I'm Sensitive To All Meds Except Pain Pills

[DSM3KIDZ]

I usually have to chop all my meds into 1/2 because I'm so ultra sensitive. Well since I've been in so much pain I've been taking vicodin for the last 2 days...................well it barely works. I was hoping it would make me tired so I could sleep my pain away but it's made me not be able to fall asleep and I have to take 3 pills for it to be effective. 3 pills for Miss Sensitive. Each pill is 500 mg

I was just wondering if anyone has a hard time finding relief with pain meds. Maybe I need another brand. Tramadol used to work good for me but can not be prescribed with Wellbutrin so that's out.

Any suggestion that works for you? It's just for temporary use till my pain eases which I'm hoping will only be a few more days.

Dayna

[MomtoGiuliana]

From what my friend with Shingles told me, you need a very potent pain reliever to address the pain of Shingles--at least for the first week or so. So I am not surprised you are having trouble getting relief. Are you taking a medication to combat the infection itself? Can you talk to your doctor and see if there is a different pain reliever that might work better for you?

Katherine

[kmpower]

Hi, Dayna.

Thorne Research in Idaho makes an ointment call GlycGel, which contains an extract from licorice, and is used to apply to the shingles lesions. I know many people who experienced relief with it.

This is not a specific recommendation because we are naturally all different.

Best wishes.

OLL

[DSM3KIDZ]

I actually don't think the pain is from the shingles since they actually don't hurt. Itch and little and feel alittle sore but not painful. I was referring to the pain in my back, neck and shoulders. Maybe this is nerve pain from the shingles. I'm not sure if it's related or not

Thanks for your imputs

Dayna

[BEE]

Definitely could be nerve pain from the shingles..

[lthomas521]

Sometimes they use an antidepressant to deal with shingles-related pain. If they offer you an antidepressant, don't dismiss it just because you aren't depressed.

It's really important to manage the pain and inflammation of shingles aggressively, so you reduce the chance of postherpetic neuralgia, an agonizingly painful condition that can persist for a long time.

By the way, never chop a pill in half unless you have asked your pharmacist if it is okay to do so. (And of course, you should check with the doctor to see if the dosage reduction is okay.) More and more drugs these days have a time-release formulation or special coating. If you mess with that, you will release your entire day's dose in one fell swoop and can make yourself very sick. For example, there are some time-release once-a-day morphine pills that could give you an overdose if you chew them.

[gillian502]

Right, never chew or crush tablets without checking first. I reguarly break my tablets in half, however, with a pill cutter I purchased for a few bucks at the pharmacy, and with pain pills this is no problem. Broken in half is fine, chewing or crushing is not. As far as pain relief, I have found that Dilaudid 2 mg tablets work very well, and you can take an aspirin or Tylenol along with that since dilaudid is a pure narcotic and includes no acetaminophen. Do not up the dose of a painkiller like dialaudid on your own, though, as they are very strong.

[lthomas521]

Don't even cut the pills in half without first asking if it's okay. For example, you can cut a Toprol-XL tablet in half as long as you don't chew or crush it. But you have to swallow a DynaCirc tablet whole. Both are timed-release medications for high blood pressure.

[gillian502]

If it's a time released pill, wouldn't it be marked that way? I've never heard of percocet or dilaudid being time released. XL on a pill means extended length, XR means extended release, and of course a person should never chew those and should break them right on the score line, exactly in half. I've taken every pain pill known to man and always knew better than to chew them, but always broke them with no problem. I've been breaking them in two for years, but when in doubt, call a pharmacist.