pain relief but not pain killers!

Robin59

Haven't been on here for a while but I was just wondering if anyone can give me some positive experiences of using gels or creams basically anything to avoid taking prescription pain killers. I have osteoarthritis in my left hip also soreness in one knee, elbows wrists and thumbs!! I know it's important to try and keep moving but there isn't much I can do about that during the night when I need to sleep, so I get up with my joints very stiff and painful. I take 2 Co Dydramol in the morning after breakfast which help a bit but otherwise I don't take anymore painkillers the main reason being that I don't want to be totally dependent on them as they can be addictive. I am only prescribed 60 a month so even if I wanted to take more I can't. I have tried supplements before ie Turmeric but since my bowel obstruction surgery last year I am worried about taking anything that could provoke a reaction with my stoma - very unpleasant. I have an open mind about anything that says they help with pain relief - I know there is no cure for arthritis, so if I could just find anything that helps a bit I would be grateful. At the moment I am trying Pure Extracts- Lemon Grass which you are supposed to massage into painful areas. I have used it twice a day for a couple of weeks now but no improvement yet. It's also quite expensive so can't decide if I want to get anymore. Has anyone on here tried Pure Extracts if so which one as there are 5 different ones? Having said that, if I found anything that did help I would be willing to pay for it! So if anyone has found something that did or does help them please could you let me know? Thank you for reading this.😥

noddingtonpete

Hello @Robin59 you might be interested in Capsaicin cream which is available on prescription. There have been some issues with supply but I think it should be available again soon,. Also have a look at the following:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/capsaicin/

and

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/

jamieA

Hi @Robin59

The pain consultant I saw prescribed capsaicin cream and also lidocaine patches for me. I know it's difficult to get capsaicin cream at present so I use the lidocaine patches when necessary. I also made my own version of capsaicin cream from an internet recipe but the downside of that was that the cayenne in it stained my clothes.

https://www.arthritis-health.com/video/video-reduce-arthritis-inflammation-homemade-cream

stickywicket

For my money, exercises help a bit and hold it back a bit. I don't do creams.