pain med you can live with? - Fibromyalgia Message Board

pookah · 02-13-2004, 12:45 PM

hello

i am in severe pain again.

my problem is this: the only pain med that i have found so far that works is vicodin. but i cannot function when i take it! i have tried halving it, quartering it, but i end up passed out on the couch, no matter what.

i have many issues about what meds i can take. i take ssri's, so they affect the decision. i am also not to take tylenol, aspirin, or ibuprofen (any anti-inflammatories) because i take coumadin. i can't have anything that might cause internal bleeding, or thin my blood. my psychiatrist has told be that he believes ultram will contribute to my depression.

any ideas? oh yes, i'm not to take elavil either, because i am so sensitive to med side effects my psychiatrist thinks it will be a nightmare for me. also, tricyclics have always made me hallucinate, and i don't want that!

thanks!

PS about tylenol- i've been told that this is the "safest" OTC drug i can take with the coumadin, but i'm limited to 19 exta-strength tablets a week, for safety. i understand vicodin has tylenol in it, but i only take a bit of the vicodin- a whole tablet has me passed out for 24+ hours!

the tylenol alone does *nothing*.

MistyMisty · 02-13-2004, 02:47 PM

You might want to ask your doctor for some Alazolpam. It does help a flare. Most doctors don't want to prescribe it as it can be addicting.
Ultram gave me terrible mood swings so your psychiatrist could be right about that.
Suggestions anyone?

Cloie · 02-13-2004, 04:15 PM

Hi Pookah,

I can certainly relate to your dilemma. I have several disorders that cause chronic pain and I have cycled through a myriad of pain meds. I have found that they all have unpleasant side effects, some worse than others. Here's been my experience with some of them.
All the NSAIds (anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.) cause stomach irritation, some worse than others. I can only handle two ALEVE a day due to having gastritis...taking with food helps. All the codeines (tylenol 3, vicodin, oxycodeine, etc.) make me sleepy and dizzy. However, for some strange reason, oxycodeine, even though supposedly stronger than vicodins were more tolerable and killed pain better. I quickly got used to half a tab and dizziness went away. problem is every doc I ever talked to insists I will become a drug addict if I stay on oxy's more than a few months. So I take them only prn.
Ultram has SSRI properties and if you don't react well to prozac, paxil or zoloft, you won't like Ultram. Pharmaceutical companies are marketing it as non-addictive, but they lie...it's just as addictive as oxycodeine and less effective. Ultram only killed about 50% pain, whereas Oxycodeine killed about 90%.
You can ask for roxycodeine or oxycontin, which is oxycodeine without tylenol and long acting oxy, respectively. Tylenol supposedly destroys your liver over long periods of time as does the NSAIDS.
Vioxx, Mobic, Celebrex, etc. did absolutely nothing for my pain, but made me so nautious I couldn't focus on pain, only on wanting to throw up.
Doxepin, which is a tricyclic antidepressant (not an SSRI) diminishes pain about 50% for me, but makes me sleepy first two weeks, then sleepiness wears off. However, then blurry vision and weight gain set in. However,
a low dose of doxepin and Aleve seem to work well together, with a minimal amount of side effects. You may be like me and be very sensitive to drugs and need lower than normal doses of these drugs.

As far as I'm concerned there are no really good pain killers without annoying and sometimes intolerable side effects. You can choose which side effects you can live with. And don't believe anything the pharmaceutical companies claim and don't believe your doctor if he's being snowed by a pharmaceutical salesperson...ask him what he thinks of pharmaceuticals claims to find out how gullible he is to their totally false studies and reports on these new drugs.
I don't really believe that the opiates and codeines are as addictive as they fear for people who use it prn, in moderation, for pain. However, only you know your drug-addiction propensity or tendency...everyone's different. Some people get addicted much more easily than others, then the drug stops working and can in fact make the pain worse as you are constantly in a state of withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms to opiates can resemble FM and make you think you're getting worse. Good luck. Hope you find this helpful. Hugs, Cloie

pookah · 02-15-2004, 06:31 PM

thanks for the info, misty and cloie! i'll be printing this out to show to my doctors.

and don't believe your doctor if he's being snowed by a pharmaceutical salesperson...ask him what he thinks of pharmaceuticals claims to find out how gullible he is to their totally false studies and reports on these new drugs.

i'm so thankful for my psychiatrist. he doesn't believe a word that the pharm. salespeople tell him until he's had actual clinical experience with the drug. there have been several drugs that did things to me that the salespeople specifically said they would not do...and he got mad at them, and believed what i was saying. in fact, i think he taught them a thing or two about the drugs they were peddling.

s. anne · 02-16-2004, 01:26 PM

I have a 10 year old daughter that has had body aches, headaches and fatigue for 4 years. We have been to an allergist, an asthma specialist, had an MRI, neurologist and recently had a sleep study. She used to wake up with a headache every day. They would become more severe as the day progressed. She has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep, pianeal cyst, restless legs and fragmented sleep disorder. The next step was a reumo. specialist.{possible fybromialgia} THE KEY HERE IS: A friend of mine has had similiar symptoms for years. She recently visited a naturapath who suggested she needed more protein in her diet. I tried it on my daughter and the headaches have been gone for about 6 weeks now! I know this is only a small part of her problems, but what a blessing not to have the headaches anymore. I thought she was getting enough protein-but maybe not. It might be worth a try. I hope this helps.