HELP WITH PAIN MEDS

[chillijava]

after having pn surgery i am really struggling with the nerve pain, i have fibromyalgia which means that side effects from meds are heightened so i cannot tolerate them and i wondered if anyone could give me any advice as to what has helped them and what meds they have tried with success.
i can take the odd tramadol but not every day, i have tried amitryptaline but it gave me frightning severe anxiety, although i might try it again as i am desparate to get this under control, i have also tried gabapentin and lyrica but the side effects from these were really horrible as well, and i cannot take any type of ssri or snri and ice does absolutley nothing for me, i also used a 5% lidocanine gel for the vulval area but this gives very little relief, i really need to do something, i do see mr dixon in 2 weeks for a check up and i was hoping he might pass me back to dr greenslade for lidocaine infusions or epidural pain relief



andrea

[helenlegs 11]

Hi Andrea,
Sorry you are having such a difficult time.
It is such a shame that you can't tolerate lyrica, many people, including me, report good effects. I take it alongside cymbalta/duloxetine and tramadol and have found this works better than anything else.
I did try lyrica ages ago and came straight of it as it gave me strange and painful morning muscle spasms. I think at that stage I was just SO exhausted and the lyrica actually allowed me to sleep through the night but as I haven't got so many external pressures now, I tried it again and. . . . . thankfully, not so many side effects
I'm not saying give it a go again, obviously that is up to you but just to tell you my tale. . . and how it 'worked' for me.
I'm sure than between them Mr Dixon and Dr Greenslade will be able to sort something better for you than you have currently.
Take care,
Helen

[Rosemary]

Would Nortriptyline help you at all Andrea ?

I took Amitriptyline for over two years for my vulva pain and have had it changed to Nortriptyline which has less side effects.

I've found that on Nortriptyline i got a slight dry mouth which went after a while , constipation at anything above 30mg, urine retention too much at 50mg but in general not so fuzzy headed in the mornings as with Amitriptyline. It may have less effect on your anxiety.

Nortriptyline helps knock out some pain that is at its worse by the evening when i take it.

(i am also taking gabapentin as well but i would say that the nortriptyline plays its part somewhere - as i tried to come off it at one point but was in too much pain)

Hope you get some relief from somewhere/something soon

Rosemary x

[chillijava]

i have made an appointment with my gp couldnt get in until next week, but i am going to ask her if i can try noritryptaline, i did have this idea before rosemary suggested it as i read somewhere that the side effects are not as bad and although it works the same as ami it is slightly different. it really is a battle when you cant tolerate meds and the other thing that bothers me is becoming dependant on meds and also withdrawal symptoms when they are stopped. a few years ago i was given seroxet and the withdrawal was honestly like being in hell which has now made me even more anxious about taking meds, i am not in a good place at the moment


andrea

[Rosemary]

Hi Andrea

I find that the Nortriptyline seems to knock the pain out a bit so the nights overall aren't too bad.If i wake up and wee the pain comes back for a while but then subsides. I am sticking at 10mg each evening at the moment which helps some even though it is a small amount.

Don't know whether this at the moment is applicable to you - as you have had an operation and i think you are younger than i am - but i also have been advised to use Ovestin HRT cream (contains estriol) to rub on the vulva - not sure if this is really helping the nerves but it is keeping up oestrogen levels in a localised area which apparently helps the muscles too.

thinking of you Andrea - take care.

Rosemary x