What medication actually helps ease Joint Paint?

[meubanks09]

I currently have " Undiagnosed Joint Pain". I am seeing a doctor and am in the midst or working through blood tests and what not,  to determine the cause of my joint pain. From the way things are looking, She indicated I probably have Rheumetoid Arthritis.  In the meantime, until a diagnosis is confirmed I have tried a few different medications to help me get through the day. Yet, none of them are helping...

I have tried Prednisone, which was terrible and made me feel a lot worse. I also had a doctor tell me to take 4,000mg of tylenol and 2 Aleve a day.. all that did was give me a stomach ache. I have also tried Tylenol 3 and Norco. They somewhat helped ease the pain.. but it seemed like I had to take a few of them before it worked. Also, from taking 2-3 of them within a few hours, they made me extemely dizzy and out of it. I did not like that feeling, and it made it hard to drive or work.

I am now taking Meloxicam. It is not helping, and gives me an extremely bad stomach ache. It feels like someone is cutting my stomach open with a knife. I told my doctor, and she indicated to give it " more time" and " eat crackers".

I told her the Tylenol 3 and Norco KINDOF helped.. and asked if there was somthing similar to those i could take, that may work. She said absolutely not, and Opiods do not do anytihng for joint pain...

Well, then what does?

[meubanks09]

Thank you for the helpful information.  I really appreciate it. I am just learning about all of this .. and it's nice to hear some opnions and information from someone other than my doctor. I want to trust her, but I also feel I should double check, just to make sure.

The Prednisone did help me by the way.. after i stopped taking it. I took it for 7 days, and was in extreme pain, felt like i was losing my mind, couldnt sleep, my face swelled up and I broke out in acne everywhere. It was terrible :(. After day 7, my joint pain disappeared for about 2 weeks :). However,  the facial swelling, and acne also persisted for the 2 weeks. Once the Acne went away, the joint pain came back. It seemed like it did help, but the symtoms were so terrible that I will never take it again. There should be a medicine that can help the pain, with out all of those awful side affects.

I am going to keep taking the Meloxicam.. until my next Dr. Appointment. It seems like some days it does help and other days it does not. It also gives me the WORST stomach aches. My Doc told me that if I am still in pain, take a 2nd dose 12 hours later. If I do that my stomach feels like someone is  cutting it open with a knife.  Then I have to stop taking it for a couple days, so I can eat again.

It feels like I will never feel "normal" or "better". It's like I have to pick from a lesser of two evils. Either trade my Joint Pain in for  Acne, sweating, bloating, & insomnia.. or I can trade it in for Extreme Stomach Pain. LOL

I will talk to my doctor, and also ask about the Tramodol. Maybe we just need to do a " trial and error" to see what my body likes, and does not like.

Thank you so much for your information !! I will keep posted with what happeneds. Hopefully they will eventually figure out a diagnosis as well. :)

[meubanks09]

Sorry for the confusion. I was prescribed Tylenol 3 and Norco from an urgent care clininc. I went there 2 times when I was having a day with severe pain, and I was not able to work without some releif.

I informed my PCP , and she indicated I should not have been prescibed those medications.

[Tuckamore]

Hello Meubanks,

I am sorry to hear about your painful joint symptoms. You are so young to be experiencing this horrid joint pain.

Your physician is right and wrong. Opiates do not help with the inflammation in joints but they do ease pain. Prednisone should have provided some relief of the joint pain if it was related to an inflammatory process. It works well on inflammation. Although as you said it does raise havoc with your other systems, especially the GI tract. Usually NSAID's such as Advil (ibuprofen), aspirin or Naprosyn (naproxen) to name a few will reduce joint inflammation. One of the "Big Dog" anti inflammatories is Celebrex (Celecoxib). All can produce GI distress. Meloxicam is a NSAID used to relieve the symptoms of arthritis, fever; and as an analgesic, especially where there is an inflammatory process.

Physicians are usually more comfortable prescribing Tramadol as it is not classified as an opiate though it does have similar action. It can have addictive qualities. It is a pain medication that works similarly to morphine.  

We must all be our own advocate. You know your body better than anyone else and even though you are young you should not have to suffer with uncontrolled pain. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. We will look forward to your updates.

Best of luck and please take care,
Tuck  

[peaceinknowing]

If she is telling you that opiates do nothing for the pain, then why'd she give you them to take? Tylenol 3 and Norco are both controlled substances and are classified as opiates. This doesn't make sense to me where her train of thought is right now.