luck anyway
Keep posting on here and let us know
Love
Hileena

lavenderlady

hi my extensive OA pain is controlled with Zapain with pain that is mild and tramadol for bad pain I did fall asleep when first taking it but I regulary take them to ease the pain I suffer from also take ammatriptylin every evening to help with pain and prozac to cope with the depression that pain brings this also helps with the pain in fact I was given it as a pain relief to help me cope making me more relaxed helps with pain, I also take gabapentin for nerve pain, hope this helps

GraceB

Hi,
I'm currently taking Tramadol and Paracetamol (have OA in most of my weight bearing joints, right knee partially replaced) and have today been instructed to "up" these to 8 of each every day as my right hip is inflamed and I can't take anti-inflams.
You might want to try using a walking stick - if your left knee is worse use the stick in your right hand; if the right is bad use the stick in your left hand. This takes about a third of your weight off the joint.
Hot and cold works for me sometimes. I've also used support bandaging but this can be restrictive and encourages the muscles to waste away.
If you can swim and your local pool (if you have one) is warm enough try gentle exercising in the pool (not breast stroke though - not with dodgy knees).
Your GP has loads of other things to try so is telling you porkies when he says there's nothing else apart from morphine. Make sure you read the leaflets that come with the meds and follow the dosage instructions.
Good luck; hope you find some effective pain control soon. I'm not medically qualified but speak as an OA "host".
Take care,
Grace.

charlielou86

Everyones experience is definitely different but i only take tramadol as a last resort as i dont like the side effects. I feel really drugged up on it and hallucinate as well. But it is brilliant for the pain, i just cant tell the difference between my dreams and the real world. Discuss it with your gp. Good Luck x