Pain relief

[Limerick5]

Hi all just a quick question I read somewhere about a slow relase pain killer, they took one in the morning and it slow relished and one in the evening. I have never heard of them just woundering had any one and are they any good

[jayfer]

Hi, tramadol can be prescribed as slow release. I take 200 mg at night. It did help with sleeping through initially but not as well now. I also take 50 mg at night to kick in the pain relief

[goldengirl101]

Hi, it might also be MST, that's taken 12 hrs apart a slow release pain killer as is tramadol. They are good, but you have to be monitored and they don't suit everyone.

[Kedaco]

Hi I am taking Tramadol for pain, I take it one hour before I go to bed, it helps me to sleep and takes the edge off the pain, the down side for me is it makes me sweat.

[lorac1]

Hi I used to take ibuprofen 800mg up to 3 per day which were slow release when I was working. They did help.

[Kelfreem]

I saw the pain management team and was out on an unusual drug called palexia (tapentadol) I think it's similar to tramadol, but new on the market. A lot of doctors don't know what it is, but it seems to be helping now I'm on a larger dose.

[Kate-L]

Hi Limerick5, I've got chronic pain following a bout of shingles after I had my transplant op. I take Oxycontin which is a strong painkiller but is slowrelease. You may have to go to a pain clinic to get this prescribed, it just depends on your pain level.

BTW be very careful taking Ibuprofen - get your GP's OK on this first, even though it is available over the counter!!

[Hidden]

Hi there. Could be buprenorphine patches. They're like the nicotine patches for smokers. Also Zomorph (morphine) slow release capsules. I'm on the Zomorph and they do help.

Best Wishes.

[Carcrashgal]

Hi: there are indeed an increasing number of drugs available in slow-release forms, including naproxen, Tramadol, even ibuprofen . . . in America many are available over-the-counter (marketed often as day-long or all-night). They're getting more available here in the UK too. Some are definitely better than others in terms of the long-term effectiveness.

I've been using MST - which is in effect slow-release morphine - for years (with an 'ordinary' - i.e. fast-acting - morphine - for breakthrough pain), and I have to say it changed my life.

I (grudgingly) accepted an 'invitation' to a pain course - one day a week, over eight weeks. My lack of excitement was because I was pretty sure I knew everything they might have to teach me. Like many of you I've always researched my conditions as deeply as I can, and I had developed a real friendship with my pain consultant, who was instrumental in developing a number of techniques and operations now in every-day usage. (We were even planning on writing a book together until the bottom dropped out of the market - at least according to the publishers who turned us down with lines like 'I'd buy this for my sister/aunt/next-door's cat, but can't really see a wider market . . .' Duh. Sorry, moving on!)

Anyway, in some ways I was right - but what I hadn't taken into account was the fact that my experiences would be of any help to anyone else (we didn't have forums like this in those days!) The fact that I was able to help one woman in particular, who felt like she'd been completely abandoned - well, for that alone I'd've been happy to do the full eight weeks! But - and yes, you knew I'd get to the point eventually! - it turned out the group of pain specialists did have something for me too. Up until then I'd been on a right old cocktail - five different painkillers of varying strengths, to be used depending on the severity of the pain, plus stuff to stop the fits, and something else for the spasms, and muscle relaxants and anti-depressants . . . I expect most of you know the drill! And at one session near the end we all had to bring in our drugs and have a one-on-one with a specialist in pain medication (again, an anaesthetist) who took the time to discuss what every drug did, in interaction with everything else. And it was horrifying to discover that some of the people there were on drugs that were completely contra-indicated when taken together (mostly because of a lack of joined-up thinking - I myself had to point out to the rheumy when I first saw her that if she was going to put me on Plaquenil, I should probably not be taking the quinine as well . . .)

When we got to me, they asked why I was not on morphine, and I had to explain that my (then) GP thought it was too dangerous - I was in my 40s, and thus expected to have a few more years at least, and he didn't want me getting addicted . . . the trouble was, my pain really wasn't well-managed then, so I didn't have much of a life anyway. The specialists poo-pooed that right away: there's plenty of research (which I've now read for myself) suggesting that when used for pain relief, responsibly managed, it's the absolute gold standard - and no more dangerous than any other major drug (yes, yes, I know! But I've had some years of chemo, and that was *far* worse!). And that has been the case, for me at least. Yes, it took a long time to sort out bowels and digestion, but it was a small price to pay in my view at least for being able to go back to work - maybe mostly from home, and with gaps for bad days - but I began to feel more like myself than I had in *years*.

It's true that '12 hours' is a bit of a stretch - those last couple of hours can be difficult, but hence the extra, for when I really need it. My regime is 8am/8pm, which suits me just fine - the 'down' period is either when I'm home and crashing while my ever-loving husband gets supper, or before I get up. And if there's a reason I need to be on top form earlier, well, there's medication for that

Sorry to go on for so long, but I hope this might be of some use to anyone who's exploring pain management. You *must* talk to your medics, and it's well worth getting referred to a pain consultant if you're not already and asking for a medication review. (Sadly, I can't recommend mine as he not only went and retired, but left the country to boot: some friend!) But there are some astonishingly knowledgeable and helpful people out there, and as I was lucky enough to find some, I'm quite sure you will too. Good Luck!

[tillie in reply to Carcrashgal]

Big thanks for explaining it. Going plain daft with the pains in hands/

knees and shattered. Hosp & GP prescribe me with paracetamol thought

it might have to with kidneys get hit in a flare but have now made up my

mind now to have it out with them for something stronger.

[Carcrashgal in reply to tillie]

That sounds like a sensible course of action - but you don't want them just to take the pain away (well, you do, obviously! ) but you also want to know if there's anything else you can do to mitigate it. Apart from anything else, I'm not sure just giving paracetamol to someone with lupus and telling them to get on with it is good doctoring! GOOD LUCK!

[tillie in reply to Carcrashgal]

Aww thanks for your reply..feeling more positive wish you were my doctor.☺.

[Carcrashgal in reply to tillie]

[clova]

I take a slow release anti inflammatory called todo lac which works well and I usually top up with paracetamol when necessary. 6 weeks ago I fell and broke my left hip I had to have a total hip replacement. Since the accident I take the etodolac morning and before going to bed . I was prescribed codene but this does not agree with me and I only took that at the beginning . I have been taking etodolac since I was diagnosed 11 years ago.

[onamission]

Hi I think it might of been a reply to a post I sent.

I take morphine tablets two per day they were prescribed by the pain clinic at my hospital, they are good but now my body is getting used to them so I have to ask for stronger ones.

They also make you very constipated, I was given tramadol to start with but they made me so sick it might be worth you trying them first see how you get on.

I have morphine for lower back pain along with spine blocks I hope this helps

[Martial]

Hello Limerick5, I can relate and understands your pains. Without going into details, I suffers from quite a range of pains due to multiple health issues, over the last 12,13 years. At first I managed to carry on working, but alas my body gradually gave up and had to face the facts, and was forced, for their benefit and before everything MINE, to stop work, just over 6 years ago.

One thing I learned about pain, any pains, is that no matter which pain killers you might be prescribed , it comes a point our body get used to them and you need stronger ones, till a day arrive and NONE whatsoever, have any beneficial effects WHATSOEVER, unfortunately.

All it's left, sorry to say so, but it's to be brave and chin up.

Sincere regards

[Limerick5]

Thanks for all ye'er replys