What do you take for pain?

[MeganDowney]

Hi all,

I am wondering what everyone does to manage any of their pain conditions without the use of pain killers? As some of you know I have a peptic ulcer, which means I cannot take any NSAIDs (advil, alieve, etc). Ice, heat and rest are helpful, but can only do so much. Have you changed your diet, tried natural supplements...?

Obviously many of us are in this situation because of injuries or other conditions. So what do you do for severe pain?

Megan

[thereaintnodoubt]

anyone there?? I have a dillema myself..I have ulcers..but I just recently ended up with Bursitis in my left shoulder..the doctor knows that I have ulcers and prescribed me Ibuprofen...but he told me to take either Prilosec or Zantac with it..I am still very apprehensive about taking it..but I feel that is the only thing that will make the inflamation go down...

[Jade59]

Wellll...hmm...if your stomach hurts bad enough to take ulcer meds and especially earlier when you said it hurts like a knife...I wouldn't take any NSAID's if I were you, even while taking carafate.  I know it's hard, but let your stomach heal.  That's how I got myself into such bad condition was from continuing the Advil and aspirin on top of taking ulcer meds, carafate and maalox.  

[MeganDowney]

Thanks Jade! When you take Carafate as you able to use ibuprofen safely, I mean more than once or twice consecutively?

Fortunately no I don't smoke (or drink for that matter). My only vice really is English Breakfast tea (and the occasional Coca Cola) which are also both bad for ulcers. :(

I am feeling ready to handle the pain though - but not excruciating pain! I'm still hurting now, but I'm learning to tune it out to a certain degree rather than instantly connecting it with a pain pill. I'm sure it's going to be a long term rewiring of my brain and emotional response. But I have gotten to the point over the past few weeks where it feels normal to be normal. When I had to take the pain pills yesterday it was a surprisingly unpleasant experience!

Megan

[Jade59]

Hi Megan, I share the same dilemma.  I got off almost all pain meds in 07 by switching entirely to Advil and Bufferin, but ended up in the hospital with two duodenal ulcers.  End of NSAID's for me and back to pain pills.  

What has helped a great deal; enough to allow me an Advil here and there is to quit smoking.  My stomach feels better than it has in years.  Now of course I don't know if you smoke, but if you do and quit, you'll be amazed.  

As Vicki suggested, Carafate works Great!

[MeganDowney]

Hi everybody,

Yesterday the pain got so bad that I had to take vicodin two times. :( The good news is that I feel much better today. The steroids appear to be making a difference and no urge for any more pain medicine. Part of me is bummed, but at the same time I know I fought the pain four three days straight before giving in. It was excruciating by the end.

I am also unfortunately back on ulcer medication because I took advil when I shouldn’t have. That’s not the end of the world I suppose. Part of me wanted to see how much ibuprofen I could actually take before the ulcer flared it up, just so I knew moving forward.

Anyway, I wanted to share with everyone how my journey is progressing. I am still on my anti-inflammatory diet and taking the steroids every morning. My count starts over, but I am ok with that. I feel good. Keep you all posted!

Megan

[dominosarah]

Ahh the old peppermint remedy!!  Grandma used to give us a candy cane or a cup of tea with that in it when we had a belly ache.....

[MeganDowney]

Yep - I love it too! I drink a cup before bed just about every night. Right now it's just a waiting game until the contractions stop. It will be a couple days for it to settle down from the ibuprofen I'm sure. In the meantime I have to keep my tummy full (hurts worse when it's empty) and not eat any high acid foods. Just add that along to my anti-inflammatory diet! :) not sure how much food is left between the two, but it's temporary. LOL

The bottom line is that unless I am on an ulcer medication I simply cannot take ibuprofen more than 1 or 2 doses. It's funny, because sometimes I wonder if I've just made the whole thing up. It only takes a couple days of testing limits for a big dose of reality!

Megan

[vicki595]

I'm sure you've tried it all but I have to ask:  Peppermint tea?   It works great for me although I only have occasional issues.  It just settles and soothes everything...it's an old hippy remedy. :)  LOL

V.

[MeganDowney]

Thanks Vicki - I'll look into that (the first medicine!) :) My stomach is like a knife today, but the back pain is much improved. It's all a trade off. But I have absolutely no desire to take anything narcotic and feel wonky again. The past couple days were pretty miserable, but today is much better already.

Megan

[vicki595]

Also,there's a fairly old med called Carafate. Have you ever used it?  It literally binds to ulcers,forming a barrier.  It does a good job.   There are also meds you can take rectally but...LOL  That would depend on how bad the pain is.  It's all a trade-off,huh?

V.

[MeganDowney]

Hi Vicki,

Yes unfortunately, but great suggestion. In the beginning the dr's thought if they were injecting me with antiinflammatories it would also bypass the stomach, but Holy Lord did that not work. Back when I was still competing actively I popped advil every single day like candy! My stomach is just done. Apparently 1/4 of ulcers are caused by ibuprofen type meds...who know! :)

I actually have taken some these past couple weeks together with prilosec because I figured ANYTHING was worth getting the painkillers out of my system. But my stomach is in knots already. It does this sharp contracting thing, especially throughout the night so I have to stop pushing it.

Today is day 2 of my anti-inflammatory diet and the steroids (hate those!). We'll see how it goes.

Megan

[vicki595]

Hi~  Have any of you tried otc's for pain that are enteric coated or in capsule form?  These types of pills bypass the stomach and release their ingredients directly into the intestine.  It may be of some help for those with stomach issues.

V.

[MeganDowney]

Hi there,

Yes, unfortunately I have had a similar experience with the physical therapy, but will find some way to keep trying. The cortisone did not help too terribly much. I remember having bursitis a couple times and it did magically, but not for the discs. I have scheduled and canceled epidural injections twice before because I was so scared of them. I think I'm over that now and would like to try. So there's an option too I suppose.

Megan

[noodle2010]

Have you had injections? or physical therapy? Those have both also helped in the past for me.. but the PT sometimes aggravates my back but the longer I stuck it out the more relief I had. The cortisone injections while not the most fun, have given me relief for a short period as well. Still looking for that *magic* pill.... LOL!

[petroglyph54]

Tis a dilemma many of us share !!! It seems like the quest for relief becomes a lifetstyle. Bummer about the nsaids, for sure. The one thing I'd like to share for now is, look at "Dr. Mercola's" web site, there is a fountain of information on health, and of course he sells his own brand of vitamins. The search will keep many of us busy from now on, even after were cured. Good luck

[MeganDowney]

Hi Bob!

Thanks for your message. :) I will keep everyone posted if I feel a shift over the next couple weeks with the anti-inflammatory diet. I used to make fun of such things as being hippyish, but ya know, the more I think about it it makes sense. We know that high sodium foods can cause tissue to inflame, so why wouldn't it contribute or even cause some of our injuries to get worse, ya know? I know many cultures don't have this relationship with chronic pain and in those cultures fried foods, fast foods, preservatives, etc. are almost non existent.

So, I will be eating a whole lot of kale and brown rice for the near future (and no more BBQ chips!). I've also heard a lot about turmeric...

Would still love to hear more insight from anyone else on anything that has worked or not worked.

thanks,
Megan

[jstntime]

The addicts dilemma!!!!!

How to get pain relief when you are addicted and must abstain from the only thing that brings relief????

The biggest problem with opiates as I see it is that they do NOTHING for long term relief.  When used for short term they work wonderfully but for long-term, tolerance makes you take more and more to get the same relief.  Once you are taking obscene amounts, then the opiates start to make you ill as well......ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

I too share this problem and I have found nothing that helps me be "comfortable".  I hurt like heII all the time but then again, I also hurt like heII all the time when I took opiates.  

I now take tylenol because NSAIDs hurt my stomach too.  When you guys find the magic pill or solution PLEASE let me know!!!!!!

I commiserate whole heartedly with your dilemma and wish you both well,

bob

[MeganDowney]

Thanks for your message. I just started a prednisone treatment this morning because one of my discs is flaring up. Like you I have multiple that have degenerated. It's been a couple years since I have done so. I don't want to, but am not sure what else to try without resorting to pain killers. I am also going to make an effort to follow the anti-inflammatory diets for the next week to see if it helps at all.

I would love to hear from anyone who had had success this way or has other recommendations (especially anyone who can't take advil) - thanks!

Megan

[noodle2010]

I have multiple degenerative discs so if Advil, Aleve, heat and rest don't do the trick I end up in the doctor's office with another script. I would love to hear what others have to say because this is my problem in a nutshell. We have pain.. but get addicted.. what to do?