what pain meds do work?

Hi! Welcome to Healing Well! :)
I have to be brief (my paws hurt now); but having been on almost every NSAID & pain med out there...the few things that HAVE worked were:

Arthrotec [there are a few variations of it] was GREAT for the inflammatory arthritis joint pain I have (RA). I WAS THRILLED! I felt it was better than narcotics & steroids the way it worked!

Prednsione at 20mg or above really does the trick for me w/ joint pain & swelling.

Dilaudid helps me (more so before I got tolerant to it) w/ getting a grip on the joint pain.
Actually...whenever I take Celebrex or Diclofenac, I get MUSCLE PAIN as a side effect!

Wow...steroids do not provide any relief for you? I'm so sorry.

If you state that you have pain "constantly"...perhaps a time-released "around the clock" pain med might be an option for you?

But I was really surprised & impressed how well Arthrotec worked. {I had to stop it due to major bleeding issues though, I'm still P.O.'d about that}

Best wishes...be in touch soon.
Sincerely,
erin

u know if pain is unable to be conrtolled byy ur med, i have a friend who raves about her pain magmt specialist and says her quality of life is improved 10fold. i was asked to go to one by the ortho this past week on my visit but i am uncertain if i want to get into too many narcotics cuz i work. he told me pain management could work with that?? i might go yet? doiingmore research on the topic. keep us posted on ur control and welcome yally

Here in Vancouver, Canada, one of the teaching hospitals has a pain management clinic. I had to wait for a year to be seen, and then it was because of a cancellation. It was the best thing that happened to me. I had to have a GP's referral. The moral of the story: the sooner, the better.
Mary

I, too, thought it would be biofeedback or self-hypnosis. But, instead, it was an hour interview with a doctor who specialized in pain management, both from a psychological and physical viewpoint. I have had anklyosing spondylitis, a form of rhematoid arthritis, since my early twenties.
The doctor took a very thorough history and then essentially fine-tuned the medications and treatment I was on.
At age 77, I had no further tolerance for oral, or rectal, anti-inflammatory medications and their attendant acid-suppressors, so I was advised to use only anti-inflammatory creams and only when necessary. Tylenol, 500 mgs. every 4 hours, not to exceed 4000 mgs. per day, kept the pain in check.
The use of physio and excercise, including water exercises as prescribed by the pysiotherapist, was encouraged.
A characteristic of ankylosing spondylitis is that the pain increases during the night. I never got a good night's sleep, which increased the pain, which increased the lack of sleep the following night. Breaking that cycle with a very low dose of the anti-depressent Trazodone at bedtime was the crux of solving my problem. (One of the side effects of Trazodone is sleepiness, and the sleep produced is close to a natural one.) I take 1300 mgs. of long-acting Tylenol, plus 25 mgs.of Trazodone, at bedtime.
Once I got the pain under control, I now take approx. 3000 mgs. of Tylenol per 24 hours. plus 25 mgs. Trazodone. I exercise 3 times a week at the YWCA, which has equipment that you can increase or decrease in resistance to within a pound or two, thus avoid injuring yourself. The swimming pool water is warm and there is a hot pool.
I didn't mean to go on and on, but sometimes the truth is in the details.
Mary