what pain relief should i take

[nikinackynoo]

i am at my wits end, after a motorbike accident 2 years ago i crushed my right leg, after spending 9 and a half months in a Taylor Spatial Frame then a year walking around on a broken leg i have yet another external fixator fitted. I am in agony constantly, getting no sleep. I take 100mg tramadol, 2x 30mg co codamol and a 400mg ibuprofen 4 times daily, i take duloxetine before i go to bed and nothing is touching it, please any advice would be welcome as i dont know where to turn.

[77tiger05]

Can't the doctors you have seen help? Where do you live?

I wish you pain free times ahead!!! I am an amputee who suffers from phantom pain, it rarely ever stops.

[teadrinker]

That sounds horrific. I have tried all of the pills you mention so appreciate that they must be making you feel a bit poorly too, to say the least. And the lack of sleep makes it all 100 times worse.

Have you seen a pain management specialist or been referred to a pain clinic?

[tettridge]

Hi nikinackynoo

So pleased to see you haven't lost your sense of humour [going by your name]

I think this is a good place to get advice as there are lots of people with different pains and having different ways of managing their pain as what works for some does not work for others.

You say you take all these tablets but the main thing is how are you taking them, with the tramadol you can have more than that (100 mg) in a day provided it is spaced out over the day (otherwise is is you who could be spaced out) you can take 60 mg every 6 hours, the same with all medicine, if you take 1 co-codamol tablet with 1 paracetamol every 6 hours this can be better than throwing all-sorts at different time.

This is part of my cocktail I also have Gabapentin, amitriptyline etc. to help with the pain.

If your doctor is not helping you then ask to see a pain specialist, I got more information from going on a pain management course which helped me enormously, that is where I found I was not the only one with chronic pain and there was lots of information to help, some good and some not so good but you use what helps you.

Ask your doctor for more help with your pain relief and if possible to go on a pain management course.

hope some of this may help but good luck in the future

Kindest regards

Terry

[Hidden]

Have you thought about aromatherapy and massage? it may not help with the pain directly but it will help relax you. Relaxation is a huge part of pain management. I would suggest they work on your back, as it will be compensating for your broken leg. If the tensions from your back are worked out it may reduce the pain in your leg. If nothingelse it will be a nice experience.

If you want a more all over treatment, including the leg (if you can tolerate it) try asports physio. They are very good at getting to the root of pain and treating it. This will make you worse before you get better, but you would only need a few werkly sessions, and they can show you exercises and pressurecpoints to use to do it yourself.

Lastly, for sanity mainly, have you tried meditation? I use one where I see my pain as a colour and then change the colour to switch the pain off. It takes a while to get the hang of it (clearing all other thoughts out and concentrating on one thing). But the focus could be anything, visual or auditory. It won't cure the pain but it will give you a few minutes where its not your main thought. I can do the colour change quite quickly now, even when out and about, I go get a coffee and meditate for 10 mins which is enough to reduce the pain and carry on.

Sometimes we just have to do things that make us feel different about the pain. As tettridge says, maybe your medication can be looked at to get better combinations. Make an appointment with a pharmacist and get their views on what you can and can't take and tbe various combinations. They will be working from the medication end and are not influenced about making sales for drug companies as some docs might be.

[johnsmith]

First question what is causing your pain. You say you were in a motor cycle accident. Fine. You say you damaged your right leg and this is what is causing the pain. There are other areas which could have been damaged which can go on to cause pain in an area different than the area of damage.

This is why many people find help from chiropractors. It works in a large number of cases despite doctors and consultants denying that it can work.

A doctor/consultant provides treatment. A doctor/consultant do not understand how the body acts as an engineering system. A doctor/consultant provides a service for a particular instance in time. They have no concept of how to enable a patient to investigate their own helath disibility.

Find a Mctimony chiropractor who can give you an assessment. They may not cure your pain. They may not be able to help stop your pain. They will however help reduce some of the stresses you have been putting on yourself because of your pain. This will in turn help make the pain more bearable. Note I get Mctimony Chiropractic treatment on the NHS. It enables me to function despite the pain and lack of sleep. Any improvement in condition is better than none at all.

The next thing you need to do is to seek out an Alexander teacher with at least ten years of experience. The will help you become sensitive to the things you are doing which would make the pain worse than what it need be.

Lastly find someone who can teach you how to meditation. Pain may not go away but I found that meditating changes how I emotionally experience the pain I have. Co-existing with pain rather than fighting it is much easier on ones mental health. What I learnt I had to learn from buddhist monks. They do not charge for their services compared the hundreds of pounds a proffessional phsycologist will charge. A buddhist monk practises 24/7 and has a life to life understanding of meditation.

I suffer from severe pain in my right arm. There is nothing wrong with my right arm. My pain is generated by extended disks in my neck which causes pressure on the nerve roots. There is nothing that doctors can do about it. The chiropractor helps me keep the pain to a lower level. The Alexander Teacher enables me to be sensitive to what makes it worse and enables me not to do those things.

Hopw what i have written helps.

[disney-girl]

Hi. As johnsmith says, it depends on what is causing your pain. If it is neuropathic (ie. caused by nerves firing off) then I would strongly advise you to read the NICE guidance on treatment of neuropathic pain - you can google for this. Secondly I would be pushing to be referred to an NHS pain service. If you go to see your gp with a wish list, then you can discuss these issues and be informed about your rights as a patient.

For neuropathic pain your doc might try you on Pregabalin, seems to be the gold standard. However, like most of us on here, you may find you will only get marginal relief from meds as neuropathic pain is notoriously difficult to treat. However, I would not give up hope as there are a number of other strategies that you should think about using along side the meds.

*Meds

*Mindfulness meditation (read book by Vidyamala Burch) and relaxation.

*Gentle stretches - a physio should be able to advise on this.

*Distraction - find something that you enjoy that you can do without flaring pain up. I used to ride a motorbike, but now I pain and draw instead. I still hope that someday I will get another bike!

*Talking therapies may help as often there can be a whole load of anxiety, depression and guilt wrapped up in suffering with pain.

*Dont loose your sense of humour.

I would also check out this web site paintoolkit.org/

It was created by an NHS gp and is a hugely valuable resource.

Sorry this is a bit long winded!

[DippyHippyChick]

Hi

I too suffer chronic neuropathic pain, with no respite.

It has been 16 years and 9 operations, and no relief!

I take Gabapentin and oxycodone, as well as lignocaine patches each night.

I have been to pain management units, which do help you to see your pain in a different way, you control it, rather than it controlling you. But on bad days you don't care a***** and just want it to stop!

I have tried meditation as suggested, and if you can do it, this would be a help.

I can't always manage it, but often you can outthink the pain awhile.

But go to your GP to sort ou your meds. And good luck!

[Hidden]

You have been in the wars. If you have still got a fixator fitted movemet will be very painfull and difficult you can mix differant painkillers in differant groups morphenes and paracetamols together nurapathic pain is something like amitrytalene, again the GP should see you right. If you can get onto the pain clinic all is the better, they will keep you right.You can also try a tens unit that can act like a nerve block if do yyou do it right, You will possibly need psyio as the leg will become week and will need to move. Some vTENS can also be used to exersize the musle and tendons. Footballers sometime us an EMS machine that flexates the nerves and tendons, although the v TENS can be used to do the same thing, a pain clinic wiill educate you on this treatment..

You really need to se your GP AND TRY AND GIVE A NUDGE TO GET SOME TREATMENT. chrio may be a little bit early yet. That treatment at the moment might make your GP balk as some are a bit funny about it All the best see the doc again.

[colboy]

I am amazed that your doctor has not arranged for you to attend a pain clinic this I found very helpful to me I suffer with a very bad degeneration of my spine and osteoarthritus this causes me a lot of trouble. I went to pain clinic and they were fantastic they chat to you and as a group you talk over you probems and then they sort you out it is part and parcel about you care. The pain medicatiotn I take is 100 mg Zomorph at am and pm which is slow release also I take 2 Dihydrocodein 30mgs 2 Paracetamol this seem to work for me I sometimes get really bad pain spikes when the only thing I can do is to lie down and take 30mls of Morphine Sulphate oral solution as a quick pain medication this works for me I have been like this for the last five years and It is a condition which will not get any better I have been told it will get worse and the omly outcome is wheel chair which I dont wan't. Hope this helps and take care I hope your pain will ease shortly .

[leedsunited]

Im really sorry to hear about your struggle with the pain

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[nikinackynoo]

I dont know how to thank you all for your answers and advice. You have given me the confidence to ask my surgeon in clinic tomorrow for a referal to a pain clinic. Thankyou so much i will keep you updated as to my progress xx