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Sometimes it. just. SUCKS.

I'm tolerant to painkillers up to Vicodin 7.5 so I guess I'm going to have to go up to quasi-legal analgesics to get lasting pain relief...

NOW I've become tolerant to Cortisone 10 for itch relief. In the last half hour or so I've had to reapply the cortisone *three times* to stop two critter bites on my wrists from itching like mad. (Don't ask what kind of critters, I have NO clue...)

Maybe I'll try the Gold Bond anti-itch stuff next. Couldn't hurt... <sigh>

[This message edited by Clarrissa at 8:18 PM, September 16th (Monday)]

You might talk to your doctor about a long acting opiate. A fentanyl patch can be useful or twice a day dosing with OxyContin. Or depending on the source of your pain sometimes a pain medicine doctor can do a procedure on you to help.

I'll have to remember that when I have another pain episode. I do know that I'm tolerant to that dosage of Vicodin. I may also be out of luck with cortisone and/or steroids for pain. About a year ago I had a problem with my back - hurt like hell. The only way I can really describe it is like a very prolonged back spasm. So bad I literally could NOT stand up straight. Went to the ER and after entirely too long, I got a scrip for Vicodin and a shot - which I assume was either steroids or cortisone. Didn't help a bit. Two, three hours later I *still* couldn't stand up straight.

As for long acting opiates, I can see it going one of two ways - it will either work for more than a week (all my previous scrips for painkillers never made it past 7 days before losing effectiveness) OR I become tolerant that much quicker.

As I've told my H, I think my liver is entire *too* efficient sometimes...

Sometimes it helps just to change up the meds a bit. If you have been using vicodin, go to some other painkiller for a bit, and then you could possibly go back to the vicodin. I've done that with success in the past. Migraine excedrin works great for migraines, but after a while i will need 3 pills (you are only supposed to take 2 per day). So I quit using it and go to something else for a bit, then when I go back it seems to work again.

Cortisone does not help me much with bug bites. But Benedryl liquid gel is THE BOMB! I can just lather it on and it works almost instantly. The Benedryl spray is only so-so. Get the liquid gel. It comes in a rectangular bottle, about 6 oz,

PJ has a good point. If you have chronic pain from an ortho/back issue epidural steroid injections seem to really help folks.
If you have chronic pain/flares from some sort of autoimmune issue, ie; rheumatoid, psoriatic arthritis, scleroderma, then the trick is stopping the immune response, not just covering up the pain with narcs. Fentanyl patches are great, for folks that are less tolerant to side effects of oral pain meds, in addition they last longer.

For the bug bites - You want an antihistamine cream/lotion. Cortisone really doesn't stop the reaction your body has to a bug bite. So Dreamboat is right in that you to try benadryl cream, gel. Calydryl clear can really help too. (of course all of this stuff comes generic over the counter and is the same stuff).

Thanks for the replies folks. I'll have to try the Benadryl for tge itching.

As for the painkillers, I've tried a number of different ones, usually for my knee. I only remember two by name - one was Dolobid, prescribed for RA (maybe that's why it didn't work. I don't have RA) and the other was ibuprofin (when it was still prescription). I was taking 1800 mg/day and it lasted 6 days. The Dolobid lasted 4 days and another I was taking was at 30 mg/day and it quit after 3 days. Forget aspirin, forget Tylenol (even Tylenol 3) and the Excedrin Migraine I have to take twice the recommended dosage to even knock a migraine bwck to tolerable levels. So I'm thinking that *maybe* the opiates that pj suggested might work better/longer.

I hate this...<sigh>

Oh, if you have migraines that you need a medicine specific to migraines. One that targets the cause instead of trying to mask the symptom of pain. Narcotics just do not work for migraines, although they may make you high so you don't care as much that you have a migraine. You should see a Dr for that.

Good luck!

Dreamboat, the Excedrin I take is for migraines. With my tolerance, taking the recommended dose does nothing - might as well take sugar pills. On the (mercifully rare) occasions I get one, the best "medicine" for me is a dark, quiet room and a 3 or 4 hour nap.

For my back, I've found the Thermacare wraps work wonders, except when I get those *very* prolonged back spasms. Those last *days*.

As for my knee, I guess it would help if I knew, exactly, what was wrong with it. The doctor I saw after the injury (30+ years ago) basically told me there wasn't anything seriously wrong with it. So, no x-rays, no PT, not even crutches. Thiscat a time when I HAD to walk everywhere. His exact words were "Put an ACE wrap on it. You'll be fine in a few days." The resulting bruise ended up the size of a cantaloupe on the inside of my knee and took almost 4 months to fade.

Ummmm, yeah. About 6 years ago it slipped out of joint and stayed that way for almost 4 days. Sounded like a gunshot when it popped back into place. Felt much better though...

So anyeay, I can skip any OTC pain meds since I'd have to take far more than the recommended dose to get the desired effect and I'd hate to waste the money on a scrip if it loses effectiveness before I can finish it - as has been the case every time.

Maybe I should have drank more in my 20s and 30s... maybe then my liver wouldn't work *quite* so well...

I agree with Tushnurse about the steroid injections for back pain; I have had them for neck pain from spinal stenosis. As for the migraines, you can take either medicine specifically for migraines once they start, like Maxalt or Imitrex, or you can take preventive medicines like Topamax. I take that for occipital neuralgia, but since I've been taking it my migraines have all but disappeared. Please consult with a neurologist if you have persistent migraines.

Fortunately I don't get persistant migraines but they have gotten worse over time. Started out with the sensitivity to l8ght/sound, now it's the sensitivity and the nausea. I now know why Gramma called them "sick headaches".

About the only chronic pain I have is in my knee and it's mostly stiffness though occasionally it feels like someone's jabbing an icepick into it. I think the worst part is that I can't get it "fixed". I had PT for it but it was 6 years after the fact so that did zilch for it. All I know for sure is the muscles running under the patella are weak - despite the fact that at one point I was walking 25-30 miles a week. The therapist was surprised it was so weak considering I was doing all that walking. So, I've more or less given up on finding something for my knee pain. As for the back pain I'll keep in mind the slow acting opiates that pj suggested.

Which teminds me of when I went in for surgery on my wrist (I was diagnosed with De Quervanes). The doc asked me about pain meds and I said only if it's something we could both get arrested for having. She gave me a scrip for Vicodin 7.5 instead. Needless to say, I didn't take any of it. I'd already become tolerant to that dosage.