Liver 'friendly' painkillers?

[The-perfect-storm]

Hi,

Diagnosed in February with NAFLD and cirrhosis; I have moderate to severe arthritis in my knees for which I have been taking paracetamol and solfadol at night to help sleep as and when needed. Thing is my liver condition has been exacerbated by long term and at times overuse of painkillers. I have reduced my intake but am now suffering more and more with joint pain. I have had to take more in the last few days but this has left me with the dull right hand side ache and nausea

I will visit my doctor soon but has anyone experienced this and does anyone have any suggestions on a more liver friendly drug (I can't take ibuprofen and other NSAIDS)

Thanks Fred

[Paulwil]

Hi Fred,

I was told by my liver consultant that paracetamol was okay even with liver disease as long as it is not for prolonged use. I was prescribed codydramol by my GP when I had a mouth abscess. The opioid based painkillers are ok for short term severe pain relief if your GP will prescribe them.

I hope things get better for you

[bluemoon2]

I really don't think there is any liver friendly painkillers you just have to take in a smaller dosage,paracetamol and ibrufen are a no no,my gp is ok with me having codine which kinda helps me,best of luck.

[X19Dave]

Hi when my wifes liver failed she was given tramadol quite high strengh worked very well

Dave

[Den488 in reply to X19Dave]

Hi Dave, can you tell me the strength they used, please?

[X19Dave in reply to Den488]

Sorry mate cannot remember and not at home to look as Btett11 said it can screw your head wife only took it when badly needed

[Brett11]

Tramadol does work. But I was on the highest dose. I didn’t realise it messed with your brain also. The come down was extremely bad. Thankfully, I no longer have a brain addiction to it. That and Targin. Evil stuff. That’s my 2 cents worth.

Cheers,

Brett

[Nyork10]

I'm on tramadol for a non-liver related condition and it doesn't affect my liver, thankfully it doesn't do anything to me other than pain relief but I do know that for some people it turns them into a space cadet and others that have been addicted to it.

I was told under no circumstances should i take ibuprofen/nurofen having had a portal vein thrombosis the ibuprofen can affect the lining of the stomach.

[Brett11 in reply to Nyork10]

I didn’t realise what it did to me till I stopped talking it.

[Nyork10 in reply to Brett11]

I just take it when I have acute pain I can go without it for weeks on weeks and but as soon as the pain starts I take it - I know i'm one of the lucky ones with it my friend became addicted to it and when he stopped taking it his bodies reaction was horrendous, he'll never take it again.

[The-perfect-storm]

Thanks for the comments, I was looking for pain relief in my joints rather than liver pain, so am probably liable to take it at least weekly when work demands aggravate it. I have an appointment at the doctors next week, I do take Gabapentin (Neurontin) as a pain blocker it helps but only so far.

[Nyork10]

Hi Fred-58 I have Guillan-Barres syndrome (completely seperate issue to the liver) and I take nefopam which helps significantly with neuropathic pain and joint pain - i had to push quite hard to get it prescribed as it wasn't on my CCGs pharmacy list so if it isn't readily prescribed by your CCG and you did want to try it you will have to be prepared to have a strong case for the CCG to prescribe this.

I was also prescribed gabapentin and I suffered awful side effects - i put on around 2 stone in the space of 6 weeks - not through stuffing my face this is apparently down to water weight I also suffered from severe acne, once i stopped taking it this all went. Not everyone suffers fron this thankfully but i thought I'd give you a heads up!

[The-perfect-storm in reply to Nyork10]

I have been on the gabapentin for a while now and apart from the bedding in problems (flu like symptoms) I tolerate the drug very well;

I will defo look into the Nefopam

[Rimshe]

My fibroscan reading was median stiffness of 13.9 is this bad?

[AyrshireK in reply to Rimshe]

A score of 13.9 kPa can reflect differing levels of liver fibrosis depending on what the underlying cause is - it also depends on what your bloods are saying at the time too since fibroscan can't tell the difference between actual fibrosis and any ongoing liver inflammation so if blood markers are elevated the fibroscan score can be falsely inflated. There are fibroscan score charts on line which can give you an indication of what your 13.9 might reflect in light of various conditions BUT it is really best to get your doctor or whoever ordered the scan to interpret it for you in conjunction with whatever information they already hold about you.

Katie