looking for ideas on suitable medication, other than whisky!

Bothwellbuyer

I'm not new to forums, but am new to this one.
I have osteoarthritis in L3/4/5 of my lower spine following an accident way back in 1986. The discs have degenerated too and need replaced but I have been told that I need to wait for technology to catch up with me. The discs have split; fragmented, spinal lesion and so on and I have been bed-ridden for periods although not so often in recent years. I also have arthritis in my knee joints from exercise advised by the doctor - try walking to lose some weight and keep movement...great so 2 years later I went back to say that the advice about walking was wonderful. I didn't lose any weight but now no longer able to walk far cos of arthritis in the knees. All sore bits have been xrayed and MRI'd.
When I went for the pre-op for new knees, they found my blood pressure was sky high. It was traced to the arcoxia I had been taking for a while and had affected my heart, so I'm now on a HBP tablet trialling it cos the ramipril reacted badly after taking it for 2 years. I was put on Naproxen with lansaprozale to help th stomach cope. I had to stop the naproxen cos it was melting my stomach, and the chemist said its the main reason for hospital admissions for internal bleeding.
I have used Ibuprofen(brufen) in the past - 2 grams a day and its not that good and I feel sick with that level.

I'm using diazepam to release muscle cramps/spasms I get from the spinal damage, but I also get severe cramps/issues with a stomach hernia waiting for a scan (I have had 2 umbilical hernias fixed which were caused by the bending back exercises for the spine). I also get Robaxin 750 which I take if needed up to 4 times a day. The diazepam I only take if things are really bad and for the last 2 days things have been terrible - 12 tabs @ 5mg of diazepam on each day

Any other pain meds I could ask for?

stickywicket

Bothwellbuyer, you disappoint me. What's wrong with a good single malt for taking the pain away or, at least, taking you away from the pain And, let's face it, that's all that any paindullers do :roll:

I don't have (m)any spinal problems ie a little in the lower back and the neck hardly moves these days but very little pain. However, I've had RA for most of my life, so I've done the NSAID stomach-lining thing and hiatus hernia and, like you, am now banned from NSAIDS despite daily omeprazole. Luckily for me(?) that happened before the Cox-2 inhibitors arrived on the scene so I've been spared the potential heart and BP problems as I couldn't even have them.

I see from what you write that you are disappointed with your exercise programmes but I have to say that exercises and surgery have been my salvation. With both knees and hips replaced there is not much of the original me left but what they put in has been infinitely better than what they took out and, by doing the exercises regularly, I've managed to get my joints fit for the operations and staying fit afterwards.

I try to keep pain relief to a minimum. I know some on here use morphine-based patches but I can't tell you anything about them. I hope someone will be able to help but, meanwhile, keep sipping the water of life, eh

Julie37927

Have you tried any of the natural rememdies. I've heard acupuncture can help with pain management with no side effects to heart or tummy. I live in British Columbia, Canada and here a lot of pain sufferers swear by marijuana (either in pill form, food form or smoked). They say it helps with the pain and helps with sleep and relaxation. Also, perhaps you could try swimming? It's not a weight bearing exercise so should be ok for both knees and back. Good Luck!!

bubbadog

These nothing in the medical journals that say you can't have a couple of glasses of Jack Daniels, especially before bed! that helps you sleep. I'm not in a position to be able to suggest any meds because I'm not a professional. But enjoy the whiskey!!

barbara12

Hello and welcome from me
I'm a brandy person ...well was.. the only thing I take for my back is gabapentin...I try and not take the amount they told me to has it messes with your brain..maybe that is how it works..you dont know you have pain..gosh I do fell for you I thought my back was bad..do you still see the physios they can be so helpful with exercises..sorry Im not much help, but I do hope you can get some relief very soon.