Pain relief

purplejoanne

Hi

I have OA in both hips and currently take Naproxen and paracetamol.
I just wondered what other people are taking for the pain. As these don't seem to be working or an I expecting too much. With OA do you ever have pain free days? I am tired of the sharp horrible pain that I get when walking or just doing general things around the house. I will be speaking to my consultant next week and would like to discuss other pain relief with him.

Thanks
:?

dibdab

Hi there,

There are all kinds of pain relief meds available, I take naproxen and cocodamol, and that comes in varying strengths, so there is lots of room to tweek those meds. Hope you get some good advice at your appointment, but maybe it's worth asking your GP for advice, that's certainly where I get pain meds from.

Deb

prefabkid47

Hi purplejoanne
I have OA in one hip.Am on the the list for hip replacement surgery.
Am taking diclofenac (2x50mg daily) and paracetamol.
Must admit have no pain free days.Pain is worse when walking especially when 'moving from stationary' eg getting up from a chair or out of bed
Is a new hip on the cards for you?
Ron

dreamdaisy

I prefer the term 'pain duller' because that is all they ever do, they dull the sharper edges. Pain-free is one of the Holy Grails of arthritis in that it doesn't exist. It can vary in strength, some days can be better than others and if we overdo things then it really lets us know but it never goes. I have OA in both ankles, both knees and both hips (to a lesser extent with those but they are catching up) and my left shoulder where I broke my upper humerus a couple of years ago. Other joints are affected by my auto-immune arthritis and hurt in a different way.

I take four cocodamol 30/500 per day so I have room to manoeuvre when things worsen. I have tried the stronger stuff in years past but found they took me away from the pain which wasn't ideal. I am now accustomed to being in pain and would not like to be rendered pain-free, not even for one day. DD

stickywicket

I think it's a good plan to discuss pain relief with your consultant but, as others have said, 'pain free' isn't really an option. It's more a matter of finding the level of pain we can cope with and balancing pain against the wooziness that the stronger pain meds bring. I hope you have a good appointment but, in any case, your GP can deal with pain relief.

purplejoanne

Hi thank you for everyone's responses. When I last spoke to the consultant he recommended hip replacement for both hips one at a time. I just asked for time to think about it. But after a bad week I think I have decided to go ahead at some point this year. I think I will talk to him about pain relief and if don't get any joy seeing my GP a few days later.

barbara12

Hi
The pain from the hips is horrible, and quite hard to treat..I have had one THR and soon to have the other done, I cant take antiinflams so I am on butran patches, co-codamols, and pregabalin for my back..I do find that you get used to them and they aren't has effective..good luck with the THR ..

Ladybrown

I hope you get some relief. I have OA in both knees and, like the others, no pain-free days. I currently take co-codamol 30/500 x 2, 4 times per day; an anti-inflammatory and amitriptyline at night and have just spoken to the GP about occasional tramadol, primarily because my job (teaching) aggravates my knees enormously and I can't afford to reduce my income any further so by the end of term I am usually in a bit of a state.

It's all a bit of a balancing act really, although I also find heat pads (the ones you heat in the microwave) very helpful
Hope you find something a bit more effective
Take care

hileena111

Hi
Like DD says...they aren't pain killers only pain dullers.
I take full dose of paracetamol, some naproxen and my 2nd hip replacement I had problems. I was doing NHS exercises and there was a crack and I had fractured my greater trochanter bone {because of osteoporosis which hadn't been diagnosed then}.....for that I'm on morphine.
Love
Hileena