pain relief

i was diagnosed with hep c 2 days ago i'm have a lot of pain in my joints some days worse than others i take 5 mg loritab when the pain is bad but not everyday my dr says tylonal advil or alieve ect are not good for me either (they don't work anyway) but   the loritab do help it is just what i decide to take as long as it's in moderation

[BoceprevirGal]

  I have been experiencing that lately, as well.  I am too worried about keeping my liver healthy, so I dont take pain pills though.
  

[HectorSF]

Being 57 years old could mean you have had hepatitis C for many decades. Like most boomers. You should seek out a gastroenterologist to evaluate your hepatitis C and liver disease and if appropriate treat you. You should also get a liver biopsy as well to see how damaged your liver is after decades of damage by the hepatitis C virus.

Since we don't know how damaged your liver is we can only assume either advanced liver disease or minimal liver disease.

* If you have advanced liver disease - you should not take any NSAID pain relieves. Such as Advil, Aleve or Aspirin. The recommend pain killer is Tylenol/acetaminophen only for people with advanced liver disease. No more than 2,000 mg a day.

Loritab is is an analgesic (painkiller) combination containing acetaminophen and hydrocodone used to relieve moderate to severe pain.
Hydrocodone is a narcotic and is habit forming. One Lortab tablet may contain up to 500 mg of acetaminophen (abbreviated as APAP).

Hydrocodone Bitartrate........................................................5 mg
Acetaminophen...............................................................500 mg

You should never take more than 4 pills per day or you risk damaging your liver due to the dosage of acetaminophen.

* If it turns out  your liver disease is minimal -  the adult maximum dose of acetaminophen is 4 grams per day (4000 milligrams). If you take more than the maximum daily amount, it may cause serious (possibly fatal) liver disease. Seek immediate medical attention if you have any of the following symptoms of liver damage: severe nausea, yellowing eyes or skin, dark urine, stomach pain, extreme fatigue.

You should see a doctor (gastroenterologist) soon about your hepatitis C. You should find out the stage of your liver disease so you know you are not  damaging your liver even more with Loritab.

Good luck.

Hector

[Dee1956]

Hector has given you great advice.  Not know how damaged your liver is please be careful with the Tylenol.
There must be another safer pain med without tylenol, I just don't know it right now.  I would try to find out the level of damage as well
My blood work did not indicate how badly my liver was damaged, good thing I had a biopsy so that I knew I had no time to wait, I had to treat right away.  Hep C is insidious.  You don't even know how it effects you until you get rid of it.  I just finished tx 3 months ago and feel better thean I have in years
Best of luck to you
Dee

[bbj2856]

DEe so glad u finished a an feel better. Hector is like our  angel here to give us direction an guidance God Bles u all

[willbb]

It often comes up here which is the best pain med to take.Everybody is different as far as risks go depending on many health issues.Article below explains some of these for those that haven"t see it.

Will

http://hepatitiscnewdrugs.blogspot.com/


Liver damage. Acetaminophen, the No. 1 nonprescription pain reliever, does not cause GI bleeding, but long-term frequent use or even large single doses can cause severe liver damage. In fact, acetaminophen overdosing is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., often as the result of suicide attempts. Most people still don’t know about this risk and don’t realize that acetaminophen is in hundreds of OTC cold, allergy and headache products and some prescription pain relievers. Check labels for acetaminophen, and don’t take more than 4 grams—equal to eight Extra Strength Tylenol tab--lets—a day from all sources. Alcohol (three drinks or more at a time) and certain other drugs increase the risk. Heavy drinkers and those with liver disease should avoid, or at least limit, acetaminophen. Taking the drug while fasting also increases the risk.

• Kidney damage. NSAIDs (and acetaminophen to a lesser extent) can damage the kidneys. If you have kidney disease, talk to your doctor about pain reliever safety.

For healthy people who take OTC pain relievers as directed, the risks are relatively small. However, because these drugs are so popular, thousands of Americans are affected every year. Don’t let these concerns prevent you from taking the drugs if you need them, but do follow this advice, especially if you take pain relievers often:

[willbb]

The one line in that article I would question is this :

"those with liver disease should avoid, or at least limit, acetaminophen."

limit yes..avoid no

Will

[bjack59]

Nothing over the counter has ever helped me.  When I found out I had hep c, I found out i already had liver damage. My doctor prescibed vicodin for pain.  I questioned him about it because I believed it might cause further damage.  He said it was okay in moderation.  Ask your doctor about vicoprophen - it is suppose to better for your liver as the buffer is not acetaminophen.  Good luck.

[ceanothus]

Lortab and Vicodin are just different brand names for the same drug: both contain the same combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone. There is no difference between them other than who makes them.

My own personal experience has been that narcotics have not provided much help with joint pain, unless maybe if the dose is high enough to be blunting your awareness in general. I've lived with severe chronic spinal pain for 30 years now, had a transfusion during spinal surgery in 1984, developed severe joint pain in 1986 that eventually led to my HCV diagnosis, and have had cirrhosis since 2005.  My hepatologist approved my back specialist's Rx for Vicodin for years, as long as I took no more than 4 a day. This was still approved after my dx of cirrhosis, but I was uncomfortable with continuing the daily doses of acetaminophen and got my Rx for Norco (10mg hydrocodone with acetaminophen) switched to 5mg tablet of Oxymorphone, a narcotic without any acetaminophen, just to play it safer. I've found that none of these narcotic pain meds help much with the joint pain, not like they do with the nerve pain from the spinal damage. The NSAIDs that I took before I knew I had HCV helped a lot more with joint pain than the narcotics do. But that may just be me. If they help your joint pain and you limit yourself to no more than 4 per day, they are most likely safe – but it is extremely important to have a good hepatologist evaluate your liver condition and whether your meds are safe for your liver, given all your specific circumstances. Best wishes!

[BoceprevirGal]

The problem with pain pills is we all have a "pain threshold" that we build up. Sometimes a "Pain Management" class can also be a valuable tool.
   I would opt for medical Marajuana, for joint pain, over more addictive narcotics...they have a candy you can suck, etc, here in NorCal. But I wouldn't even take that, on a daily basis.

[hrsepwrguy]

"I would opt for medical Marajuana"

Not every state allows medical marijuana

diannemseq
Female, 57 years
biloxi, MS

Marijuana Possession
It is a crime to knowingly or intentionally possess any amount marijuana (including small amounts for personal use) in Mississippi. Penalties vary according to the amount possessed.

•Up to 30 grams. Penalties include a fine of $100 to $250. Subsequent convictions of this type within a two-year period are punished with a $250 fine, and between five and 60 days in jail, in addition to participation in a mandatory drug education program. A third or subsequent conviction is punished with a fine between $250 and $500, and between five days and six months in jail. (Miss. Ann. Code § 41-29-139(c)(2)(A).)
•Between one and 30 grams kept in a car. It is illegal for someone to keep between one and 30 grams of marijuana on their person or in a vehicle (in an area normally occupied by passengers, such as a glove compartment; but not, for example, in a trunk). Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, and up to 90 days in jail. (Miss. Ann. Code § 41-29-139(c)(2)(B).)

[willbb]

Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, and up to 90 days in jail. (Miss. Ann. Code § 41-29-139(c)(2)(B)
--------------------------------------------

Yikes....Thanks for that Larry, Good to know .