Is all this pain really necessary?

Hi everyone, :confused:

Tell me, is it ‘our lot’ now to be constantly in pain to some degree, be it, muscular, nerve or otherwise, or are we right to have an expectation for our medications to work within a couple of hours and take any pain ‘away’? Am I living in cuckoo land, are there such medications? Is it our choice of GPs and their knowledge of MS and its many variations when prescribing the correct ones?

Sorry, I’m ranting again. It’s just that I’ve been in pain to some degree or other since Christmas and I don’t feel like anything is really taking care of it. Yet all I hear is “increase the dose”. I’ve now been started on 600mg Pregabalin from 375mgs and felt that’s a bit too much all at once so GP brought it down a bit and wants me to phase it up over 3 weeks. It’s like they don’t know what they’re doing! :frowning:

Luv Linda

Dear Linda, sorry for your pain. I take 2700 mls of gabapentin daily. It has helped with some of my nervy pain, and it has almost numbed down my constant pins and needles, but for my other more muscular stuff, I am still popping codeine.

warm baths, chocolate, gin and a good rom-com help…in no particular order! Love ali

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Hi Linda,

I refuse to accept that it is our lot to be in constant pain. I take 600 mg Pregabalin, 50 mg Amitriptyline and 30/500 Co-codamol everyday. Dantrium helps to prevent my spasms and cramping. Co-codamol works in about 20 minutes (for me).

If you’re not getting relief with Pregabalin there are alternatives such as Duloxetine, Gabapentin and Tramadol available on prescription.

Best wishes,

Anthony X

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Hi Linda

Pain truly is the pits. Nerve pain does seem to be with so many of us, so much of the time.

I think it’s a game of trial and error for the GPs and neurologists. Although you and I both may have similar nerve pain, our response to various drugs differs. So if Gabapentin works for Ali, maybe it’ll work for you. It never worked for me. I used to take Pregabalin but that wasn’t really doing much for me either.

The learned neurologists say that co-codamol doesn’t work for nerve pain. But it does for quite a lot of people. Codeine on its own is a good option too.

Cannabis works for lots of people, either the currently sort of illegal type that has THC in it, or Sativex, or CBD oil or paste. It’s never done much for me.

My cocktail of drugs includes Baclofen which is for spasms but they are flipping painful if unchecked. Amitriptyline, which the doctors say take early in the evening to avoid the hangover type effect the next day, but I’ve taken it at all times of day when pain strikes. Magnesium Glycinate is good for my muscular pain, some people go for other preparations of magnesium. I also take Cloneazepam mostly at night but through the day as well if necessary. And I get headaches, sometimes for days on end. They go away with mixture of paracetamol or co-codamol and nurofen.

I don’t blame the doctors for the trial and error method of prescribing. After all, we’re all different. I know that doesn’t make the bloody pain go away though.

Sue

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Hi Linda, I feel your pain;literally! There is always some element of discomfort,aching,or sometimes downright pain going on in my legs or arms! I don’t like to tell people as I feel like a moany minney but it gets; so wearing!I also worry that I am just being soft and that 'no one is 'pain free’and that it is just part of the ageing process or ‘just life’! I think it would be much easier if pain could be measured and then prescribed for accordingly! I hope you get some relief soon x

You know what really gets my goat about pain, when a doctor asks you to measure your specific pain ‘from 1 to 10, how painful is it?’ My 1 to 10 is probably different to the next persons. Some people do have a higher pain threshold. Some people have given birth and others haven’t (I haven’t). Some people have suffered really severe pain and others haven’t. And some of us forget exactly how bad a particular pain was!!

Rant over.

Sue

Yes Sue it is all subjective. I have a friend who was in full blown labour and didn’t realise and yet I have had two children and trust me I was in no doubt when I was in labour with both! (and no I cannot imagine that pain now at all!) I think it depends on your state of mind too,if you are in a positive frame of mind you might rate pain as less painful? Also when someone asks me that 'how bad is your pain on a 1 to 10 I don’t want to look like a wuss but also I don’t want to play it down so am likely to go ‘somewhere in the middle’ I think it is a rubbish way to assess your pain. My husband was asked after an accident to rate his pain and he said "4"The doctor told him to answer again as his answer was incorrect as his pain was obviously much higher than that!

Exactly!