Meds

[Jayney7]

Hi all what meds is every one taking for pain am on zapain diclofenac diazepan nefopam Gabapentin and still in pain wondering whether to stop taking them

[Maya23]

I was told that opiate-based pain killers do not work in the long term. That they stop being effective as the body develops a tolerance to them. But I wouldn't stop taking them without talking to your doctor - withdrawal can be unpleasant and you should be carefully supervised. I wish there was a better treatment for this horrible illness

[bluebell99]

Hi Janey,

Many of our fibro friends take these medications or a combination of them and find them adequate for their pain. Others, like yourself, find after an initial good response, their pain levels rise again.

There is no easy answer, some persevere in the hope that at least their pain is less with meds and others decide to stop them.

There have been some great successes, but the withdrawal symptoms have been hard and painful along the way. If you do decide to take this route it must be done slowly and under your doctor's guidance and preferably one medication at a time.

Kay

[rosewine]

I am sure eventually alot of meds. start to lose their initial effectiveness. You do have to be careful reducing or stopping any of them too fast as it can cause some very bad reactions so do it gradually and hopefully with guidance from your doctor.

Have you had a review of your medication lately as it might be good to discuss it sometimes must tweaking a dose or dropping one and adding another can do the trick. I know in my case I could up the dose of my Pregablin but chose to still be in pain rather than be sitting around in a zomby like state as an increase in dose seems to have that affect on me.

Have you had a look at our mother site Fibromyalgia Action UK to see whether there is something else you haven't tried or perhaps an alternative treatment like acupouuncture or hydrothereapy. Good luck with whatever you decide.x

[Jayney7 in reply to rosewine]

Hi yes tryed different ones and Pregabalin on 900mg 3xaday the only one use as sleeper is diazepan one 5mg and it helps the spams. Xx

[rosewine in reply to Jayney7]

Apart from the alternative treatments and much stronger drugs and as Maya23 says many GPS don't feel that they help with fibro long-term I honestly don't know what to suggest.x

[Jayney7]

Can these tablets make u depressed?? Xx

[BlueMermaid3 in reply to Jayney7]

Hi

As far as I am aware I don't think your meds will make you depressed, but I do think being in constant severe pain will definitely make you feel depressed.

However, I am not medically trained so cannot be sure.

I know you are taking Gabapentin, but for anyone reading this taking Pregabalin that med can definitely make you very depressed.

I am extremely surprised that you are still being prescribed Diclofenic. My GP insisted that I could no longer be prescribed this med and changed me to a different one.

It was something about the Diclofenic causing tummy problems from what I remember.

The Diazepam will help you relax.

Are you on the maximum dose of Gabepentin? I wonder whether you could increase them but you would need to check with your GP first.

Please please whatever you do, don't ever just stop taking any medication at all. Going cold turkey can have a devastating effect on your body and the withdrawal symptoms are usually much worse than any side effects you initially had when starting the medication.

It is possible to stop your meds, but only with the help and guidance of your GP.

I didn't think my meds were working. That was until I stopped some of them. They definitely help me to have some sort of limited life even though I am still in constant severe pain.

If you are serious about coming off your meds, it may well be worth looking into homeopathic remedies to see if any of them may help you?

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do.

Lu xx

[Jayney7 in reply to BlueMermaid3]

Am on 900mg of Gabapentin. And diclofenac been on them for years on n off am thinking of going cold turkey just for fact that still in pain going to give it ago from tomorrow love to u all hope u all have a pain free night xx

[BlueMermaid3 in reply to Jayney7]

Please please don't stop taking your medications. You could end up in hospital.

Please get an emergency appointment with your GP tomorrow.

How many diazepam are you taking?

If you stop them you could collapse, have hallucinations. It is very serious to stop taking prescription tablets.

Please don't go cold turkey.

Lu xx

[Jayney7 in reply to BlueMermaid3]

I only take 1or2 aday depending on how much sleep I can get. X

[bluebell99]

Hello Jayney7

Please do reconsider stopping your medications in one go. This is extremely dangerous, in particular for your mental health.

Lu and I are saying these things not to frighten you, but to inform you that doing this can mean you end up in hospital in a really bad state.

The amount of Gabapentin you are taking cannot be stopped just like that, it needs to be reduced gradually, the same with your other meds. Withdrawal will be much worse than you can ever imagine.

Please do seek advice from your doctor tomorrow.

Kay

X

[Jayney7 in reply to bluebell99]

Ty bluebell. Am going to try and get in this normaly can take month to get appointment but am taking your advise ty xx

[ailsamary]

Diclofenic is a non steroidal anti inflammatory medication, along with others like ibuprofen it can irritate your stomach and make it bleed. As you get older I think there can also be a link with strokes as often they will change it to a different one.

As you are only taking the diazepam so sporadically you may be ok , it has a half life of 18 hours which is the length of time it is in the system for. It is normally addictive after 10 days , which is why they normally give such short courses.

We are all different on how we react to the medication but it is rare that we become pain free, rather than getting to a level that we are able to function at.

Personally I have

Fentanyl, paracetamol, gabapentin, amytryptiline, methotrexate and prednisone,although they are generally for different things I have.

[Jayney7 in reply to ailsamary]

I've been diclofenac years for my back and daizapam for last 8months. But I try not to take them every day xx

[ailsamary in reply to Jayney7]

It's all what works best for the individual, personally I wouldn't be out of bed if it wasn't for them. But it still took me a while to accept it all and I still struggle with the oramorph. I was on naproxen which is a kinder alternative to diclofenic but I stopped after I had a stroke.

[Jayney7 in reply to ailsamary]

Ty for feed back hope having a pain free day x

[joed]

Been on zapain up to 8aday for over 10yrs also just started amytripaline to help with sleep take care joanne x

[Jayney7 in reply to joed]

I carnt take amytripaline. X

[Tinney]

Hi honey I was on alot of medication fentanyl 100mcg oramorph delouxitine paracetamol 8 a day pregabalin etc this was for 10 plus years didn't feel it was helping me in the end so I weaned myself of it took 4 months to do but I did it I think taking to many different pain meds etc just interact with each other .I now take gabapentin and paracetamol had a drug free holiday the drs call it no pain relief for a week I wasi.climbing the walls but worth opioids are not good for long terms they cause alot of other health problems also need to be careful if drive only allows certain amount of mgs anyways hope you feel aell soon gentle hugs your way x