New to this, info needed

Barbara,

Welcome to our "World" of Phantom pain on a daily.When you are not in discomfort,you wonder where the pain will hit next.But don't be discouraged because you will hear a lot of ways to treat your discomfort and accept your daily living as time go on.

I have taken Amitrip..years and years ago. Meds did not help me so I learned my own methods of how to deal with my pain.After fifteen or more years the pain is a

lot more noticeable with intensity and have to rest more,too.

But.I still have not resulted to meds.The knees say NO,I need a little help.

I never thought my knees were a part of Fibro until today-caught my attention,Instantly!!!!!!

So welcome and stay tuned-read on I know you will find some Help.

 

Hi Barbara I have a bad pain in my shoulder and arms and I use voltarol gel I find the gel works for me it's quicker than a painkiller in tablet form and I don't get any side effects as long as you follow the instructions gel is safe to use and gets to the pain quicker...I haven't taken tramadol someone else should be able to help on here with them.

gentle hugs take care

shirl

I'm on tramadol in a slow release form. It's a very strong analgesic and I'm a little bit shocked that your GP has suggested you jump right in there. There is something called an analgesic ladder - you start out at the weakest pain relief and then work up from there. How long have you been on the gel? Does it help at all?

Hi Barbara, I agree with Arwen, Tramadol is "big gun" drug for severe pain and is an opioid.  It is not a course  I would take lightly but only  you know your fibro and what you can tolerate. As Arwen says there is a ladder to climb to find out what level you need and to jump to the top leaves you no other options. You are just starting your relationship with companion Fibro and it does take a while to adjust to the diagnosis and get your head around it.  I had symptoms in the 80s but  only diagnosed a few months ago and must say I am still getting used to the  label.   I so far cannot tolerate any of the drugs given to me so have opted for alternative remedies including hypnotherapy, CBT,diet and gentle exercise.  Give yourself time to come to terms with how you feel - the amitriptyline is a low dose maybe looking at that level first.  I suffered bad shoulder pain and couldn't go to work because I could not drive or move  my arm at all but it waned after a while as Fibro decided to  move to  my feet.   Hang on in there Barbara, there are plenty of fibro folk on here to help you through the worst or just chat in general so you will not  be alone.  Take care

Hi Barbara - Voltarol gel works great if the pain is specifically inflammation in a joint but it's not as effective merely as an analgesic for non inflammatory pain like fibro.  I'd be very cautious about jumping straight into taking tramadol - its an opiate and is highly addictive.  As Arwen has said, it's usually only prescribed after going up the list of less drastic measures. My partner was prescribed it for back and knee pain but told very specifically only to take one at night 'if reallyneeded' to get pain free sleep and not to take it early in the day as it affects things like driving, working with machinery etc. A heat pad is good for shoulder pain, one of those oblong pillows filled with seeds or similar that you can heat in the microwave.  The seed filled ones are good because you can mould them around the area.

Hi Barbara,

I found the Amitriptyline helped with my insomnia and migraines but it didn't do much for my body pains. Regular pain killers don't touch my pain at all, I need to be on some form of anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, etc. to ease my pains