Pain meds

Options

Good evening, I am on a waiting list for ankle fusion surgery. I've been told it may not happen this year now! I'm in so much pain, my GP has prescribed Codeine, Neproxin and Amitriptyline. I work full time, its getting more and more difficult to manage but I really don't want to take any of these meds, they all have bad side effects and I'm already on Sertriline for depression. I just don't know what to do.

Comments

  • helpline_team
    Options

    Hi@Carolla63

    Thanks for your post to the Helpline. I'm sorry to hear that your surgery is delayed and you are facing some difficult decisions about how to manage your pain.

    It sounds as though you might want to talk over the situation with your GP to have some medical support.

    When it comes to medication, it's not the case that you may experience the potential side effects to a medication. You may want to consider trying what's offered in stages to see what's helpful to you. I don't know whether you have the support of a physiotherapist and are keeping moving as much as you can (allowing for pain). The other point to explore might include eating a balanced diet to keep your weight under good control.

    If you were to have problems tolerating what's been prescribed, you might ask about referral to a pain management clinic.

    Managing your pain | Treatments and self-help (versusarthritis.org)

    I hope that's helpful.

    Guy - Helpline Team