pain-any new medication I could try?

Post your questions about pain management for our experts here.

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catz1963
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Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 7:36 pm
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by catz1963 on Mon Oct 05, 2020 12:37 pm

pain-any new medication I could try?

Hi I have coped with athritis since my teens. For a long time during school years I was not allowed to do much physical activity. I was allowed to do swimming but not net ball or hockey or running. It wasn't a hardship for me as I didn't enjoy PE as my knees would swell up to twice their size if I walked on them let alone run. I was given paracetamol and in later years Ibuprofen. This was back in 1978 -80 my secondry school years. Now 40 years later I am still on Paracetamol and Ibruprofen.
I was on Tramadol for a time a few years ago when i had a frozen shouder and it was discovered the athritis had moved to my neck and I had a sack of pinched nerves. I didn't take to the Tramadol as I was afraid to get too dependant on them. I took them when I went to bed to help me cope with pain associated with lying down and sleeping.
I suppose my question is what if anything is available for me to take along side or instead of my current Paracetamol and Ibuprofen as my pain is not responding to them much anymore. And my other joints are now hurting too (elbows, shoulders and wrists)
I have had very loose joints all my life - they used to pop out and in quite refularly. I believe they call it Hyper Mobility now but it was never given a label in late 1970's.

Rachelouise1
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Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:41 am
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by Rachelouise1 on Mon Oct 05, 2020 12:52 pm

Re: pain-any new medication I could try?

Hi, have you tried a slow release anti inflammatory?

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Matthew Rogers
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by Matthew Rogers on Mon Oct 05, 2020 2:19 pm

Re: pain-any new medication I could try?

The first question I would ask would be when did you see your specialist last? If it has been more than five years, it might be worth requesting a review of your medication with a rheumatologist. They will be able to review your medication to see if there is something that will work better for you.

There is also a lot that you can do to manage your pain yourself including managing your weight (if you are overweight), specific rehabilitation exercises and attending self-management or pain-management groups. The charity Arthritis Action provides a lot of information on the subject and is a great place to start to find out what you can do to better manage your symptoms: https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/
Matthew Rogers
Head of Professional Development, the Institute of Osteopathy

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... rogers.php

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Arthritis Action
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by Arthritis Action on Mon Oct 05, 2020 2:40 pm

Re: pain-any new medication I could try?

It sounds as though you have been on medication for a very long time but if you still have pain then clearly the medicines are not working and you should try to reduce them. Long term anti-inflammatories including ibuprofen are not recommended as they have many potential side effects including stomach irritation, bleeding and ulcers (even if you are taking omeprazole or something similar), high blood pressure, kidney problems and more worryingly for long-term use, an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke. Topical anti-inflammatories (rub-on), can, however be effective for individual joints and have fewer side-effects. These can be bought over-the-counter or prescribed by your GP. Unfortunately strong painkillers such as tramadol, codeine and morphine are not very effective for pain that isn't due to cancer, i.e for most people with multiple joint pains, so are also not recommended for long-term use. Amitriptyline at very low doses (half a tablet if you are sensitive) can improve both sleep quality and pain if you have not tried it before.
Pain has many contributory lifestyle factors which are much more important for managing pain than tablets on their own. These include being overweight or inactive, stress, anxiety or low mood, and especially having poor sleep quality. Paying attention to these factors by self-management can really help with widespread pain and can improve quality of life. See our website for more information. Hypermobile joints can sometimes be painful but hypermobility always improves with age so this is not liely to be relevant to your current problems. Good luck. I'm sure that there is something that will help.

Dr Wendy Holden
Consultant Rheumatologist and Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action
https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/
020 3781 7120

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