Pain killers

Author
Discussion

Jack.77

Original Poster:

456 posts

51 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
with longterm /regular ish use I’m aware of likely side effects.i.e dodgy liver
Especially with ibuprofen.taken fair amount mostly for headaches or migraine.
I do sometimes use one of those roll on forehead things which sometimes helps.
Gp tried to prescribe some stuff but had possible bad side effects so only short term gain

so I guess I’m asking what is people’s opinions on which one is safest, paracetamol?

Red9zero

7,949 posts

64 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
Paracetamol is all my doctor ever tells me to take, as it doesn't clash with anything else I'm on.

PeteinSQ

2,333 posts

217 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
Are we talking about headaches or actual migraines here?

Jack.77

Original Poster:

456 posts

51 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
PeteinSQ said:
Are we talking about headaches or actual migraines here?
Actually both but do get migraine usually with nausea etc .if I take ibuprofen on early onset sometimes stops.

PeteinSQ

2,333 posts

217 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
Jack.77 said:
Actually both but do get migraine usually with nausea etc .if I take ibuprofen on early onset sometimes stops.
I'm not a doctor but I do know that there are specific migraine medicines that you could speak to your GP about. Triptans such as sumatriptan, and a new class of injectable drugs if you get a lot of migraines.

First port of call would be the GP, but if an appointment proves impossible then a chat with your local pharmacist would be a good idea as they understand drugs and long term use better than we on a forum will do.

Panamax

5,116 posts

41 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
None of the over-the-counter stuff has any worthwhile effect if you keep taking them. On the other hand they can work well as a "short, sharp, shock" and my favourite is Paracetamol.

Anything that's not over-the-counter will probably work (at least for a while) but will just screw you up a whole lot worse if you keep taking it.

And do you enjoy constipation? If not, all of the serious ones are worth avoiding if at all possible.

Pain management can be a tricky subject. If possible, keep off the pills - except for emergency use, which gives them their best chance of working in any event.

aaron-j9c9a

143 posts

43 months

Tuesday 28th December 2021
quotequote all
If suffer with migraines pretty bad.

My neurologist has said things like over the counter medication will never work because it’s not what they are designed for.

A GP will at first prescribe some sort of vertigo medication, falling this they should refer you.

Once referred they offer medication such as anti depressant, small doses don’t affect your mental well being but they help the nerves send different waves to the brain, is the best way I can explain it.

I tried a host of medication but none worked for me.

So I get Botox injections around my head and neck, this is not offered to all patients as they say it’s too expensive and has to be done every 12 weeks. I think it’s only 1% of the population that get this treatment, so I have been extremely lucky but then I suffer from chronic migraines so not that lucky tbh.

Go to your GP and be consistent and persistent. For you to be able to see if the medication has work usually takes around 6 months, so it’s trail and error on taking a lot of medication, It took over 5years of trying over 10 different medication.

Pinkie15

1,248 posts

87 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
Jack.77 said:
with longterm /regular ish use I’m aware of likely side effects.i.e dodgy liver
Especially with ibuprofen.taken fair amount mostly for headaches or migraine.
I do sometimes use one of those roll on forehead things which sometimes helps.
Gp tried to prescribe some stuff but had possible bad side effects so only short term gain

so I guess I’m asking what is people’s opinions on which one is safest, paracetamol?
Define 'safest'.

All non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), except one, to a lesser or greater extent increase your risk of having a heart attack.

The one exception is aspirin, which has a cardioprotective effect.

Most NSAIDs will affect your stomach with an increased risk of ulcers, paracetamol has one of the highest chances of damaging your liver.

What do you want/need to achieve from pain relief; if chronic headaches/migraines then that's a conversation to have with GP and you may well need to push hard for appropriate referrals.

You mention you were prescribed something, but wasn't for the long-term. Why not ? Were the bad side effects something you actually experienced, or were stated in the information leaflet & put you off. Or was the medication actually 'time limited' on prescription?

popeyewhite

21,422 posts

127 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
aaron-j9c9a said:
Once referred they offer medication such as anti depressant, small doses don’t affect your mental well being but they help the nerves send different waves to the brain, is the best way I can explain it.
The trouble is stuff like gabapentin can also have sides, and doesn't always work. In my experience anyway. Interesting about the botox.

21TonyK

11,927 posts

216 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
aaron-j9c9a said:
ISo I get Botox injections around my head and neck, this is not offered to all patients as they say it’s too expensive and has to be done every 12 weeks. I think it’s only 1% of the population that get this treatment, so I have been extremely lucky but then I suffer from chronic migraines so not that lucky tbh.
I hope the botox works for you. I can only sympathise, one of my wifes colleagues suffers terribly and the botox helped marginally. She's just started on a trial drug she injects at home. If its of use I can find out more.

burn1

8 posts

86 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
Just a longshot have you tried Magnesium tablets,suffered for 30 years with weekly migraine, started taking 500mg daily ,not had a migraine since,

Tony Angelino

1,984 posts

120 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
Panamax said:
None of the over-the-counter stuff has any worthwhile effect if you keep taking them. On the other hand they can work well as a "short, sharp, shock" and my favourite is Paracetamol.

Anything that's not over-the-counter will probably work (at least for a while) but will just screw you up a whole lot worse if you keep taking it.

And do you enjoy constipation? If not, all of the serious ones are worth avoiding if at all possible.

Pain management can be a tricky subject. If possible, keep off the pills - except for emergency use, which gives them their best chance of working in any event.
This has always been my mindset when it comes to pain relief, I am prescribed cocodemol and neproxen for my arthritis but I am loathed to take them as I always think that the more I take them the less effective they will be. Strangely though I don't worry about puffing on my inhaler as many times as I need it.


Panamax

5,116 posts

41 months

Wednesday 29th December 2021
quotequote all
Tony Angelino said:
This has always been my mindset when it comes to pain relief, I am prescribed cocodemol and neproxen for my arthritis but I am loathed to take them as I always think that the more I take them the less effective they will be. Strangely though I don't worry about puffing on my inhaler as many times as I need it.
Yup, co-codamol IMO has a real kick if taken infrequently. NB the constipation angle which is another good reason to suppress use.

aaron-j9c9a

143 posts

43 months

Friday 31st December 2021
quotequote all
popeyewhite said:
The trouble is stuff like gabapentin can also have sides, and doesn't always work. In my experience anyway. Interesting about the botox.
There are loads of side effects, the worst for me was pregabalin, it gave me the shakes and made me really unsteady, some of the others I got rashes etc

aaron-j9c9a

143 posts

43 months

Friday 31st December 2021
quotequote all
21TonyK said:
I hope the botox works for you. I can only sympathise, one of my wifes colleagues suffers terribly and the botox helped marginally. She's just started on a trial drug she injects at home. If its of use I can find out more.
I’ve been having Botox for a couple of years now and it’s been effective to an extent, I still get major headaches and maybe 3-4migraines p/w but it’s better than what it use to be, it’s just a faff having it done because it causes quite a bit of bruising and raising my eyebrows can be interesting lol

If you could please find out more about the other treatment I’d be grateful

aaron-j9c9a

143 posts

43 months

Friday 31st December 2021
quotequote all
There was a migraine programme on channel 5 a few months back, you may be able to watch it on 5od if it’s still available.

If not channel 5, then try channel 4.

It was interesting to watch

popeyewhite

21,422 posts

127 months

Friday 31st December 2021
quotequote all
aaron-j9c9a said:
There are loads of side effects, the worst for me was pregabalin, it gave me the shakes and made me really unsteady, some of the others I got rashes etc
Although gabapentin seemed to reduce the sharpness of the pain it also reduced the pleasure of orgasm considerably. In fact it made sex virtually redundant, IIRC I was switched to neurotonin before the doctors realised they were barking up entirely the wrong tree and trigeminal neuralgia was completely the wrong diagnosis!

PeteinSQ

2,333 posts

217 months

Friday 31st December 2021
quotequote all
aaron-j9c9a said:
I’ve been having Botox for a couple of years now and it’s been effective to an extent, I still get major headaches and maybe 3-4migraines p/w but it’s better than what it use to be, it’s just a faff having it done because it causes quite a bit of bruising and raising my eyebrows can be interesting lol

If you could please find out more about the other treatment I’d be grateful
There's a new class of approved migraine drugs CGRP antagonists. There are a few different brands with their own pros and cons. Got to be worth discussing with your GP.

Jack.77

Original Poster:

456 posts

51 months

Saturday 1st January 2022
quotequote all
Took few paracetamol earlier but since then stomach ache been worse .now trying to sleep and feels like constantly getting punched!

GordonL

265 posts

208 months

Saturday 1st January 2022
quotequote all
It sounds a bit weird, but try speaking to your dentist about this as well as your GP. There’s a fairly significant link between jaw clenching and grinding and migraines, persistent headaches. There are some splints that can be made that can help a lot, without use of drugs.
I”m a retired dentist who had some interest in this area because my wife suffered from recurrent headaches :-)