Feed up of taking pain killers.

sbolam

Hi all..just a rant about the fact I seem to be popping painkillers just lately like there are sweets.

I have been taking co-codamol 30/500 2 three times a day for awhile now and they are not working like they used too, saw doctor today and he has now given me tramadol 50mg tablets which he says I can take 1 if need with the co-cods when have a really bad day. and that I can swithc between them if needed..aswell as the diclofenic and the nephepam (for the odd godd day)

it seem a never ending downhill spiral of which I cant seen no return...Being told I am too young for a tkr does not help, Plus the damned side effects (constantly tired, feeling sleepy, the dizzyness, constipation, moody short tempered.) the list is long.

and for once I would like a GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP.

sorry for the rant, i need to just shout my frustrations..

PollySid

I know what you mean. I hate taking the medication too. I am on Coco's and find this last week I have had to take extra to take the pain away (it's gone into my neck as well atm).
I'm trying to tidy the spare bedroom a bit at a time (a bit being the operative word!). I might have it done by August at this rate.
I find after doing my little bit of sorting out in there I need extra tablets.
What's the answer - do nothing - or take extra pills?
Hope the Tramadol helps, I couldn't take those. I take Gabapentin at night time which on top of the Coco's help we sleep.

dreamdaisy

I try not to resent any of the meds because they are a necessity, but it is hard not to get fed up to the back teeth with it all. I would prefer to live a life not dominated by pain and the scheduling of tablets but alas, it is not to be. I think the more you take of something the more your body becomes accustomed to it, so I hold off on the co-cos. OK, stuff hurts more but it only hurts a little less when I take them. I'm about to pop a couple now as I have to work this morning and I need my wits about me so it's time to dull the sharper edges of it all. DD

sbolam

having to get up at 3am ish to hit the pill bottle is not the best way to start the day..I was a fab day weather wise and we took advantage if it and went out for the day..I really did over to it walking wise.

well so far with the tramadol, with not knowing how they will effect me the doc said just play with them till i find a combination that works..

for me taking one was ok. took the pain down to a level that I get away with if out and not driving

1 with the cocods work fantastic..(apart from stoned feeling I end up with and so i just went to lay down..

taking 2 tramadol not tried yet..I am sure i will be doing that later.

but so far they effect of them are not as bad I have expected

I just wish for just one day i could get away with taking nothing, instead of worrying what tomorrow is going to be like becuase if what I have done today..as Life as still got to go on and things still need to be done.

generaly I am fine...but the last couple of weeks have just been hard.

stickywicket

dreamdaisy wrote:

I think the more you take of something the more your body becomes accustomed to it, so I hold off on the co-cos. OK, stuff hurts more but it only hurts a little less when I take them.

I couldn't agree more. I always aim to take the lowest possible dose because, in the days when I didn't, I just found I had to keep increasing in order to get the same effect. Plus, I was walking round in a daze all the time. Sometimes there is no option. I was perfectly happy to do morphine when my hip was broken. But, for everyday, I'd rather keep it all to a minimum.

pinkbritishstars

Just wanted to offer you a hug.

Sorry not in a good place myself.

Bronwyn xx

Folara

It's depressing isn't it. I take a huge amount of tablets a day just to keep going (2 50mg tramadol, 3x a day - 1 600mg Ibuprofen 3x a day - 40mg Zomorph, 2x a day - 20mg Amitriptyline, 1x a day for the pain etc THEN fluoxetine once a day for depression and omeprazole to stop my stomach falling apart).

I'm sure I rattle. If I ever need to go anywhere and have to take my meds with me i need a bag just for them. Sometimes I get a bit confused with what I have or haven't taken so hubby is always watching to make sure.

Like you I am apparently too young for a tkr and they are reluctant to do my left hip and replace the bhr on the right hip at the mo cos I'm having my back sorted out, which is fair enough except it's my 'funny' walking that's making my back worse.

Ah well, I am sure things WILL improve for a lot of us in time.

Sending you a big hug to keep you going for now.

Fols x

scozzie

Agreed it's not fun having to take pain dullers all the time ... I don't like taking them either, but if I don't take them cos I feel alright, then it doesn't take long to be reminded why I do need to ... lol!

As for the side effects ...

Take care
Scozzie

sbolam

you guys are amazing.

thankyou all for your support.

If i can get away with I will take as little as possible. I dont like taking them..but when it all get a little shouty screamy its a case of having to.

I great knowing that..there is a place to find strengh and you guys give me that, reading some of the posts on here and seeing how you guys cope, give me a feeling of I dont have to do this alone and for that I thankyou.

stephen

tjt6768

Hi Stephen.
It wasn't too long ago I posted something similar, I was just sooooooo bloody fed up with all of them I felt like throwing them all away..
At the minute I'm trying my best to cut down on some of them, not an easy feat.. I hate them all but they do serve a purpose... At the minute I'm on..
Per day
8 paracetamol
1 cirtalopram
3 Alverine
3 peppermint oil tablets
1 Atorvastatin
1 lanzoprazole
4 Sulfasalazine
1 loratadine
And fentanyl patches :roll: Although I've cut them down from 75mg/hr to 50 (got down to 25 yesterday but had to sucumb today and jump back up as I'm not in a good way again at the minute lol)

Never mind eh matey...

Best wishes

SteveBurns

Hi all,

I've been taking Tramadol - 2 twice a day and paracetamol, 2 four times a day.

(Both knees OA and offered both knees half knee replacements).

I recently reduced my Paracetamol by half following a chat with my GP about headaches I had been getting every day.

GP told me about Analgesic headaches - caused by too many pills - my headaches have gone away.

Be careful with pain killers if questioned by DLA, and on application forms - i was investigated by fraud squad after a whistle blower reported me.

I was asked does my medication help me to manage my condition?

I didn't say yes but they said I did and knocked me off the DLA.

They said that I did not agree that my medication helped but I keep taking it anyway.

Can't win situation.

As stated above since I halved my dose I found out why I was taking them.

ichabod6

You are bob on Stickywicket.
I have always subscribed to minimum dosage for maximum effect.
Once a doctor prescribes a medication for you that is the end of
his involvement. You have to live with it. It's your life; it's your body;
it's your condition; it's your pain.
Ask for a medicine review. Some of your medication may be counter
effecting others. Worth a try, is it not?

sbolam

TBH..with the painkillers, your stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, you take them the pain dulls but your head is messed up and you cant do anything anyway...you dont take them the pain is such you cant do anything anyway..and you tell this to them and its like banging your head on a wall.

Pherstun

scozzie wrote:

Agreed it's not fun having to take pain dullers all the time ... I don't like taking them either, but if I don't take them cos I feel alright, then it doesn't take long to be reminded why I do need to ... lol!

As for the side effects ...

Take care
Scozzie

Ditto!

Currently on:
adalimumab injection - every 2 weeks
90mg etoricoxib (anti-inflammatory) - 1 a day
50mg tramadol - 2xAM, 1xtwice daily, 2xPM
15/500 co-codamol - 2x 4 times a day
800mg ibuprofen if I'm really bad

Haven't missed the injection yet but if I miss/try not to take any of the tablets I soon know about it. Ibuprofen just doesn't work as well as the etoricoxib but occasionally I need it to try and take some of the pain away.

So tired/fatigued all the time, bone deep not just 'oh I missed a night's sleep' like people seem to think, due to arthur, colitis and the combination of meds... Coca-Cola is the only thing that keeps me going! I get migraine too and wonder whether all my meds (not just those above) are causing headaches too. A friend of mine has hemiplegic migraine due to her meds, she has to decide whether to change them to get rid of the migraines - not a good place to be in.

Take care all
Debbie

sbolam

Saw DR again and he has taken me off the nephapam..and i am now just (i say just) taking the co-cods and tramadol as well as the diclofenac and omprazol and the fybrogel stuff.


trying to get referred the hospital is an uphill fight as I am being told that he is doing all they would do at this point and that just need to control the pain (thats easy for him to say he's not the one dealing with it). but I will keep pressing..


now getting head aches too..oh joy another side effect

stephen

mig

Only just read all this post,i only take codeine at the moment for the pain,its 30mg 1 every 6 hours,when i read some of the posts i cant believe how lucky i am at the moment to get away with so little.How you all cope is beyond me.I am sending you (((((()))))) and warm thoughts.Bless you Mig

PollySid

scozzie wrote:

but if I don't take them cos I feel alright, then it doesn't take long to be reminded why I do need to
Scozzie

I know what you mean, I go through periods when I think I should be able to cut down my 1x30/500 Coco 3 times a day and try missing a dose and spreading the other two out - no,no,no it doesn't wrk - I end up sitting with a wheat bag round my neck, walking indoors with two sticks and taking a 30/500 and 8/500 at the next dose!
Alan says I am still in denial about how badly the OA affects me. I look online for jobs and he tells me there is no way I could work as I am. I tell him the ESA might have a different view. He says they don't live with you.

merri

First of all have a /hug. I find that dealing with the pain alone is a full time job, and trying to do other things on top can be overwhelming. Meds wise I'm currently on:

8 Tramadol
8 Cocodamol
20mg Methatrexate once a week
20mg Citalopram
20mg Amitriptlyine
Omeneprazole
plus the other things like the capsaicin cream,Ad-cal Vitamin D and the folic acid.

I keep diclofenac in reserve. I try to limit what I take (although you'd not think it based on the list I've just written ), I take 2 less Tramadol and Cocodamol during holidays but other than that, in order for me to remain in work, I have to take what I take. Believe it or believe it not, all of those meds only reduce the pain by about 40%, but it's enough for me to be able to take control. I find it utterly mind boggling that I can take all of those meds and am still coherent but as they were added in stages, my body only had to adjust a bit each time.

Have you attended a pain management course at all? I must admit, attending that gave me the confidence and knowledge to look at other ways of managing the pain, e.g meditation,managing stress levels, relaxation techniques, stretches, breathing exercises which I now use too. Before I went on the course, the pain controlled me. Now I'm in control.

I must admit, I hate to think of what the meds are doing to my body but now I try to look at them as the tools to help me live my life the way I would like to. I was 28 when we had the accident and spent an awful long time feeling resentful that I'd gone from being absolutely fine to disabled overnight.

I hope that I don't sound preachy or anything, I'm just empathising with your situation. /hug

bubbadog

I know it's a pain to take meds and what the side effects can cause isn't nice either but there for a perpose. I'm on 9 aday and they include meds I need in afternoon so take a further 6 meds in afternoon and 10 in the evening. Friends ask how I remember them all? I just say they are imprinted on my brain and it's automatic! I just do it. But without them I would be a very sick person.