RE: Liz asked for suggestions for pain relief

[Guest guest]

Hi Liz

I have been having terrible pain for several months now and finally have the

diagnosis that explains. Apparently blood tests show that my ReA is

responding at last to a combo of indocin, sulphasalzine and methotrexate,

but I still have significant pain. Xrays show this is due to two things:

'secondary osteoarthritis' in my hip and knee and sadly, osteonecrosis (dead

bone, caused by the joint inflammation cutting off blood supply to the bone)

in these joints also. An MRI will shortly confirm this.

Regarding pain, I have been 'going up the pain meds tree', with my doctor

and am finally getting relief with slow-release morphine (30-40 mg, every 12

hours). Before we got to morphine, we tried paradex, codeine,

tramadol/ultram and both codeine and tramadol together. Methadone is also

meant to be effective.

My best advice to you is, don't suffer: keep complaining and trying

increasingly stronger pain killers until you find something to give you

relief. At my worst, I commented to my husband that " happiness is simply an

absence of pain " . When you have severe, unremitting pain, it is hard to feel

positive about living!

Please let us know how you go!

All the best,