Pain Management for RA - Impossible for Some??

[Guest guest]

Hello.

I am still fairly new here, but from what I've been reading and from the

people I have met through the group, there is one thing that is very

obvious. Pain management seems unobtainable for some of us. I don't

know why this is, but there is a large number of members here who suffer

every single day with little or no relief from their meds. Or, their pain meds

work at first, then they start to wear off quickly or they start needing more

and more to even make any sort of dent in the pain.

I am a true believer in pain management for whatever disease/illness you

are dealing with. This improves a persons quality of life, their emotional

well-being and the ability to get more rest and relaxation. Good pain

management to me is just as important as getting the disease/illness

under control. It's half the battle.

Before getting ill with RA and Sjogren's, I never even took so much as a

Tylenol unless I had a migraine or something. Post-op from a major

surgery, I stopped taking IV pain meds less than 12 hours post-op, when

many take it for 3-5 days after. I am not a baby or a hypochondriac who

cries about every single little ache and pain. I have a good tolerance for

pain overall, and am shocked at how badly an RA flare hurts. For the first

time in my life I NEED my pain meds. I can't go without them during a

flare as they are my lifeline. I can't get out of bed without them, as I

require assistance with walking when in full flare. My problem is that I do

have a good doc who's tried several different pain meds with me. They

seem to work at first dose, then after that it's just not strong enough. Or,

they make me sleepy/dizzy and don't touch my pain. I am so out of it

psychologically that I can't seem to really want to do anything about the

pain that still exists. My doc has been good enough to even go so far as

to try a combo of meds at night (the most painful time of the day for me

with RA flare), giving me pain med, sleeping pill and a muscle relaxant as

well. You'd think with all this in my system that I'd get a good 6 hours

rest uninterupted, wouldn't you? No such luck. Every single time I move,

I am awake from the pain. My body hurts in every single joint and any

place it is touching the bed.

I know I'm not alone in this. I know there are many more people out there

who still haven't been able to get their RA under control and are suffering

every single day when they flare. Even more sad is the fact there are

docs out there who won't prescribe narcotics for their patients who actually

need them. I know there are people who abuse medications that are

prescribed to them, but they are few in numbers in comparison to those

who use it responsibly.

I wish there were a way to hook us up to a machine so they could measure

how much pain we are all truly in. I am certain this would startle them to

see what we deal with on a daily basis. I hope and pray that there is a

breakthrough with RA treatment/pain management and that those of us

that are suffering in pain can for once get a good night's sleep without the

constant waking up from the pain our bodies are in.

Right now, I am on the duragesic patch 25 mg, T4's, and supplemented by

muscle relaxer and sleeping pill at bed time. Even with all this, I am still

not sleeping and I am still in pain. It's taken all I have to type this post

today. For the average person, there is enough meds in me to knock

someone out cold. Obviously there's much more going on with our bodies

during an RA flare that somehow interferes with our pain meds ability to

work to it's full potential.

Surely, there are many more of you out there that suffer with pain control.

Most of which do so in silence. It's time to speak up and be heard.

There's got to be a better med or a better treatment for those of us who are

living like this. Anyone with successful pain management care to fill us in

on what you're using and how things improved for you?

Thanks for reading,