Just a thought when we take all these strong medications we all have to ask ourselves what are they doing to our insides, including the brain.
We all have to balance the good the medications do, and the bad effects that taking them causes. How do we all balance the needs of relief with the problems that happen over the longer period.
Many years ago I was talking to my GP and he said that taking these doses can cause internal bleeding, if it happens late at night the person can bleed out internally there can be nothing they can do. Or we have a car accident, because of taking strong does they find that these medications will fail to work. This happened to me several years ago. How can we square this circle the saying live for the day comes too mind . How do we all feel regarding this??.
How do we decide what risks we take. and where do we stop and say enough, will suffer, as that is what we are talking about.
All the best
BOB
12 Replies
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Hi Bob, I heard about this hospital that treats pain and fatigue, so that no medication is needed.
From what I understand it's a 3 week residential centre. £5,508 for the course - wonder how many GPs would refer any of us?
So far every painkiller I have tried has either not worked, or the side-effects are worse than the pain
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Hello BOB here
Please tell me more
All the best
BOB
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Tried gabapentin, amitryptiline, codeine, naprosyn, co-codomal - as I'm supposed to go back to the Pain Clinic every four months have only had two appointments in 18 months. They cancel each of my appointments even now should have seen them in March, they've yet to provide an appointment and the last one after all the cancellations took 11 months for a second appointment.
I took strong painkillers for many years to deal with chronic migraine. When an ultrascan recently showed I had a fatty liver (always active, slim and ate balanced diet) I was shocked to discover that one of the causes was 'painkillers' We all know about diet and alcohol causing fatty liver (leading to cerrosis of the liver) but how many of us knew about the painkiller cause. Doctors said not to worry about it!! A clogged liver obviously upsets the workings of the body and can cause other major problems yet doctors play it down because they dish out the medications. I have since discarded all pain medication unless absolutely necessary if I have a bad migraine and sleep does not remove it. Then its only for the required period of short term. I have M.E. with considerable body pain but I will not take painkillers for it. I did the 3 week Pain Clinic programme and it taught me many ways to deal with pain without taking medication and having its side effects. I am glad I have refused medication. It doesnt remove the pain anyway whereas 'taking my life back and having control' psychologically has helped me greatly.
I was referred by my Doctor to the Pain Clinic so did not have to make any payment. The programmes are intensive though but can be very helpful. No medication is given and in fact an emphasis is placed on reducing medications. Its well worth pursuing by anyone who is concerned that their medications are no longer working or where the side effects are outweighing the benefits.
I have been prescribed many off the meds which people on here talk about. They simply knock me out or I feel weird, ill. Despite being in terrible pain sometimes, I take nothing now. Occasionally a couple of Disprol Direct. Paracetamol no good either. Pain Clinic wants to do facet joint injections to neck and lower back but I have delayed, mainly because if they don't work, I am at the end of the road as I won't have surgery unless I have to. I'm still living in hope that I will somehow get on top of this with my alternative therapies! The effort my muscles are putting in to holding me up must be amazing and I need to get them more relaxed on a regular basis. Most of my pain comes from that and that's why the painkillers don't work for me.
We are all aware that the commonly available paracetamol, at worst, can kill you if taken in large doses, or irreversibly damage the liver. People pop paracetamol without a thought, because you cxan buy it over the counter. So what will a stronger med do?
I rarely choose medication. Those I tried turned me into a lifeless zombie, didn't do anything for the pain, took away my quality of life and driving was impossible. I live rurally and have children so driving is a must.
I have been sucessful in finding many alternative therapists to help me. And I would say that the pain relief is probably the same as being on meds (how many of you say meds don't work?). I've learnt to read my pain and know which ones to pay attention to, which to ignore.
I structure my day and week so that I don't overdo things - like we are going away this weekend so I will rest more and do more exercises on Thurs and Fri and when I come back I will rest and exercise on Mon and Tues.
Acceptance that life must be at a slower pace, that things have to be planned, risk assessments made and action plans devised all go a long way to protect yourself. I wouldn't choose to live like this (I get frustrated and bored with all the planning) but I didn't choose to have my pain and I've got to accommodate it in my life.
There are many positives too - I have a greater knowledge of the human body, the mechanics and physics related to activity. I have great creative hobbies and work, my children have learnt to live with disability, and have insight of when to help or not.
So in short, I have pain, I can choose to let it consume me and be miserable or I can work out a way to live with it, and enjoy life at the same time. Pain shouldn't stop you doing things - the pains there whether you do things or not, so why nmot do things?
Ladybear, milkthistle herbal remedy is a great liver detox, treats many other illnesses too. Its truly a miracal cure and lifesaver. Plenty of papers about reporting its sucess. This should be on the nhs.
Drs go on and on about whether natural and herbal remedies work or not, yet they are happy to hand out meds that don't and are frequently reported as not working and are poison to boot. Which comes back to the fact that the only people benefiting from some meds are the drugs companies.
Pain medications have done little to reduce my pain. I have usually ended up with an array of alarming side-effects on most of the ones used to treat neuropathic pain. I even blamed some weird symptoms on gabapentin, only to discover when I came off them that I was still having the weird symptoms and that I'd been having migraines all along!
I am now doing better thanks to botox. I sometimes wonder what this stuff might do long-term, but for now it's what makes all the difference. Thanks to botox I don't require much other pain medication (just the occasional over-the-counter stuff). I would rather live my life as it is now than struggle through it in pain and zombified.
But I would not have not taken those tablets in the past because at the time they were the only thing being offered to help, and when you have pain you will try anything.
I also think a lot of people are suspicious of tablets and say that if you've got pain they will "mask" the pain, or people will become "reliant" on them. It's different for chronic pain, and you wouldn't expect someone who has mashed their leg in an accident to get through it without needing something very strong and medicinal, so why should you not take tablets to help you get through with your chronic pain?
They are not the perfect cure for everyone, but if that's what you need, don't fret about it.
I say live for today who cares about tomorrow as it's just another pain filled day, I think personally I would rather increase my dose of opiod indefiatley just so i can enjoy what ever time I have left, which will probably be a long time, mores the pity !! I want a live no just an exsistance.
Hello back again
Thinking about it, if my pains were to go tomorrow and fail to come back it would be like a friend that is a pain in the bum, has decided to go to Murmansk and never return.
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