HELP? Suggestions? Advice?????????????

[WantMyLifeBack2010]

Hi all,
Hope everyone had a Merry Chrismas? I would like to post a question...I am going to my MD today due to my severe knee and feet pain...I want to discus taking either Cymbalta or Lyrica for the horrible pain I've been in which was ONE of the reasons I took pain meds and became and addict from...
Now Im waling much more frequently and maintaining my Yoga but the pain has increased causing me to loose ALLOT of sleep which makes me very irritable....
HAS anyone ever tried either of those for Osteoarthritis which is what I have in my knees and feet? if so please give me all the suggestions. I need to take something NON NARCOTIC and Ibuprophen isn't cutting it...nor is the Calcium, Magnesium Zinc combo Ive been on for 3 months now????

HELP!!!????
Kim

[WantMyLifeBack2010]

That's just GREAT cuz that's exactly what she gave me...She originally wrote me a script for Volteran but said she didn't want me to take it until my blood work comes back due to the blood work in April my liver enzymes were a little high well DUH?? I had just taken 150 pain killers in less than 13 days??? of COURSE my liver will be high--SO WAS I for 3 years??
oh well.....as soon as my Blood work comes back and if my liver is STABLE then she'll write me the 50 mg Voltaren so I WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!

Thanks everyone for the feedback I really APPRECIATE IT!!
kim

[beardflames]

i took another nsaid anti-inflam med called meloxican (mobic). didnt do much for me. but your pain is from a different source. it has helped many people with your condition.

[femmy29]

You're welcome.  I didn't see your post to geminigirl stating you were allergic to Celebrex before I posted.  As JayBay said, there are a lot of non-narcotic medicines available for OA.  You can probably do a google search on "non-narcotic osteoarthritis medications" and I bet a lot of good websites will pop up with a list of some of the different medications available.

femmy

[WantMyLifeBack2010]

thanks for the reply but I am allergic to Celebrex due to it having sulfer in it and Im highly Allergic to sulfer...
I will ask about the Volteran..

Thanks again!!!
Kim

[Jaybay]

Ask your doctor.  There are a gazillion different non-narcotic anti-inflammatory meds to try for osteoarthritis pain.  Narcotics just don't seem to work well for any kind of bone pain, and like gemini said, meds like Lyrica and Cymbalta are mostly effective on nerve pain.

It's great that you're doing yoga to keep your joints flexible but you might ask your doctor about doing more muscle-building activities.  Light weight training is one of the best things you can do for OA as long as you use proper form.  The more muscle you build up the less strain is put on your bones and joints making it less painful.  A few physical therapy sessions to teach you some exercises and proper form might be a good idea.

[femmy29]

Yes, Christmas was good besides recovery from surgery but I was still able to do some small things to make Christmas bright for my little boy.  I hope you had a joyful Christmas as well.

The Cymbalta might help, indirectly.  Anti-depressants like Cymbalta are used to help your mind deal with the pain better and this has been shown to effectively reduce pain.  They don't reduce pain directly; however, they can help you tolerate a higher level of pain than you normally would be able to do on your own.

The Lyrica is really for nerve pain not osteoarthritis pain.  If you are aware of any underlying nerve damage in your knees and feet, then this could help with that type of pain.

I agree with Geminigirl that Celebrex might be a good option for you as it is specifically formulated to help with osteoarthritis pain.  Celebrex is COX-2 inhibitor type NSAID and it is linked to heart attack and stroke.  If you have high blood pressure, this medicine may not be the right fit even if it is controlled by blood pressure medications.  And over time, NSAIDs increase blood pressure so that is a long term side effect that should be considered.  If you are going to start a powerful NSAID like Celebrex, I would recommend that you purchase a home blood pressure monitoring kit to periodically check your bp while on this medication.

There are also some injectable meds out there that your doctor can inject directly into your knees and feet and they are also non-narcotic.  The side effects are even worse with these though as many of them are linked to the development of cancer; however, the amount of cases that developed cancer are extremely low so it is probably a rare side effect.  

There is also lidocaine ointment and patches which is a local anesthetic used to block pain signals from reaching the brain.  However, they are not very effective on arthritis pain as the pain originates deep under the skin at the site of bone and typically the lidocaine doesn't penetrate that deep.  Not sure if a lidocaine injection by your physician would be more effective or not???  Something to ask about.

Are you taking any NSAIDs now for your arthritis pain?  There is another prescription NSAID called Volteran that is an anti-inflammatory gel that can be rubbed directly on your knees and feet.

All of what I mentioned are non-narcotic.  I hope things go great for you at your appointment today. :)

femmy

[WantMyLifeBack2010]

thanks for the reply...as for celebrex I can't take due to my allergic reaction to sulfer... which Celebrex has in it....So I have NO IDEA what I can take that is NON narcotic????

[geminigirl1963]

I'm not sure Cymbalta or Lyrica would help with osteoarthritis pain - it seems to work more on nerve type pain, however, it would be worth asking your doctor about.

Have you ever asked your doctor about an anti-inflammatory such as Celebrex?  You may find that type of medication would work better for the arthritis and it is non-narcotic.

I, too, have severe arthritis, so I can relate to the pain you're experiencing.  I hope you and your doctor can find something soon that helps.