Pain Management-Any suggestions

I'm currently in a flair up. Sunday spent the day in the ER with Rectal Bleeding- spent the night because blood level were low. Today I'm so doubled over I can't move. I went to work- but it is hard to hide this disease when your in this much pain.

Anyone out there have any ideas on how to manage the pain in the moment? I've taken two Bentel and nothing yet. This is so painful, sitting with a heating pad on my stomach. No relief.

Let message with Dr's service- no response.  I'm willing to do anything at this time. I plan on calling in sick tomorrow, however I can't function tonight.

I agree with the suggestion of a bath. Sometimes, the only way to escape the pain is to sleep. The problem is that the pain is so bad that you often can not get to sleep. Try the bath, then try to get warm in bed. If reading helps you sleep, try that as a distraction. I hope the doc calls back soon. If not, you need to try again. If all else fails, you might have to go back to the ER.

Good luck,

Glori

When I am really hurting bad, I run a bath, put in some epsom salts, and drug up. Take what'll make you feel better; if you don't have anything strong try just a couple of tylenol arthritis. You can also use different OTC pain meds and stack them as they work on different receptors. I know that normally we are not to get in the habit of using ibuprofen (advil) but for emergency use the doctors in the ER have told me to take the max dose of advil and tylenol if need be.

I usually don't do Advil except when I have Crohn's related joint pain as advd by my doctor, but if you don't have anything strong it can get you thru a crunch. The bath really does soothe, too. It's the only time I don't hurt.

In other news, you know how they call Lomotil a narcotic? I can take 4 and still have no pain relief BUT I have recently discovered (by accident) it seems to be a great potentiator for other painkillers. 1 perc doesn't do a lot for me anymore and I loathe using more because I hate asking doc for them. I try to make em last as long as possible..well I was going out and my tummy/colon are wouldn't stop cramping/spasming so I took 2 lomotil and then a perc for the pain, and it worked far better. I have never seen lomotil as a potentiator for other painkillers online before so I wanted to post this in case it helps someone out.

Hope you are feeling well soon :)

thank you everyone for offering help. I did go to sleep last night, but tossed and turned. Today feeling unreseted, but stomach not in as much pain. Clear liquids for the day. I have desire for food(theres a first). I will call Dr again today. My husband wanted to call an ambulance- I fought him all the way. I know going to the ER is a 2-3 hour wait, if you go by ambulence- you get right in. I jsut felt foolish.

I will take everyones advice and take a bath, meds (no Advil) and try to make it through the day. Thank you. This group is really helpful

Just another tip, when I have really bad tummy pain, if I lay absolutely still, it will sometimes settle down a bit. Just enough so that I can get to sleep. This is after the pain meds that don't really help much. But as soon as I move the pain comes back. I try to get as comfy as possible, with pillows tucked in all around for support and then just stay there. After a while the pain lessens a bit.

I hope today has been a better day for you and that your doctor finally called you back with some relief!

I am still laughing about the twistodog, but don't worry tsitodawg is tagalog slang and spelling. As for the NSAIDS, it is something that is pretty much part of the Crohn's bible because of the stomach erosions and blooding thinning. Too many nsaids for anyone is bad but for Crohnies it is especially harmful. To make matters worse if there is rectal bleeding it could be a flare and the nsaids could cause severe damage on top of what is already there. If you are in remission you can probably get away with it for a couple of days but bleeding is not remission. Bleeding is also a sign of active disease and depending on the color and consistency, you can tell what part of the G.I. tract it is coming from. If it is bright red and a few drops or small amount it is probably the colon, rectum, or internal hemmroids. If it is darker then that typically means it is higher up and you have bleeding in the T.I. area or higher. Take it from a guy who has also had bleeding for years and had a full out G.I. bleed, you do not want to make the bleeding worse. There are other tools to combat the arthritis like 6mp, remicade, or methotrexate. Remember that while E.R. doctors are good at getting things under control, many do not know a lot about the long term care of Crohn's disease. I know from my many years on this board that I am not the only one with bad E.R. experiences and looking like a hypocondriac because I know how to treat the disease and what the symptoms I am having typically mean. They treat you like you are crazy until the test results come in and realize you know your stuff. Greys Anatomy did a great job of showing a Crohn's patient a couple years ago when she came in for a G.I. bleed and was not at all thrown back by the fact she was vomiting blood.
Now as for Lost in Translation, please do not needlessly suffer out of pride or the fear of what the medical staff may think of you. You do deserve to be treated just like anyone else that goes to the E.R. and your pain is a legitimate excuse for being there. I have been in the same mind frame that you are and it is so hard. Please know that you are not alone in this and that you have to stop worrying about putting others out by helping you or what they may think of you. A good friend of mine who is wheel chair bound gave me some great advice the other day when we was being honored for my Crohn's fight at a local university. He told me to never be too proud to accept help from others. The blessings that come from serving others are the greatest blessings God has to offer. Who am I to deny them the opportunity to receive those blessings?

Post Edited (tsitodawg) : 8/14/2010 1:00:55 AM (GMT-6)