Pain, pain and more pain.

[flowerangelx]

Hi all,

My knee has become twice the size of the normal, non-injured one yet again, I can barely put ANY weight on it, I was doing so well by just relying on a walking stick...I'm now back to being on two crutches because of the pain alone.

My doctor has been trying to cut down my medication (I was on: 2 Dihydrocodeine, 1 Diclofenac and 1 paracetamol 4 times a day)
It is now at: 1 Dihydrocodeine, 1 Ibuprofen and 1 paracetamol 3 times a day, with 2 Dihydrocodeine at night.

My doctor wants to cut it down to 2 x 30/500 Co-codamol 4 times a day. I'm obviously not coping with my current changes, never mind this.

No matter how much I tell her I'm in pain, she INSISTS on it..I can't walk if I don't take my full doses. I JUST about cope at my current dosage.

I understand that she's worried about me being addicted, and so am I. I fought against taking painkillers because I hate the idea of taking medication. I refused to take it for anxiety and so on..

I just don't know what to do now. Do I admit defeat and make sure my doctor listens, or do I let her continue cutting my meds?!

[seriouslyfedup]

What's caused the recent swelling then? A reduction in painkillers hasn't caused that. You could ask for a referral to a Pain clinic then your GP won't the one deciding your medicaton as such. They might change things about so you get a combination of something which helps, but has less severe long term effects.

However think I'd be more concerned in getting that knee fixed, rather than surviving on pain killers. You're very young to be surviving on high amounts of painkillers indefinitely, when there is a solution available to you. . Not from an addiction point of view but from the long term effect on your kidneys, liver and general well being. You could really regret not taking steps to get it fixed when you're my age.. By which time it could be too late, as the damage is done. Sorry but that is maternal instincts kicking in here.

[flowerangelx]

I have no idea what has caused the pain and swelling in my knee - I'm thinking I may have twisted it or something while I was sleeping. I can't remember doing anything to cause it while awake.

I need to lose weight before they will consider an operation on my knee. I have managed to lose 2 stone but now it's at a stand still, no matter how hard I try. It's depressing!

My doctor has refused to refer me to a pain clinic..so I feel like I'm stuck.

[mikeydt1]

got to be something to do with both the ibuprofen and codeine, the latter can be addictive. ibuprofen can cause all sorts of problems internal esp the tummy.

i was prescribed codeine started at 4 a day then last doctor wanted to increase only to 8 a day on full strength with this i saw my new doctor and told him to remove the codeine from my repeats.

i am taking tramadol and that can be very addictive but only take one or 2 max and manage mainly with paracetamol even though i am diagnosed with chronic pain.

flower see if you can get as suggested a referral to the pain clinic to see what better management they can come up with.

what ever is going on with the knee does need addressing.

no matter what happens hope you get sorted soon,

mike

[notnamedbill]

My understanding is that co-codamol 30/500 (30mg codine, 500mg paracetamol) is the highest prescription besides morphine you can get for this type of pain killer. I can take this on a 'as required' basis but when in hospital I get intravenous morphine, on Friday night I had 60/1000mg co-codamol plus 300mg asprin plus 30mg Nicorandil (potassium channel opener) at about 11.30 by 1.30 I had 7 shots of GTN (nitrate spray), at 3.00 I had 10mg of morphine and 600mg of asprin at 5.30 I had another 60/1000 co-codamol. and then I had my normal morning supplement of .......inc 75mg asprin and 60/1000mg co-codamol and they wonder why I sleep a lot?

I would be concerned about loosing the meds for inflammation but the pain killers are in fact stronger. It is not so bad taking antidepressants; I take citalopram to keep relaxing the sympathetic nerve because these type of meds are not only for anxiety.

[seriouslyfedup]

I need to lose weight before they will consider an operation on my knee. I have managed to lose 2 stone but now it's at a stand still, no matter how hard I try. It's depressing!

My doctor has refused to refer me to a pain clinic..so I feel like I'm stuck.

You've done really well losing 2 stone , sometimes I think weight loss can stop for a bit, then restarts at a slower rate. Don't feel down about it, just keep going. If you can lose the weight needed and get that knee fixed , the quality of your life will improve hugely. My OH's gran was always carrying a bit too much weight after her 50's and was plagued with hip and kee pain, needing total replacements, until the day she died at 95 . Which was a shame as she was really independent and outgoing and as sharp as needle in her 90's.

Did your GP explain why he won't he refer you to a pain clinic?.

[flowerangelx]

My understanding is that co-codamol 30/500 (30mg codine, 500mg paracetamol) is the highest prescription besides morphine you can get for this type of pain killer. I can take this on a 'as required' basis but when in hospital I get intravenous morphine, on Friday night I had 60/1000mg co-codamol plus 300mg asprin plus 30mg Nicorandil (potassium channel opener) at about 11.30 by 1.30 I had 7 shots of GTN (nitrate spray), at 3.00 I had 10mg of morphine and 600mg of asprin at 5.30 I had another 60/1000 co-codamol. and then I had my normal morning supplement of .......inc 75mg asprin and 60/1000mg co-codamol and they wonder why I sleep a lot?

I would be concerned about loosing the meds for inflammation but the pain killers are in fact stronger. It is not so bad taking antidepressants; I take citalopram to keep relaxing the sympathetic nerve because these type of meds are not only for anxiety.

I don't react well to co-codamol, I took it for another reason(very short term) a couple of years ago. It triggers my asthma for some reason. I tried it, and ended up in hospital having an asthma attack. Dihydrocodeine doesn't affect my asthma as badly.

My doctor has previously suggested taking an anti-anxiety medication as a relaxant, but I am very reluctant. My only experience of them is attempting suicide and self harming. Of course, not all of them would have this effect, I'm sure. Perhaps I'm becoming more open to trying another medication. I don't know.

I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow anyway. I've plucked up the courage as I had great boost from somebody yesterday telling me that I could do anything I wanted if I sorted things out properly. I just hope I can stick with it!

[flowerangelx]

You've done really well losing 2 stone , sometimes I think weight loss can stop for a bit, then restarts at a slower rate. Don't feel down about it, just keep going. If you can lose the weight needed and get that knee fixed , the quality of your life will improve hugely. My OH's gran was always carrying a bit too much weight after her 50's and was plagued with hip and kee pain, needing total replacements, until the day she died at 95 . Which was a shame as she was really independent and outgoing and as sharp as needle in her 90's.

Did your GP explain why he won't he refer you to a pain clinic?.

Thank you. I have been ill over the last week, had to mainly eat ice poles and lacto-free ice cream. Lost 6lbs so I'm expecting a slight gain next week while my body gets used to proper food again.

My GP won't refer me as she feels it can be controlled by standard painkillers and a bit of hard work. *shrugs*

[rinaric15]

hello flowerangelx first of all i feel for you, you are going through pain i can understand your situation. Just do as your doctor prescribe to take medicines dont be your own doctor take another doctor's prescription too if it is required i am telling this because when I was in my early 20's my right ankle swelled up. I hadn't injured it, and it became a party trick to show my friends how messed up my ankle was and we would all laugh at how ridiculous it looked. After suffering instability and falling on it over and over I went to a podiatrist who poked it, rolled it around, x-rayed it and then came back and said "Looks like you have arthritis in ankle, must be from an old injury" I scratched my head struggling to remember an injury, but he just gave me an ankle brace and sent me on my way. Ten years later my fingers are all twisted and swollen in pain, my toes, my wrists have weird bumps and lumps, my neck and spine will frequently seize up in pain and I have horrible pain down in my hips and pelvis. It took ten years and many doctors to find out that I have psoriatic spondlytis, an inflammatory autoimmune arthritis. My toenails have been a crumbled mess since I was a teenager - if that first doctor had just taken the time to really consider the combination of my crumbled toenails and a swollen joint, maybe I would have been able through early intervention to stop the massive spread of this disease. A 20 year old should not have a swollen joint for no good reason. And please, Dr. Dermatologist and Podatrist - if you are out there and read this... don't assume all crumbled toenails to be fungal. You HAVE to biopsy them - you cannot tell the difference by sight. Such a simple thing could have saved me from so much pain and disability.

[flowerangelx]

Just to clarify - I ruptured a ligament and tore the cartilage in my knee 2 years ago.

It has not swollen up for a year but swelled up when I made this post. The swelling has since gone back down, I'm glad to say...my doctor HAS referred me for another MRI scan on my knee, though, just to see what's what.