Pain

Shortstuff

Hiya I’ve just been taking ibuprofen for my pain but they are not doing anything to help the pain my mental health has been bad as well so everyday I’m fighting a no win battle with myself.

Lilymary

Hi @Shortstuff , constant pain does get really debilitating and often goes hand in hand with depression. Have you been to your GP to discuss alternative pain medications? I was on cocodamol (and laxatives to deal with the side effects 😳) and naproxen anti inflammatories (with omeprazole to protect my stomach from the naproxen). This kept the pain to mostly bearable levels, and enabled me to continue working - sort of. I’m afraid most on here will say that all pain meds can do is knock the edge off it, there’s no such thing as pain free. It can take time to work out a regime that works for you. By the time I had hip replacement the pain had become really limiting, and was getting to the point where I was having to think about early retirement (I’m self employed) as my job can be really physical at times.

the depression itself can also be debilitating. Some hate the idea of anti depressants, personally I don’t have an issue with them, they keep me functioning, along with the pain meds and my third leg (walking pole). But whether you are up for that or not, other methods can help, including finding new things to enjoy if there are any activities you’ve had to give up, using distraction (ie lose yourself in something you enjoy, eg light gardening, watching a movie, handicrafts etc, whatever floats your boat), as it takes your focus away from the pain. Meditation and mindfulness are also useful for this, and there were times when I found them really helpful. But simply talking to people, telling them how your arthritis has affected you and how it makes you feel, and asking for help when needed, is also really important, as pain and depression can be very isolating at times. Now that lockdown is easing, hopefully you can meet up more easily with family and friends, which may help lift your spirits when you feel up to it.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this link, you may find it helpful (apologies if I’ve posted it before, I have the memory of a goldfish).

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

or just come on here when you need a moan or a bit of moral support. We all know how this feels. You can also call the helpline team if you need someone to talk to.

Mike1

I have widespread OA and have tried most meds over the years none of which get rid of the pain, even being on Morphine now only knocks the edge off. You need to talk to your GP and ask for a referral to a pain clinic who can advise different meds and different treatments. Hopefully they will be able to find something to help you. Meanwhile try to distract yourself, i.e. do something that you enjoy doing and can do no matter whether it is watching TV, reading, knitting or whatever.

helpline_team

Hi @Shortstuff

Thank you for posting on the helpline forum. I’m sorry you are in so much pain and that ibuprofen isn’t helping. Things sound very tough for you at present and it’s not surprising that being in pain is impacting on your mental health. I’m so pleased you have reached out for support – it’s s not always easy to do that, but it’s so important.  

Thank you to Lilymary and Mike1 for providing insight, support and suggestions around managing pain.  As they both say, pain and depression can be very isolating so talking to others and finding out more about ways to manage pain can be very helpful. I hope you found the link that Lilymary provided helpful.

You can find out more about emotional wellbeing, including depression, on this link:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/emotional-wellbeing/

I would urge you to speak to your doctor, nurse or therapist about how you’re feeling. It’s best to do this early on, before small problems grow bigger. If you ever feel that the feelings are so bad that you feel on the verge of harming yourself, or someone else then, of course, you should seek urgent medical help.

As we don’t know which type of arthritis you have been diagnosed with, it’s difficult to make suggestions about pain management and self-help options. You are very welcome to call us on our freephone helpline: 0800 5200 520 so you can talk things through with one of our helpline team. We’re here to provide support for you around pain management and emotional wellbeing. If you were to talk things through with one of our advisors on our confidential freephone helpline: 0800 5200 520, we could tailor the support to suit you and your condition and make suggestions about things you could ask your GP about.

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Mags

Helpline Team