Pain killers or just killers?

zechariah
zechariah Member Posts: 222
edited 20. Apr 2012, 12:13 in Living with Arthritis archive
Sorry if the title is a bit in your face but just recently I have been getting very concerned about the fact that I have been on a lot of painkillers for a lot of years!

What are the risks?
During an appointmentwith the pwin mmanagement consultant I said "all these painkillers must be really bad for me" he just replied "yes"

Am I worrying too much?

Comments

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,898
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh Zech

    I worry about this too at times....the risks to other parts of the body, any risk of dependancy/tolerance too...

    I take it you have bloods done regularly?? If not then you could request them done. Bloods would show up a lot of potential problems, so they are reassuring.

    Will watch this thread myself.

    Love

    Toni xx
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oooo no I don't have regular blood tests, I have OA and they don't do blood tests like they do with RA.

    :shock:
  • mig
    mig Member Posts: 7,154
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have Ra,i am taking 30 mg codeine for pain relief,i realised a couple of months ago that i was taking too many,i tried to stop them and realized i had got a problem with addiction,i went to see my gp and together we have got them down to 1 every 6 hours which is the recommended dose,i no longer crave the codeine but as other pain killers dont do it for me i am stuck with the codeine which is fine as long as i keep to the correct dose.It is frightening not knowing what they can do to you,my gp gave me a complete overhaul thankfully all my results came back normal.If you think you have a problem with any meds talk to someone about it,its amazing how understanding people can be,the support from the forum have helped me get thru some pretty rough times.Mig
  • barking1
    barking1 Member Posts: 185
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi zech
    i to worry about the amount of tabs i take for pain bit i need them for quality of life so the ansew i think is getting a balance between pain relief and being able to move about without screaming with pain its a terrible choice but better i think to enjoy as much as possible the time we have as aposed to no quality of life because of the constant terrible pain xx Jane
  • kellerman
    kellerman Member Posts: 741
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I too have OA and have blood tests every 3 months but just one for another illness. The last time I went the nurse decided to do liver and kidney function tests because of the meds I'm taking.
    I really don't think 3 monthly is necessary but I would speak to your GP about having them done twice a year. See what he says.
    If nothing else it could put your mind at rest. May
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    'Killers' is a bit exaggerated, unless one is particularly careless with them but there's enough evidence out there that they should be treated with the greatest of respect.

    I've always assumed that the best option is the fewest possible meds of any kind. I need the DMARDS though I keep them as low as my rheumatologist and I think best. I need the stomach protectors and always will because of what anti-inflammatories did to my stomach before they came on the scene.

    Pain relief I've always regarded as the one set of meds I have a choice about. I've been in hospital enough times to see many people totally zonked out on them and having no quality of life at all. (They were sometimes in for intensive physio but couldn't do it because they were always asleep.) When my kids were young I took more pain relief than I do now but found that the more I took the more I needed to keep up the same effect whereas, if I kept them to a minimum, I could get much more relief, when I really needed it, with a much smaller dose. I've aimed for this ever since though I was happy to take morphine when my hip was broken and strong codeine when I had tendonitis.

    I'm not sure if blood tests would help. They only measure what they test for and it would be hugely expensive to test everyone on regular pain meds for any possible problems.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • freesia
    freesia Member Posts: 409
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I too have been on codeine and other meds for 4 years or so... probably addicted too, but guess in denial....

    Have thyroid problems aswell as OA so get blood tests regularly for thyroid... when I had my last thyroid blood test taken - I asked if they could do a FULL blood test, renal and liver ect.... as I was told these would show (if any) signs of early problems or damage...
    I was a little shocked as my renal (kidney) tests were "a little" out of range, nothing too drastic but enough to make me think...

    Have made an effort to cut down - as much as pain allows - and will wait and see what the next blood results show...

    Hugs freesia
    hugs freesia xxx
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks guys, I worry because i take

    2 x 30mg dihydrocodeine 4 times a day
    2 x 500mg paracetamol 4 times a day
    1 x 150mg pregabalin 3 times a day
    4 x 10mg nortriptyline once a day
    Anda buprenorphine 35mcg 4 day patch

    And of course I have become used to them and they don't help much now, well I say that but if i stopped then i guess I would know it
  • Puschinka
    Puschinka Member Posts: 176
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Zech and Aaaargh :o this is a topic close to my heart as I am a bit paranoid about taking painkillers myself and have only ever done so when whatever pain gets too bad.
    I have a probably irritional fear of painkillers and really hate taking them because I don't know what they may be doing to the rest of my body and then there's the fear of becoming dependent on them etc
    But, you know what?!
    When I see the rheumy for the 1st time next week, I'm gonna take whatever meds he gives me if it will ease the pain and the only thing I'll worry about is the cost of prescriptions these days.
    **** any side effects... I surrender!
    f045.gif
    Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I guess it is just me worrying because they wouldn't allow (I hope) me to end up with liver or kidney damage
  • thewifie
    thewifie Member Posts: 79
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You have to juggle quality of life with the risk from side effects. We just had a battle to get anti inflamatories for my OH . Doctor was not keen because of risk of stroke because he already has had a stroke 13 years ago. I got a 'bit' annoyed at him and basically said he was leaving my OH in pain for the rest of his life and in this day and age no one should have to suffer continual pain and ruin what quality of life they had. We eventually got a low dose which is helping a little.
    You only get one life, love it, live it, grow old disgracefully !!
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have made the decision not to take more or new meds because i don't want to become slower mentally (already have some slowness) the meds don't help as much now as they used to and i am in a lot of pain daily.

    Its a question of what each Individual wants I suppose
  • marrianne
    marrianne Member Posts: 1,161
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Zec it really is a lot you are right to be concernd .Talk to g/p again maybe he could help you to mannage your pain on lower doses .....I wonder aut the paracetamol ...re liver dammage I wont touch them if you take to many the affect on the liver can be catastrophic .Do you really believe the ammount you take really does give you a fair quality of life .. how long can you go on with that ammount it really is a problem hope you can get them lower I wish you very well Marrianne :)..................Zec just posting this when you prempted me .........good call not to take any more meds sort out whats going on with things as they are ....good luck x
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Have you ever tried a pain clinic or one of AC's Challenging Pain courses, zechariah? I ask because I've just read your other thread and it seems to my laywoman's viewpoint that you're on an awful lot of pain relief for someone who can still kayak, when all is as well as possible. I think one of the above might help you manage with fewer meds.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am under the pain clinic and have been for a few years.

    I have help in the form of family loading and unloading kayak and getting it to waters edge, I manage an hour (ish) and it isn't comfortable but its important to me that I push myself. I have on many occasions sat on the beach afterwards and just cried because of the pain it has caused but i refuse to stop.

    I will not lay back and allow time to drift past while I do nothing
  • zechariah
    zechariah Member Posts: 222
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am also planning a kayak paddle to raise money for arthritis care.

    I can't believe I have been judged just because i push myself to try and live, this is the attitude of so many and just because i am a wheelchair user I am supposed not to kayak, I suffer for the enjoyment and that is my decision and resent being judged because i choose to do so.

    I am in more pain than I can describe and yet the worst aspect is such outspoken views.

    I am reconsidering if this is the right site as this has upset me more than I wish to share
  • thewifie
    thewifie Member Posts: 79
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Good for you zechariah push life to the full and don't give up !

    My OH just sits and let's life go past him ! We only get one life and it throws a lot of **** at us at times. More power to you in your positive attitude to life and don't ever give up on it !
    You only get one life, love it, live it, grow old disgracefully !!
  • marrianne
    marrianne Member Posts: 1,161
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Zec your right to keep going .Doing little staying in just makes us deprd anyway pain is such an individual thing at the moment I am limping and cannot unlock my right knee ......... but I still do riding for the disabled most weekends and help out when I cant ride ........... before I had 10 days in hospital my pain meds were spirrilling out of control yet I still had a massive flare now on much less but with help I feel at lot better pain is always there in degrees but I have more energy good luck Marriannex :)
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I think it’s an excellent thing that you are planning to raise money for AC and I am very sorry if my post has upset you.

    I didn’t judge you ‘because you were trying to live’. Indeed I didn’t know that you, like myself, were a wheelchair user and I have no problem at all with wheelchair users kayaking or taking part in any other sports. I did horse riding myself until a few years ago and I firmly believe in living life to the full.

    However, the point of your thread was your own concern, and that of your consultant, about the amount of pain relief you are taking. Also, you yourself said ‘I have become used to them and they don’t help much now’. It’s my understanding that this can happen and I was surprised, when I read your second thread, that someone on so much pain relief can even get into a kayak. It is to your credit that you do but, in answer to your original question, my own opinion is No, you are not worrying too much.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright