alcazar

iTrader: (2)

It's what I've been given now, since the Lying Labour nanny state has decided they know best, as usual, and withdrawn co-proxamol completely.

Now at the mo I'm only on 150mg of the above, but it's due to rise to 300mg daily.

It already gives me a low-ish frontal headache, the same at the base of my skull, This lasts for around 18 hours after taking the pill, makes me feel "out of it" as bad a cannabis used to, (yes, I tried it in the late 60's, and disliked it), makes me so I wouldn't trust myself to drive until around midday the next day, ditto use any type of power tool, etc, makes me tremble and I'm not sleeping properly

So........what, if anything, does anyone know?

And what else, if anything, can I take to replace co-proxamol? I can't take ANYTHING with codeine, or derived from codeine, paracetamol alone is useless, and Ibuprofen does little except give me stomach cramps.

Snazy

Im sure you have already done it, but Wiki is great for things like this, especially the external links.
Pregabalin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maybe if you look up co-proxamol in the same way you might find some alternatives there.... Maybe.

yoza

Pregabalin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

just a quick question........are you getting this from a consultant anaesthetist at a pain clinic ?

Shaun

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Nope, a GP, since all other avenues seem to be covered

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Hmmm...Pregabalin and it's stablemate Gabapentin are not "painkillers" in the accepted sense of the word and were originally developed as antieplileptic drugs. They are used for Nurogenic pain which in my field is atypical facial pain/atypical odontalgia.

They have an unknown mode of action and have unpredictable clinical results in "nerve pains". In my field they are prescribed by pain clinics as a "suck it and see" medication to see if it has any effect. My Colleagues use Dosulepin, Carbamazepine, Amitryptillene as well as the above.......again using them on a trail basis until the best one / dose is found.

If you have a physical cause for your pain then you actually need a "painkiller"..... What sort of pain do you have ?

Shaun

Leslie

Was this done without your previous knowledge on a repeat prescription. Am I likely to have my Co Dydramol changed to something else then?

Les

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

It's pain from a trapped nerve in my lower neck. The disc has now been removed, but iut has apparently done permanent damage to the radial nerve.

So: cold and numb all day. Hot, throbbing pains in my hand, then up my arm and into my shoulder all evening.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

No.............until the Labour nanny state decides THEY have to go too

I went in for a repeat, to be told they could no longer precribe co=prox, and they want me to try other things. ANYTHING Codeine derived, or containing codeine is out: constipation after 1 or 2 tabs

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

If your consultant nurosurgeon has exhausted all surgical possibilities for pain control and your GDP cannot get on top of it then the next port of call in your local NHS pain clinic..

The British Pain Society - FAQs

My local NHS pain clinic here in Carlisle is run by Dr Shanks.......a class act

Shaun

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I've bookmarked that. My doctor is SUPPOSED to be contacting me wednesday next, but I have a feeling my next contact with the practice will be them asking/telling me to go elsewhere.........I've only been with them 50 years, so I suppose I should expect it.

john banks

There is a new medication out that may be gimmick or great, Targinact which is an opioid with naloxone. The data presented about it is encouraging, I'm waiting for feedback from a few of my patients. It might be a bit bull in a china shop, but if you can't take codeine due to constipation it could be good.

However, with what sounds like a neuropathic pain, gabapentin, pregabalin, amitriptyline or carbamezepine are all things I've tried my patients on, some with huge success.

If on pregabalin you're getting side effects a you describe that are not settling, I would if you were one of my patients advise you to reduce it SLOWLY. If you've not tried gabapentin it is likely to be worse. Have you tried amitriptyline?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

John: I've tried amitriptyline, it leaves me with a foul taste in my mouth all day, plus ED.

When you say: reduce it SLOWLY, what do you mean? I have 150mg capsules, and take one a day. Alternate days?

I DID read on the possible side-effects that sudden withdrawal might not be a good thing

richiewong

But you should be in a good mood

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I wish.........the dose for pain control is too low for depression

At the moment I'm getting more depressed by the day.........the thought of the rest of my life either in pain, or in a drug-induced haze, is making me feel really good...........NOT:P(

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

EFA

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Isn't that what I wrote? It's what I MEANT to write...........

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

john banks

alcazar, I usually reduce it using 75mg, twice a day then once a day, consider alternate days, with pausing at any step for a while if you feel worse. I wouldn't just stop it from 150mg twice a day to nothing anyway.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

OK, John, thanks. I'm on 1 x 150mg at the moment, and just can't see me wanting to increase it beyond that, as I've been asked, it makes me feel so odd, and leaves me unable to function. TWO doses a day aren't going to make me feel better

john banks

Did you try 75mg twice daily? It has a 6 hour half life, so it best taken twice daily, otherwise the yo-yo of the levels can be disturbing.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I don't have that option, I was started on 150mg, and they are capsules, so I can't easily split them

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I opened my capsules up and tipped half the powder out when i wanted to reduce my dose.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Bit hit and miss........what were they?
TBH, I reckon I'm not taking any more of these

Leslie

Yes thanks for that. Its a bit of a worry then since Co Dydramol works so well for me even though I am very careful how much I take to avoid getting hooked on it.

Have to see what happens when I pick up the next prescription then.

Les

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Les: as far as I know, there are no plans to withdraw the license for Co-Dydramol, so rest easy.

Wish I could. Rotten night last night, could hardly sleep for the pain.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

The same as you are on. I put on a stone in weight in a very short space of time and then got so depressed, not from the weight gain but from the drugs that i felt almost suicidal. I would get up in the night and feel like i hadn't eaten for days and raid the fridge. As soon as i was off them i felt like a different person and the weight went.

I thought something was wrong with me but it was all down to the drugs.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I also found that taking the meds at night helped me sleep really well but i would also wake up and need to eat for some strange reason. If i took the capsule in the morning i would be a zombie all day. I would tell my daughter off and start crying for no reason. I scared her out of her wits. I thought i was losing it.

Tramadol made me feel too weird for words after just one dose. I was scared to get out of bed and Amilitryptoline, when i stopped it i thought something was wrong with my brain. I didn't reduce the dose slowly.

I am not too scared to try anything new or new to me.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Aye, I've got that eating thing too, plus dry eyes, I get off to sleep, then wake up with a start and am so awake I can't get back off, plus when I AM asleep, I have WEIRD dreams that leave me un-rested in the morning

I too will try different stuff, but I think I'm running out of options

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

My feet and knees also hurt but that has cleared up now i am off them. You will put on loads of weight too. What i was eating didn't justify the weight gain. On the plus side my pain went while on the meds but it comes back pretty soon after stopping them.

I take morphine or Fentanil when i am bad but i have to make sure i dont need a life while i am on it. The rest of the time i live with it. I dont think there is a happy medium atm, but if i come across anything that helps i will let you know.