Pain pills and fib

[Salty0987]

Hello, my doctor knows I've had an abalation but I also have osteoporosis and sciatic pain that sometimes hurts so bad he told me to take tramadol. Then I read on the internet you shouldn't take any pain med with afib. My doctor prescribed it but now I am afraid but also I can't live with the pain of my other problems. Anyone else know what to take to relieve pain if you have afib?

[BobD Volunteer]

We really can't advise on such matters as we are not medically trained but I have had such drugs before. Generally paracetamol is all one can take plus perhaps codeine. Tramadol is an opiate based pain killer so not something you really want to take long term without medical supervision.

If you have had an ablation and are free of AF he will have taken this into account I am sure.

[Salty0987 in reply to BobD]

Thank you Bob. What is paracetamol. Is it a prescription?

[mouseytrain in reply to Salty0987]

hi salty, i also suffer with lower back pain as i have 2 lower hip joints worn and trouble with my spine witchhave traveled to my neck, i have pernament af and on warfin for ever, last time i bought some ibrofen cream and rubed it on for the pain, my inr went throgh the roof, i was told to take parasetomal, but no good for the pain as thay are not strong tablets, so just have to put up with it, not fair, even cought medicin will afect my inr, sorry for the spelling as i had a stroke, and forgot how to spell simple words

[Salty0987 in reply to BobD]

Bob, do you think Tylenol PM is that since the pain is worse when I sleep.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Salty0987]

Until a few weeks ago I had never heard of Tylenol as it is a US brand name and we are UK based. It is paracetemol I was informed so OK for you. Do respect the dose please as overdose can be fatal.

[Hidden]

There is a wide range of treatment for pain. Do you have access to a pain clinic with various providers who can recommend a comprehensive plan?

[juliek47]

hi there

I have afib and I also have sciatica and I take tram adolescent 20mg at night , my cardiologist knows this and it is fine...I have been taking it for a few years...and all is good.... don't be afraid it's fine

[juliek47 in reply to juliek47]

***tramadol

[Mike11]

I've had a quad bypass and an ablation and get ketoprofene and codeine on prescription which are far more hard-core painkillers than anything you are going to buy off the shelf. Given a choice between your doctor and what you read on the Internet, I think the one to choose is pretty obvious.

[PeterWh in reply to Mike11]

It's not necessarily teh hard-coreness taht is the key but teh interaction with other medicines and the heart. Some they will administer in hospital when you are being monitored, but not at home!!!

[Lorna058]

You may find a chat with your local pharmacist reassuring. They are very knowledgable.

[philologus]

If you read the leaflet that comes with the Tramadol you will see that a possible side effect is irregular heartbeat. I have no idea what percentage of users experience this but I did.

I have arthritis and sciatica and was prescribed tramadol for the pain. I was warned that it is addictive, but I was likely to need it long-term anyway so it was OK. I took it for more than a year and started getting problems. My heartbeat became irregular and I had a scan and was found to have heart failure. The EP that I eventually saw said that the tramadol probably caused the irregular heartbeat but was unable to tell me whether the HF could have caused the irregular heartbeat or the other way round.

He took me off tramadol and I now take paracetamol. As mentioned in another post, don't take more than the stated dose of paracetamol as an overdose can cause serious problems and a painful death.

[Dadog]

I was given to understand that anti inflammatories were a no-no and my GP told me it was OK to sensibly take co-codamol for my sciatic problems. I don't take it regularly but only when needed, as it can be habit forming. Never had any problem with it, I take it in soluble form - and it does the job.

[djmnet]

It was my impression that the over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the ones to avoid. If your doctor prescribed tramadol and he knows your cardiac history, you should be able to trust his recommendation.

[PeterWh in reply to djmnet]

Some surgery's systems are really good displaying information like patient has AF. Others not so. Therefore always wise to double check by saying something (eg as you know I have AF and I am on various medications such as ............ Does this prescription interact with existing?

[Kodaska]

It's possible your sciatic pain comes from the nerve being irritated or strangled by the piriformis muscle. Here's some information that you might find useful. I strongly suggest the stretches described in the second article.

spine-health.com/conditions...

spine-health.com/wellness/e...

[Marion62]

I was prescribed tramadol by my Doctor for my back pain. It didn't agree with me - so I have to take paracetamol.

[buddje]

I have arthiritis and A fib and take Anadin Extra as other pain killers do not suit me