best otc pain meds?

my GI won't prescribe me anything for pain. I think that this is ridiculous. I am in a good deal of pain most days of the week, and without some sort of pain reliever, I get very little done. I struggle through most days, being a student and all. Anyway, according to my GI, pain medication is just masking the crohn's and isn't doing anything to cure it. I understand this, but that doesn't change the fact that the pain I experience seriously limits my activity. Anyway, what have you guys found works best for pain? Anything OTC? I have had great pain relief in the past with either vicodin or tylenol 3. I know that there is nothing OTC that would mimic the pain relief of an opiate, but I am kinda at the end of my rope now, and I know that I can't take ibuprofen.

I feel for you. My daughter found herself in a similar situation when she switched GI doctors. The old one gave her plenty of pain meds but the new one said he didn't like them. My daughter is an athlete and doesn't like to be forced to take them to function and eat either but there are times when it is inhumane for someone in that much pain to not have something. Her primary care referred her to a pain management doctor and she had what she needed quickly. I don't think she even needed a referral once she got there but it may have sped up the process. Good luck.

GDen said...
Here's a complete list of recommended OTC painkillers: acetaminophen.

I'll have to remember that line. I almost choked on my sandwich.

entocort for full 8 weeks. 4 weeks after starting entocort begin imuran regimen. continue w/ imuran indefinitely after dc-ing the entocort.

He is using a cortisol (entocort) to downregulate the proinflammatory proteins (which is likely the bacteria problems in the first place or the fact the inflammation has led to further leaky gut) which has led more inflammation to occur. The benefit of antiinflammatory from the cortisol also has the affect of altering the glucose metabolism (cortisol is opposite of insulin).
You can act by simply avoid the proinflammatory proteins in the first place by avoiding wheat protein and gluten, bacteria, yeast etc..
The imuran will further depress the insulin by affecting the imidazole part. The imuran also breaks down to mercaptopurine which will then lower your immune system as well as your glycoprotein synthesis.
So given the magnitude of these metabolic areas a small pain reliever seems to be a very small request. Thus the areas affected by these meds is overwhelmingly extensive for just reducing inflammation. Nevertheless this is the treatment that is used to reduce inflammation when inflammation is extreme.
The uptake of glycoproteins (or allergens) is influenced by glucose (and also dependent of the terminating sugar part of the carb-protein chain). so if a glycoprotein is encountered in the bowel the more glucose you have the less uptake [emphasis added] of the glycoprotein. On the other hand if the imuran is targetting the mucous from within then this is after the fact of having consumed a glycoprotein or having encountered a similar looking allergen.

*Medchrt, could you please respond to folks in laymens terms instead of these medical book like responses.  Remember we are just regular folks living with this darn disease.  Thanks for your understanding.

Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 1/31/2010 7:47:51 AM (GMT-7)

I have to agree with Champagnekindofgal. GI docs are notarious for not giving out pain meds. I had to go to my family doctor to get them. I suggest you visit your family doc and discuss your pain issues. If the family doc will not help, ask for a referral to a pain mgmt doctor. Good luck!

I go to an acupuncturist every week for pain relief from my crohn's and it's worked for me but it doesn't work for everyone. I agree with everyone on here though about the GI doctors not helping out with pain management. I go to my primary doctor for pain meds.

My GI won't give me pain meds either, even when I am so crippled over I can hardly function at all. So I go to my PCP and get them, or from my rheumy. It feels a little like I'm going around the system but if you can't function, you can't function. Tylenol might as well be tic-tacs when I'm at my worst.

Finding someone who will prescribe you with pain meds is a great idea... but I would like to give you some other things that worked for me.

I like using the pain patches, and just sticking them all over my belly. You will find these OTC patches advertised for like arthritis, but I find they soothe me pretty good. Similar creams work well too, but stink more, get on my clothes, and go away faster.
Making sure I balanced my water intake and eating fairly fibrous foods that didn't tear me up. If you can keep your bowel movements easy to come out without being too hard (pain from straining or even tearing through areas that are constricted) or watery (flies through you, and makes cramping worse), you will help your pain secondarily.
Sometimes a heating pad will work, but like you said... you don't get anything done.
If your GI doctor won't give you stuff for pain, but you still have pain... then it's obvious your Crohn's isn't controlled. Although I didn't want to, I ended up going on Remicaide treatments, and after 8 years of uncontrolled Crohn's pain, that finally worked (following surgery)! You might want to try talking to your doctor about more assertive therapies to TREAT Crohn's since that's the ultimate goal anyway.