Advice on pain relief

Girda219
Girda219 Member Posts: 4
edited 20. Mar 2019, 12:18 in Living with arthritis
Hi everyone this is my first post so I am quite nervous.

I am after some advice on pain relief for Osteoarthritis. I have had Osteoarthritis for over 20 years and up to now I have it in my feet, knees, hips, lower back, SI joint ( just started) and shoulder. I also have fibromyalgia.

I have been refused pregablin and gabapentin by my GP as they do not prescribe it anymore for fibromyalgia. I tried tramadol which did not agree with me at all, I kept throwing up and it affected my stomach badly as I have Gerd and gastritis. All I take at the moment is codydramol and amitriptyline at bedtime.

Can I just say that my job requires me concentrate fully so throughout the day I do not have any pain relief which is too much for me to deal with now.

Has anyone any suggestions what I could take that doesn't space me out during the day.

Thanks for listening.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Girda219 welcome to the forums from the moderation team. There is no need to be nervous we have a great community here with lots of experience of arthritis.

    I can see you have a fair bit going on and wonder whether your stomach issues are preventing you from trying NSAIDS, (Ibuprofen, Naproxen to name a couple)? If that’s the case your options do become more limited of course. I am attaching a link to information about pain which details medication and other ways to help with pain. It is well worth downloading:

    https://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/daily-life/pain-and-arthritis/pain-and-arthritis/what-is-pain.aspx


    I know the members here will make you very welcome and help in any way they can and tell you what they find helpful with their pain.

    I look forward to seeing you posting in future.

    Best wishes

    Ellen.
  • Girda219
    Girda219 Member Posts: 4
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Ellen, thank you for your reply and yes you are right I have never been able to take NSAIDS because of my stomach problems so it's a struggle everyday with no pain relief. I will take a look through the link you sent.

    Many thanks
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello and welcome from me too. I have RA and OA (and GORD :roll: ) and I can't take NSAIDS or tolerate tramadol. I fully understand your need to stay alert at work but I can't think of anything that might help as all the stronger pain relief is opioid based.

    It might be worth checking with your GP about why you can't be prescribed pregabalin or gabapentin if they've helped in the past. You say you were told they don't presribe it for fibro but all those on here who take them seem to take them for OA not fibro.

    The only other thing I can think of is my go-to remedy - exercise. Swimming is good. Have you tried that?
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • trepolpen
    trepolpen Member Posts: 504
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi & welcome to the forum ,
    I got RA & OA , I take gabapentin which works well for nerve pain & Zomorph which not sure does any thing but the docs moan if I take nothing ,

    as for OA , ask your GP for some physio to help build up the joints with OA , that can work realy well

    I cant take tramadol either , just makes me feel ill

    good luck & hope you get some help soon
  • Girda219
    Girda219 Member Posts: 4
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I had attended a fibromyalgia group to speak with others living with fibro and I was the only one who was not taking pregablin or gabapentin. I then went to the GP and asked if I could be prescribed this but they just said we do not prescribe those drugs for fibro anymore. I am assuming people already prescribed these drugs could stay on the drug.

    I would like to exercise but at the moment everything I do results in me having excruciating headaches and throwing up. I am under investigation to see why this is happening. It is so frustrating as I was a very active person prior to OA.

    Many thanks for all your suggestions
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, I have psoriatic and osteoarthritis plus fibromyalgia. I began the first back in 1997 and picked up the others among the way; the drugs I take for the psoriatic do nothing for the other two and for good reasons, as for pain relief I stick to taking four 30/500 cocdamol per day as I prefer to keep an escape route available for the poorer days. The trouble with the stronger pain relief avenues is that over time they become pain relief cul-de-sacs . . . .

    I have heard that gab and pregab are being changed to controlled substances so repeat scripts can only be achieved by visiting the GP on a monthly basis. I don't take them so am not bothered by this but we are not docs and cannot advise on such matters. I can empathise about the affect the stronger pain relief has on one's concentration, I flirted with tramadol and morphine in my early days and found that I was removed from the pain rather than vice versa, it didn't render me totally unable to work (I was a private tutor) but it certainly didn't help. I found that work itself was effective pain relief as my mind was distracted so not paying attention to what hurt. it after seventeen years I decided to stop. I still use distraction as my main method of pain relief because it works: with around forty affected joints, some with one, some with the other and others with both, pain is constant and never going to go away. It's a problem we all share and understand but the solutions are individual, as is how we feel and interpret our pain. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben