Pain medication

[kellymarie26]

I am just wondering what pain medication people use.

I've suffered with chronic pain of endo for the last 10years.

I struggle to control the pain as I can only take paracetamol due to previous stomach ulcers and severe acid reflux.

Has anyone been prescribed suppositories before? I just thought that maybe it maybe an option for me and a way around the stomach issues xx

[Stacey_Johnson]

Hi, I've always been prescribed tramadol, I think that's how you spell it. They work quite well with me although you do feel a little light headed and giddy for a while. And they say not to have to many as they can be addictive. I've just had my first laprascopic surgery to remove my endo and am hoping my pains have stopped at least for a while.

Hope you find something soon!

X

[Nikki84]

Hi Kelly,

You can ask your gp for suppositories in the form of anti-inflammatories, I use these as my stomach does not like anti-inflammatories which help a lot, they do give me a little bit of a dickey tummy but nothing major that I couldn't handle and nothing compared to the pain, so it may be worth a go, hope this helps x

[kellymarie26 in reply to Nikki84]

Thanks for you reply.

I will certainly ask my GP for further advice on this.

Paracetamol doesn't even touch the sides so if I am able to have the suppositories this would be a big help to try and ease the pain. x

[Nikki84 in reply to kellymarie26]

Theirs no harm in trying x

[Hidden in reply to kellymarie26]

Ask for diclofenac suppositories, you use 1 a day and they are fantastic and v quick acting.

[Endoat20]

I take statex which is essentially morphine as well as oramorph. I have endo and adeno so I have daily pain as well as very painful period flare up and the oramorph works wonders. Statex is great as my everyday painkiller and allows me to still function and do my work in graduate school. All the best xx

[Endoat20 in reply to Endoat20]

Sorry I also take Valium suppositories at night for spasms and they work wonders

[kellymarie26 in reply to Endoat20]

That's some strong pain relief. I've only had morphine after surgery and it made me feel awful.

i wish I could function on it. i just sleep and feel completely out of it when I take it x

[Endoat20 in reply to kellymarie26]

Have you tried toradol ? This used to work for me before surgery exasperated my symptoms. I would take nexium too as it would upset my stomach some days. I used to also take mefenamic acid - these are all drugs that won't make you loopy etc. As for the suppositories, I believe this is something that most urogynecologists recommend in my experience. I have pelvic floor dysfunction due to endo/adeno so the suppositories are suppose to help with those types of spasms and pain. If you don't mind me asking - where is your endo? I have found these are used to treat bladder endo and adeno as it is found in the muscle of the uterus but rarely for endo found in other areas. Ladies has anyone experienced this also?

If you have pain at night I would really recommend the suppositories. Mine are 10 mg bafoclen snd 5mg Valium which doesn't make me loopy but simply puts me to sleep and prevents me from waking up every few hours in pain and to pee. These can be quite expensive as they must be compounded but I have also heard of drs prescribing actual Valium and using like a suppository.

I found working with a pain specialist at a pain clinic has provided me with exceptional relief and understanding from the drs. I am also from Toronto so I know things change based on country and area.

Are you seeing an endo specialist?

[kellymarie26]

I didn't realise how many people use suppositories. It makes me wonder why it's never been suggested to me before x

[Hidden in reply to kellymarie26]

I didn't get them until I'd been having endo treatment for a while, I didn't even know they existed before that. I was given one by a nurse in hospital when I'd been throwing up and couldn't face tablets then went to the GP to ask for them to use at home. One thing I would suggest is keeping them in the fridge - they're effectively made from a solid fat and I found if they got too soft they were difficult to use. They did tell me to try not to use them too often, so I don't think they're suitable for everyday use sadly but still worth having.

[Endoat20 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Joreilly,

These suppositories are always suppose to be kept in the fridge. Your compounding pharmacy should have advised you of this - there is a good chance yours have now gone bad. I always look my medication up beforehand and that was the first thing I read. These can actually be used daily and up to 3 times a day. They are usually used for IC pain but have recently been given to endo patients with PFD. I only use them once a day, but I have spoken to IC patients that use them 3x a day. Valium taken through suppository is much different than oral as it doesn't enter your bloodstream the same way. Taking 5mg of Valium vaginally vs 5mg of Valium orally would have extremely different results. In fact I don't find I feel any different mentally (out of it, loopy). My muscles are just relaxed allowing me to fall asleep easier.

All the best xx

[Hidden in reply to Endoat20]

The suppositories i am referring to are diclofenac, not valium.

[Fabbird in reply to kellymarie26]

Hi, just a word of warning. I can't take NSAIDS (neurofen, etc) due to stomach pain. I gather about 1 in100 people get this reaction severely. I tried suppositories to get around it but I got just as bad a reaction - it gave me a stomach ulcer. I just can't tolerate them at all. I use codeine with paracetamol instead. We are all different so see how you go, but a suppository isn't necessarily the answer.

[kellymarie26 in reply to Fabbird]

Oh no, I guess what works for some doesn't work for everyone.

I have to be careful as I get ulcers from my acid reflux so have never been able to take anti inflammatories.

I just thought as there not passing through my stomach it may not cause me problems. I guess there's only one way to find out.

Do you just rely on paracetamol like me and just suffer? x

[Fabbird in reply to kellymarie26]

Yes, there probably is only one way to find out. Just start cautiously and see what happens.

When I am in pain I start with paracetamol and caffeine, then add heat, then add codeine. But sometimes that still hardly touches it. Fortunately for me that's not too often so I tough it out. Not sure what I'd do if it happened regularly...

[Nikki84]

I have the same problem with NSIADS I can't take them because of my stomach, but the Diclofenac suppositories are not as bad I find, you could also ask your doctor if you can try Transtec patches (morphine) you change them every 4 days and it gets strait into your blood stream and then can start you on a low dose and work up from there, they are really good as it helps keep a good base line of pain relief in you system and you don't have to worry about any stomach problems, I would ask for these first x