Pain relief

LindaK

Morning to all, i have woke yet again in so much pain, i have taken off my Morphine patch this morning as i think it's doing me more harm than good.

My muscles & joints ache all over my body, I've been on the patches over 4 months and I just feel worse, I was put on them as i'm waiting for hip surgery ( yea me too ) can anyone recommend any medication that might help me so i can make a fresh start.

Many thanks LindaK🙇‍♀️

Mike1

The majority of us will tell you that there is nothing that gets rid of the pain, merely knocks the edge off. I have widespread OA and take MST, which is slow release morphine, twice a day and Oramorph as and when I need it.

stickywicket

Hi Linda,

I’m sorry you’re in so much pain and, despite two hip replacements, can’t really recommend anything other than exercising as I’ve never found painkillers lived up to their name. Strong muscles are the best pain relief I find.

BUT, and this is really important, we should never just stop strong pain relief such as morphine as that can do more harm than good. I don’t know how patches work but I’m fairly sure it’s not a good idea either to suddenly take one off or to put another on if it’s not due. I really think you should ask for advice on this. Try 111.

I found this on NHS site.

Morphine does not come as a skin patch. Sometimes people call their pain relief patch a "morphine patch". However these patches do not contain morphine but medicines which are very similar to morphine called fentanyl or buprenorphine.

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/morphine/

And this.

If your doctor agrees that you can stop taking fentanyl, they will reduce the strength of your patch gradually. This is especially important if you've been taking it for a long time to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/fentanyl/

Again, I’d urge you to ring 111 for advice. Please let us know how you get on.