Pain reduced by benzo's

[woodbon]

I'm reducing diazapam, but finding it hard as the fibro pain and arthritis seems so much worse. Has anyone found diazapam reduces pain? It may be just a flare but it does seem so much worse at the moment.

[asborne]

Only if tense muscles cause pain in order to relax them.

[Reykua]

Hello Woodbon,

This sounds incredibly familiar and all I can say is that I'm glad to hear that you're trying to reduce your pain meds.

I realised quite early on - I also have fibro, that after a while, my body appeared to 'fight' the pain meds and pierced my consciousness even when I was asleep.

I'm now doing what I should have done ages ago, which is 1. Using mindfulness and meditation as much as possible, 2. Going for regular deep tissue massages - heat packs also help and 3. Using a Tens machine.

Everyone's different and the trick I think is to recognise what your body is able to cope with, when you 'outgrow' certain meds, the importance of keeping a check on your pain meds as they all have side effects and most importantly, recognising what constitutes 'quality of life' for you, given the restrictions of your condition.

Hope this helps. Stay positive

[Calceolaria]

I did try diazepam, along with everything else over the years. At first, I found it very effective, which worried me. I needn't have though, because one of the side effects kicked in and it was such a scary and unexpected one - irrational rage - that I immediately gave them up. What Reykua says is very useful. For myself, I'm at 900 mgs enteric aspirin once a day in the morning, lidocaine patch daily for 12hrs, tens as and when and paracetamol when desperate.

[teadrinker]

hi Woodbon

A few years ago a consultant was very keen to push me into taking benzos "for a short period". I flatly refused as I'd had unpleasant side effects from most other medications and couldn't risk being unable to function again. Hearing other peoples' stories has made me glad that I stood my ground, despite being told by that doctor that it was " disappointing" that I wouldn't try them!

In a small way he was right in his thinking - I had some very tense muscles which were causing a lot of pain. Those same muscles are now much less tense thanks to a lot of physiotherapy (paid for privately) and botox (NHS), plus exercise (the benefits outweigh the short-term discomfort), and heat, and my pain is now much reduced and easily managed on a day to day level.

It might not have provided the quick fix of strong medication but longer-term it has paid off. I am not currently taking any medication, and feel that I've got my life back. I'm not averse to trying medication (who knows, I might have to again one day) and for many people it's helpful. But I think that pain management involves a mixture of strategies.