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Posted 4/3/2008 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
I was talking to my pain doc yesterday and he mentioned that I need to get better control my pain because I told him that I take Tylonel and it barely touches the pain and that I take them every 4-6 hours.  He said that is too much and would like me to start on something a little stronger.  He knows that I have Uc and have to avoid anti-inflammatories so he sort of let that go for the time being.  He wants to see what the rheumy doc says when I meet with him on Monday.  So I got curious as what any of you take for pain in regards to prescription and it has no affect on your Uc.  My pain doc asked about Ultram.  I took that years ago after one of my surgeries but I remember that I woke up in the middle of the night with hallucinations but I can't remember if it affected my Uc any.  So I'm thinking that med may be out of the question because I really don't want to start seeing things again!  Any other ideas or suggestions?  I really hate the idea of starting anything narcotic since that DOES affect my Uc by causing constipation but dang, I need some relief from this relentless pain.  sad    Or maybe I should ask in the arthritis forum?? 

Oh and btw, the leading diagnosis that both my primary and the pain doc are thinking that I have is either RA (possibly another form of arthritis) or Lupus.  So cross your fingers for me when I see the rheumy doc that whatever it is that I have that it's fixable!

Posted 4/3/2008 12:34 PM (GMT 0)
i don't know very much about any of the drugs so take what i'm saying with a large grain of salt, my dad has rheumatoid arthritis
and the dr was treating him with prednisone, and then began switching him to
methotrexate- i believe these are both uc drugs too. they both conrtolled his pain.
Posted 4/3/2008 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
My doc prescribed Tylenol with codeine which really helps the pain and has a side effect of mild constipation, which for me, just stops the diarrhea which is a plus.  I don't get constipated from it at all.

Posted 4/3/2008 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
I have mixed reservations about this....but I am not the one who is sick with this so I will let you know how he has been able to cope with this.

Since his hospitalization in May 07 the pain management that was prescribed he is still following - these meds are prescribed on a monthly basis - he has a fentanyl patch 50mcg that he changes every 3 days (he has not and has never had the ones that were recalled and there were problems with) and a small morphine sulf pill he takes twice a day 12 hrs apart. That may seem like a lot and maybe some may be thinking "addictive". (As I said I have concerns about this as well) But all I can tell you is without these he would not be able to function. These meds never have and do not seem to have any kind of effect other than allowing him to be functional.

He does not need to use the darvocet or lortab IN ADDITION to these meds as he had to do for quite awhile after his hospital discharge as the fentanyl and morphine were not enough. So depending on your pain level and your doctor's point of view concerning this maybe trying these meds may help you.

I was keeping a very comprehensive log of the pain meds he used to supplement the daily regimine and it was quite often to try to keep himself functional and it is almost nil now. If he has a super overactive day and or a very painful large elimination that seems to get his pain out of whack he may take a darvocet but that is far and few between now which is really a major improvement. And even at that before he just "pops" a darvocet he will lie down, rest and see if things will quiet down on their own.

His local doctor here just doesn't believe in seeing her patients in pain - of course she wants to see him be off these meds too but she also knows he is not reckless and not abusing these also. His age may be a factor in this...if he were a lot younger maybe it might be different. That could very well be part of the reticence on the part of the doctors out there regarding a lot of you in this boat??? His Mayo Dr also supports the care and supervision of the local Dr here which puts my minda at ease as I was concerned about the daily pain regimine too. We see the Mayo Dr again in mid May so it will be interesting what he thinks about his progress since he last saw him in October.

Hope this helps.
Posted 4/3/2008 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the replies. I have mixed feelings about precription pain meds too. On one hand, they take care of the pain but on the other hand, they either make me sleepy, have hallucinations, constipates me or gives me migraines. I'm sort of in the darned if you do and darned if you don't category. I'm allergic to sulfa and codeine so that narrows my pain meds a bit. I break out in hives and get major intestinal pain from sulfa and codeine (oh and vicodin) causes me migraines, the ultram give me hallucinations - LOL My pain doc said I was one of his more interesting patients! Somehow I seem to be getting that a lot lately! But I've also have tried Neurontin, Flexeril, Skelaxin and plenty of physical therapy. Neurontin worked the best because most of my pain is nerve related. Plus I've had 2 epidural injections so far. Nothing seems to work for long though. It's almost as if my body rejects it or becomes accustomed to it too fast and then stops working.

Isn't there a magic med out there that is like Tylonel without the narcotic and addicting affect??
Posted 4/3/2008 2:26 PM (GMT 0)
I used Percocet after my c-section and it didn't cause any UC issues. It is acetominophen (Tylenol) based - not an NSAID. I don't know anything about long-term use of it, but you may want to ask your doc. It really worked on the c-section pain.
Posted 4/4/2008 4:46 AM (GMT 0)
Ultram was really hard on my stomach and didn't seem to help much with my arthritis pain.

I take Mobic for arthritis, but I believe it is an NSAID. Since I have been fairly well controlled for quite some time (except for three mild flares in the past few months), it doesn't seem to bother me too much.

I occasionally take Darvocet if I'm having trouble sleeping, but am nearly out of those sad

Post Edited (Moo) : 4/7/2008 10:23:31 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/7/2008 6:14 PM (GMT 0)

I'm bumping this threat up because I am interested in knowing too!  I have UC and fibro, and lately the muscle and joint pain has been really bad.  I know that I would feel better if I could exercise, but it hurts to even think about it!   I used to take Vioxx while it was still available; I loved it and never had any problems with it (fortunately for me).  Anyway, I am also looking for some pain med that is not a NSAID.  I don't even bother with Tylenol anymore, and I have also tried Ultram, but it did nothing. 

Suggestions???  Thanks Red for posting this!!!

 

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