Pain-killers?

[MissBennett]

Hi everyone,

I've been on and off 30mg codeine/500mg paracetamol tablets (in various quantities and regulaity) for over 5years now. Often I find taking a two when my endo is bad doesn't get rig of the pain, just dulls it a bit but then I can feel a little "drunk" on it, with sick feeling being the worst aspect of it. It also causes constipation. Fun. If it exists I'd like to find something stronger which doesn't have these side affects. It may be worth noting I don't have an addictive personality.

What painkillers have you used and how have they affected you?

Big thank you in advance to everyone for replying!!

[trinket]

Hi,

Thought I'd reply to this one from a personal point of view and from a support group leader angle too.

I myself am allergic to opiates so thats a whole massive group I can't take and as you said all of those cause unwanted side effects. I personally take ibruprofen and paracetamol which sometimes doesn't cut the mustard I know but if you speak to your GP you can take ibruprofen 4 times a day rather than 3. You will need to discuss with them though as you'll need to have something like omeprazole (sp?) Alongside to protect your tum. When things get really bad I also have diclofenac suppositories that you administer before bed again speak to your GP about dosage and taking alongside the ibruprofen.

In the past I have used diazapam as a painkiller as nothing else seemed to work but they worry about that one as your body can become dependent.

Ladies I know also take amitriptaline for nerve pain, I have tried this but can't comment personally as I haven't given it long enough yet. Its actually an old fashioned anti depressant that they find is better as a pain killer, it can also help you sleep.

Hope that helps a little and happy to private chat xx

[Confused1991]

I've been on co-codamol for around 4 months now.. Every day! I keep going to my gp and asking for an alternative but no hope just another batch! If you find anything that works let me know lol. I agree with you in that they leave me spaced out and soooo sleepy! X

[MissBennett in reply to Confused1991]

On the up side at least it's handy when you need clogging up! Some good suggestions below. Thanks for replying

[MissBennett in reply to Confused1991]

On the up side at least it's handy when you need clogging up! Some good suggestions below. Thanks for replying

[Confused1991 in reply to MissBennett]

Haha yes every cloud! Thanks for all the replies on here, sometimes get all the information I need off here in comparison to doctors! X

[Shehulk]

Hi, I personaly find tramadol, similar to codeine, much better when it comes to side effects, co-codamol gives me terrible constipation but tramadol does not. Both are opiates and tramadol is stronger but in general has middler side effects than codeine. Also as trinket says you can try anti- inflammatories such as ibuprofen, naproxen or diclifenac. Also you can mix different types of painkillers but not if they are the same type. Speak to your doctor but it should be ok to take an ant inflammatory , opiate and paracetamol if your pain is really bad. When mine was very bad before the op, I was taking naproxen 3 times a day and tramadol and paracetamol 4 times a day. Hope that helps x

[MissBennett in reply to Shehulk]

I'm herd good things about tramadol before....may have to expore that! Thanks Yes, I do usually take ibuprofen too, hit it from all directions has got to be the way! Thanks again!

[esbjorn]

Hi

I use a mix of Naproxen, paracetamol and effervecent 30mg codein/500mg paracetamol. If I have a flare up I need to start counteracting the inflammation and the pain early on with Naproxen. I've found that taking 500mg Naproxen at a time (twice/day) helps better than 4 x 250mg. It seems that the higher dosage works better at counter-acting the flare up. But hey, sometimes (before the lovely Prostap ) I would have to set my alarm on 5.30am, take biscuit + 500mg Naproxen + paracetamol. Sleep an hour, then get up and top up with codein/paracetamol effervecent. Off to drop off kids and then work. Top up with effervecent codein/paracetamol mid morning. Then second dose of NSAID after lunch (as long as you eat something before taking NSAID) and I'm ok until about 3pm-4pm. Nackered/chattered/complete wreck in afternoon/evening but hey - I can at least go to work.. Before recent year of Prostap I was on an average of 750-1000mg of Naproxen/daily (+codein+paracetamol). My pain tend to be chronic with 2 sometimes 3 flare ups/week and instead of sleeping my normal 6hrs/day I slept 10-12hrs/daily.

Naproxen doesn't help when the peak of the pain has already arrived - it prevents & counter-acts rather than turns the existing pain down - for that I use the codein/paracetamol. Like you I find that however much of these I take, during a flare up they only dull the pain. I am so happy that I'm currently back on Prostap but unfortunately cannot take Prostap forever..

If I were you, I would check with GP about your use of pain killers long term especially NSAID. Apparently Naproxen is one of the NSAID that causes the least cardiovascular side effects when used long-term. You will most likely also need to take a PPI to protect your stomach lining when taking NSAID long term.

I have also heard about the use of low dose Amitryptoline against nerve pain and chronic pain. Would your GP refer you to a pain clinic for further help and advice?? I would mention to him/her that the amount of pain you are experiencing is having a detrimental effect on your quality of life and also how it affects your work/career as well as homelife.

Top tip - 2-3 mugs of green tea 3-5 days/week - dulls the pain/turns down the intensity of the pain by 1-2 degrees for me. Started working after about 10 days of regular intake! Green tea is an angiogenisis inhibitor and works by restricting the (wild overgrowth!) growth of blood vessels that supply the growth of endometrial lesions see published material on PubMed ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/186...

Take care, look after yourself!

[MissBennett in reply to esbjorn]

Wow...thank you for being so comprehensive! Sorry if I'm being dense, but what's NSAID? I've not heard of it. I also take ibuprofen quite reularly, probably should have mentioned that. I'm going to see my socialist endo nurse on Thursday, so I'll ask her about the pain clinic then. Thanks and good luck with it!

[esbjorn in reply to MissBennett]

Hi Miss B

NSAID Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac. Good stuff but as with everything if you take them on a daily/almost daily basis there are side effects for example internal inflammation/bleeding in your stomach. These side effects can be counter-acted (I have to take Lanzoprazole/a PPI which protects the inside of the stomach by stopping it from producing too much acid) - just ask your nurse. Also if you take NSAID over several years on a daily basis, you should ask for the type of NSAID that protects your heart/doesn't impair your cardiovascular health.

Brilliant that you have an appointment with a Endo Specialist Nurse - I've never had that opportunity up here in the cold north..! Good Luck & all the best - sorry If my original post was a bit long...

Take care x

[jacqui34]

I find separating the codeine and paracetamol better than combined tablets, then I can take paracetamol and ibuprofen most of the time and add codeine when needed. I have oromorph for bad flares. Used to have tramadol but didnt find it any more effective than codeine and it gave me bad headaches. Hope you find something to help x

[ronanwilson]

I am not a big fan of paracetamol but works very effectively. Well,I was on Tramadol pain killer for my arthritis pain for almost 6 months it worked like magic on my pain. My doctor prescribed me and gave me few guidelines about it and i took the medication only according to my doctor's prescription. I am not marketing about Tramadol pain killer but i ll suggest it to everyone who suffering from different pains.