Pain Medicine

[angela515]

For anyone with any kind of pain... what was the name and strength of the pain medicine that helped you the most?

I'm asking because all they are doing for my AVN right now is pain management... so I was taking Vicodin 5/500mg and I finally had to tell the doctor this medicine is doing nothing for me and I need something else. This time they wrote me Lortab 10/500mg take 1 every 6 hours... still, this does NOTHING for me, even when i take more than 1 at a time.. So I am becoming very frustrated, and want some suggestions to come to the Dr with for this pain to be relieved.

So, I wanna know what works for others... Maybe there is stuff I haven't got to try yet that may help. I have been on pain killers for MANY years, so my body has become adjusted to most all.. which sucks b/c in reality these Lortab 10's should relieve some pain, but they do not.

[Ohio Buckeye]

For my foot I've been on generic for Lortab 5/500mg, every 6 hrs.
In the beginning it didn't even help.  Now the pain has lessened a little
at times so sometimes it helps some at night.  Also take EX S Tylenol PM.
Doc said a lot of mine is nerve endings and not a lot to do for that.
When my daughter-in-law had sinus surg. she was on percaset (sp?)
and my s-in-law was on darvaset for hip surgery.  She said it helped a lot.
I hope you find something that helps cause pain is hard to live with
every day. 

[Adam_W]

Other than morphine, the most effective pain medicine for me is Vicodin 500mg.

Adam

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Several years ago I had very bad chest pains which turned out to be musco skeletal inflamation and not heart related. Nevertheless I was in excrutiating pain for 7 days. I found the most effective pain killer to be a drug called Tramadol. Be careful not to overuse it though because it can become addictive.

[jbeany]

I use Darvocet when I need it.  It doesn't really make the pain stop - it just makes it so you don't care about it. . . probably not what you are looking for!

[glitter]

my husband has chronic pain- he is on the Duragesic 25mg patch- whenever he has extra pain they just bump it to 50 for awhile- then we have to cut the patch and wean him down as he gets better. HOWEVER, this drug is very addictive- and forgetting a patch is disaster- it takes hours for the horrible shakes to go away.

But I will say it works for the pain.

[angela515]

I use Darvocet when I need it.  It doesn't really make the pain stop - it just makes it so you don't care about it. . . probably not what you are looking for!

Hey, if I don't think about it, that's better than taking something and STILL being in pain AND thinking about it. 

[stauffenberg]

By far the best, and the weirdest, pain reliever is Versed (also called Medazolam), which works in a totally different way from most analgesics, which are typically opiates and so carry a risk of addiction.  With Versed you can feel the pain that you are having, but your consciousness is so profoundly altered that you find it amusing rather than distressing! Anything and everything in the world, from the death of your entire family in a car crash or a diagnosis of cancer simply seems hilarious or unimportant, so you are impervious to all distress.  Whenever I have had this drug for surgical procedures I have always thought, if only I could find some way to make myself expereince the world this way all the time, life would just be an entertaining adventure without tragedy. Think of how successful you could be if you were always on that drug, since you could take any risks necessary, because you would not fear the consequences.

[angela515]

Interesting, but sounds kind of scary, LOL.

[rimbo74]

I'm three weeks past my transplant surgery and still take Norco 10/325 every 6 hrs or just 4 times a day.  I still have the pain though.  I need a refill which when I go to my transplant follow-up I would like something stronger as well.  I'm not sure if I'm just getting used to the pain medicine or its just not working for me.  I'm curious as well.

[mmmmdeedee]

Congratulations Rimbo on the transplant. I received mine from my older brother 07/24/07. Yeah!

As for the painkillers. Vicodin does absolutely nothing for me. They may as well give me Tylenol. I like Percocet or if at all possible, Delauded. Wonderful stuff. They would only give it to me in the hospital but I noticed on a website (I was researching it earlier -that's how wonderful it is) that it does come in pill form. In many different strengths.

All of my doctors are very stingy on the painkillers - I guess with good reason. But if  you are in pain, you must insist on some relief. There are so many pk's out there, and a lot of them safe for our conditions, that there is no reason to be suffering.

[rimbo74]

Wow, you are a week before me!  How are you holding up?

I go tomorrow to get my PD catheter taken out so I'm going to ask for percocet.  I'm like you, I feel like vicodin is like taking tylenol.

[angela515]

Why didn't they take your PD cath out in your transplant surgery, rimbo? That's what they did for me anyways, but my transplant started working immediatly also and creatnine was below 1.0 too.

As for pain meds, still have found NOThInG that helps at home, of course IV morphine would make me happy, it's not possible since i'm not in the hospital.

I didn't get a chance to talk to the dr about my pain meds and switching them around last clinic due to being in pain elsewhere and being admitted for it.. so this time I hope to get it covered and switched.

[rimbo74]

My brothers kidney worked immediately as well.  They just like to leave it in for a couple more weeks for a "just in case".  They told me that if they took it out and something happened where I would have to get on dialysis, they would have to do hemo.  So they wanted to wait a couple of weeks.  No more tube now though, its great.  I asked for percocet (sp) but they gave me Vicodin.  Still feel the pain but I don't really care about it.   

[angela515]

Right on rimbo..

[keefer51]

Because as i have said in another thread, some people including the idiots that sometime are in the emergency room at hospitals look at me and think i am faking "It". It being pain. But sometimes i do come across a person with commpassion and they always give me Dilaudid. When i was diagnosed with tic douloureux which is a compression of a nerve in my head they gave me a Fentanyl patch which is taking away the pain.

[Neo]

Im on Opana...But i want whatever stauffenberg is having...LOL

[angela515]

Im on Opana...But i want whatever stauffenberg is having...LOL

Yes it is looking and more and more tempting since nothing else is working yet.. at least I could be enjoying my pain instead of hating it. 

[mmmmdeedee]

Wow, you are a week before me!  How are you holding up?

I go tomorrow to get my PD catheter taken out so I'm going to ask for percocet.  I'm like you, I feel like vicodin is like taking tylenol.

I am doing terrific! Only problem, if you can call it that, is my brother's kidney is HUGE! It sticks out like crazy so it looks like I am well, chubby. Oh well. I am peeing like a queen now!

I had my PD cath taken out during the transplant surgery also. But I also had a permacath in at the time. I had tubes coming out all over my poor little body. So it was easier to take out the cath during the surgery. They had a backup! I just got the permacath taken out this week. Didnt hurt at all.

What are your creatanine levels? Mine have been stayng between 0.9 to 1.0. Pretty darned good I'd say!

Hope you are doing well also.
Dee Dee

[jbeany]

I get Versed with the fistulagrams.  It just makes me sleep - which is pretty amazing considering they have me propped on that little "ironing board" table during the procedure.

[angela515]

Well the doctor has wrote me a prescription for OxyContin, and I will get it in the mail in a few days since it's too strong of s pain medicine it's in the class that it cannot be faxed or called into the pharmacy, it has to be brought in by hand. So, hopefully in a few days when I get it I'll be in less pain and can start doing some light exercises again.

[okarol]

Well the doctor has wrote me a prescription for OxyContin, and I will get it in the mail in a few days since it's too strong of s pain medicine it's in the class that it cannot be faxed or called into the pharmacy, it has to be brought in by hand. So, hopefully in a few days when I get it I'll be in less pain and can start doing some light exercises again.

Please be careful with that stuff. You probably know that it's a narcotic drug approved for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It's great for short term pain relief, but as with any narcotic used long term, a patient can become dependent on it. My husband eventually had to go through detox and is off all pain meds now. He just minimizes his activity, which is hard for him because he was always a very active person. But the addiction was very tough on him too!
Here's more info: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/oxycontin/oxycontin-qa.htm

[Redbomb]

I'll second what okarol said.  It's wonderful stuff, but can be addictive.  Also, if you have a sensitive stomach, take it with a bit of food.  I don't have a problem, but my Dad will get sick on that stuff unless he eats a bit of something when he takes it. 

That's just my  worth. 

[angela515]

Yeah, thank you both. I'm currently on Vicodin, which is also addictive, and as of the last 6 month's isn't even helping the pain, but I still take it, dunno if i'm addited or if i'm taking it to think it's heping something. I shall be careful though.. I just hope I an get the surgery I need soon so I can be off the pain meds for good.

[Stacy Without An E]

Angela, I really feel your pain when it comes to this issue.  For the first two years on Dialysis I had severe pain with the needles giving me burning agony for 3 hours EVERY treatment.  I was pretty miserable so they prescribed 500mg of Vicodin.  The pleasant part was what a stupor it put me in, so it seemed Dialysis was going by faster than usual.  The negative aspects were pretty pronounced though.  I started having terrible digestive issues with vomiting and continually upset stomach.  At one point I was up to 3000mg three days a week.  I wouldn't take it otherwise, so it was a manageable addiction I guess.  I rarely take it now and have a personal stash just in case they're needed, but it's probably been 6 months.

I guess my question to you would be what kind of pain issues are you having.  Are they during Dialysis or because of the side effects?

I truly feel for you when it comes to pain issues.  Medical professionals figure if you're alive, they've done their job, but if you're suffering, it's not their problem.  This has been one of my main issues with the medical issues ever since I was a child.

Take care Angela.