How long does it take for your paindullers to "kick in"?

JuliaHod12

Hello All

I'm having a bit of an issue....... :-(

first thing in the mornings i am really stiff and sore, which is only to be expected i guess, but having taken my meds i find it is taking sometimes 1 to 2hrs before i feel any benefit, so i am struggling :-(

any ideas?

tillytop

Morning Julia

Sorry you are struggling so much first thing that your dullers aren't kicking in very fast. I don't know what dullers you take but I reckon that if you are not feeling any benefit for that length of time, maybe you need to be trying different/stonger ones perhaps? I think I am right in thinking that you have OA? You describe "stiffness" and to me (with RA) "stiffness" equals inflammation so maybe anti-inflammatories would be helpful? I know that when I am very stiff, anti-inflamms (Dicolfenac in my case) do help.


I wonder if any of the dullers you take are available in liquid form. The reason I ask is that my oromorph is a liquid and seems to kick in faster than pills - maybe because I don't have to wait for the pills to be digested before they get into my system. Have you ever tried pain patches? I haven't but I know there are people on here who use them and maybe you would benefit from something which releases gradually, so you are still getting the benefit during the night and therefore not so sore and stiff int he morning.

I don't know if any of this is helpful and what meds you have already tried - but really hope you can find something which works better for you soon.

Tillyxxx

JuliaHod12

Hi Tilly

Yes, i do have OA
At present i am taking 1 x Co-dydramol and 1 x Ibuprofen at night.
During the day i am now taking Tramadol.

Hmm, maybe i will have to juggle meds a bit more.........havent tried patches, but am due to see my GP fora meds review very shortly so will take the opportunity to discuss :-)
In truth i dont think i have ever found an ideal combination and have just rumbled on getting by as best i can.

thanks again
Julia xx

pegleg

Oh dear Julia , don't know what to suggest other than go to your GP , I'm also very stiff in the mornings but do find if I gently bend and straighten it eases off a bit . Think normally painkillers should be working within an hour xx

stickywicket

I'm not trying to be funny here but I do find that the more pain I'm in, the longer they take to kick in.

Most meds work quicker on an empty stomach but you won't find me going down that route as it takes 40mg of omeprazole a day to keep me on a more-or-less even keel in that dept.

I'm with Tilly. It may be time to ask your GP for a review and see if others would be better for you. Regular doses of anti-inflamms might do a better job than just one a day and the paindullers.

JuliaHod12

thats it in a nutshell sticky!
It does seem the more pain i am in, the longer it takes to feel any benefit
I know these things are not instant, but it also seems i need stronger stuff!

aah well, i will try to fit in a GP visit this week, already got eye clinic, physio and a mammogram booked in (and 3 half days at work!) lol

thanks again
Julia xx

frogmella

I am with sticky here too! The more pain I am in the longer they take. I know that after my ops it was suggested (another forum, sorry) that I set my alarm to take some dullers throughout the night to keep levels steady. I do take most of mine as a course rather than as and when these days. I always found tramadol took a couple of hours to work, could you go back to sleep if you took them a couple of hours before wake up time?? Don't forget that tramadol et al work better combined with paracetamol rather than alone.

One of my anaethatists suggested that spreading tramadol or codeine out throughout the day would be fine. ie, if you do 8 a day rather than taking 2 x 4 times a day take 1 x 8 times a day.

barbara12

Hi Julia
I am sorry you are suffering like this, I have OA and its rampant at the moment...for some strange reason I am awake at 4ish..so I take some then...there were days when I could do without them but sadly not anymore.
They do say keep on top of the pain, but like you say that is hard in the mornings.
I hope you get some relief very soon ((((()))) xx

dreamdaisy

Tablets have to be digested so surely that adds to the time before any benefit is felt. I reckon about an hour is the usual for me, then two hours of not quite so much pain, then it tails off again. Obviously the more pain the longer the perceived benefit seems to take to appear so then it is worth 'keeping ahead' of the pain to help matters. Pain is a useful feed-back though, it does let one know that one may be overdoing things! DD

jillyb1

Agree that the more pain , the longer the dullers take . When I'm in a bad phase I take the dullers then stay in bed until I start to feel it kicking in . Jillyb

hileena111

Hi
Just a thought.....what about a slow release version of your med????
I take naproxen slow release....take one in the morning about 9am and the other about 9pm. In theory as the drug is wearing off the other one should kick in...does that make sense?
Love
Hileena

frogmorton

Hileena is right! (well in my opinion)

Slow-release or patches stop the 'desperate' for pain relief feeling I think.

As Barbara said in an ideal world you need to keep ahead of the pain and those two methods do enable that.

I am on bu-trans patches and am allowed to top up with co-cos for breakthough pain.

Have a word with the doc if you can Julia. :?

Love

Toni xxx