I just wondered if anyone knew of a good painkiller, either non-prescription or otherwise?
I have m.e, which leaves me in unbearable pain sometimes and its gradually getting worse.
I currently take Solpadol, but my doctor says that I cant stay on it permanently. Ive had Kapake before (according to the doctor, virtually the same thing) but the Kapake seemed to work better than the Solpadol. My mum-in-law was taken off dissolvable solpadol because of the price to the nhs?? :huh:
Ive tried alternative therapies, but to no avail (although an Indian head massage is brilliant, but the effects only last for a couple of days) Good job Ive got a sense of humour, laughing in the face of pain, but you can only laugh for so long with this illness, then it sometimes turns to tears :(
Any ideas ? :D

Lisa, thanks in advance :thumbsup:

you could ask your GP for referral to the Pain clinic at the NGH.
http://www.sth.nhs.uk/news/5-3-painclinic.php

glucosamine can help with bone type pain.

Also try asking the Info Officer at Sheffield ME Group.
www.sheffieldmegroup.co.uk/

there are various treatments for ME pain from preegaba, codeine to anti-inflam tablets, paracetamol, hot water bottles, relaxation, pacing ......etc !

I've found co-proxamol has helped me most, but unfort. the NHS has decided to cease prescribing it due to abuse, although many patient groups say it's best pain treatment.

I've found that anti inflam gel works very well on acute localised pain

Have you thought of trying a Tens machine? I find many painkillers lose their potency or build up to an allergy. I have a couple of friends that swear by acupuncture though I never tried it myself. Simple things can also help. Changing shoes through the day, using a stick to shift weight, not sitting in the same position for long periods. A good foam mattress. I found an ordinary computer caused too much pain. I use a laptop and an adjustable table so I can sit back. Oh also Ibuprofen gell can help.

Have you thought of trying a Tens machine? I find many painkillers lose their potency or build up to an allergy. I have a couple of friends that swear by acupuncture though I never tried it myself. Simple things can also help. Changing shoes through the day, using a stick to shift weight, not sitting in the same position for long periods. A good foam mattress. I found an ordinary computer caused too much pain. I use a laptop and an adjustable table so I can sit back. Oh also Ibuprofen gell can help.


Ive tried TENS but it didnt really make much difference, and Im allergic to needles lol! Ive just bought a great matress and thats great. I use movelat gel which takes the edge off. Ive got a laptop too! 9 times out of 10 Im in my pyjamas so I wear my carpet slippers, I only go out when I really need to, I have panic attacks and dizzy spells so I no longer go out alone :( Thanks for the advice :)

I was prescribed Naproxen for gout (which is very painful) and also take it for occasional pain from a torn cartilage.

I just wondered if anyone knew of a good painkiller, either non-prescription or otherwise?
I have m.e, which leaves me in unbearable pain sometimes and its gradually getting worse.
I currently take Solpadol, but my doctor says that I cant stay on it permanently. Ive had Kapake before (according to the doctor, virtually the same thing) but the Kapake seemed to work better than the Solpadol. My mum-in-law was taken off dissolvable solpadol because of the price to the nhs?? :huh:
Ive tried alternative therapies, but to no avail (although an Indian head massage is brilliant, but the effects only last for a couple of days) Good job Ive got a sense of humour, laughing in the face of pain, but you can only laugh for so long with this illness, then it sometimes turns to tears :(
Any ideas ? :D

I have M.E. too and my heart goes out to you. I would say I'm fairly recovered but the pain goes on. You shouldn't have to be laughing in the face of pain, your GP sounds pants, frankly, when you've got something there which you find works for the pain!

I've tried all the things you're talking about (& prob a few more alternative remedies as well as dihydrocodeine) I have been on kapake (under a different brand name) for the last 10 years. I know it's not an ideal situation and I've tried to come off it & just put up with the pain several times but the pain, as you know, is all consuming. Kapake is the only thing that works (dihydrocodeine aside and that really is only a short term option for most GPs). Even then at times it just takes the edge off. I'd consider going back to your GP with a clear description of how the pain feels (I know what kind of pain you're in - I feel desperate for you just thinking of it without proper pain relief - but your GP needs to understand the full impact it has on your life). If it helps it's often described as being equivalent to having broken every bone in your body. I don't know if this is true as I've never broken a bone but I can certainly believe it :|

If that doesn't work and you don't feel listened to I'd consider finding a new GP - might be worth getting in touch with the national M.E. society to see if you can find a more sympathetic/helpful GP

Thanks Sian, I agree, my GP is a bit pants, and hes got a cousin who's wheelchair bound with m.e so I'd expect him to understand the condition inside out. I had to take him some information instead of him giving me any! Im a member of a site called CFSFriendlies, but most of their members are from Australia! Thanks for the reply and hope you continue to recover x

The pain clinic are likely to have much more breadth to the painkillers that they are prepared to prescribe, just like palliative care units do.

I could recommend the painkillers that I take, but there are a couple of issues with this:

1) My GP wouldn't have prescribed them for me- my palliative care consultant prescribed them and my GP just does the repeats.

2) The actual cocktail of drugs that work for any condition and any individual vary so it isn't the sort of thing that you can pick a regime off a shelf for.

I can't take morphine, diamorph or codeine (opiates make me desperately sick, even tiny amounts of them) so I take instead:

naproxen (a NSAID) and ranitidine to protect my stomach from the naproxen
carbamazepine (an antiepileptic drug)- there are other helpful antiepileptic drugs too
amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant which also has painkilling effect at different doses)
methadone (opioid painkiller)

Carbamazepine (and its alternatives like gabapentin and sodium valproate) and amitriptyline aren't even licensed as painkillers, so there's no way that your GP will prescribe them for you without a hospital doctor's endorsement.

If I were you I'd be pushing for a referral to the nearest pain clinic.

I have Fibromyalgia, and take Tramadol 100 mgs, l can have up to four a day, had them for years, dont have problems getting them from me GP either.

watch out for silly things that aggravate painful conditions: A few weeks ago I was in a lot of hand to arm pain extending up to shoulder and assumed it was just another variant of ME pain. I felt so ground down by it I couldn't think straight, a friend mentioned checking the egonomics of my desk. I set it up quite well, but had noticed that over time the swivel chair had slipped down a bit which was putting strain on my mousing hand.

it took me a long time to adapt and realise quite how much I was overdoing things. I thinking I could mange things and then keeling over at the shops etc. If I pace activity and rest thoroughly symptoms do ease...trouble is some stuff just has to be done.

I've found a small elec heat pad really helps, costs about £20 from Argos or John Lewis. When pain breaks through in the night, I pop the heat pad on.

A memory foam ( viscoelastic) mattress can make a big difference too. Generally being disciplined and get plenty of sleep helps IME.

watch out for silly things that aggravate painful conditions: A few weeks ago I was in a lot of hand to arm pain extending up to shoulder and assumed it was just another variant of ME pain. I felt so ground down by it I couldn't think straight, a friend mentioned checking the egonomics of my desk. I set it up quite well, but had noticed that over time the swivel chair had slipped down a bit which was putting strain on my mousing hand.

it took me a long time to adapt and realise quite how much I was overdoing things. I thinking I could mange things and then keeling over at the shops etc. If I pace activity and rest thoroughly symptoms do ease...trouble is some stuff just has to be done.

I've found a small elec heat pad really helps, costs about £20 from Argos or John Lewis. When pain breaks through in the night, I pop the heat pad on.

A memory foam ( viscoelastic) mattress can make a big difference too. Generally being disciplined and get plenty of sleep helps IME.

Have you got a memory foam mattress?

I have a memory foam mattress and find it helps a lot, I used to have to roll out of bed and crawl to the loo before my body freed up enough to walk, but now I can get out and walk :)

The only trouble is that it seems to hold heat, so my husband gets too hot in the night and ends up on the settee :(
It doesn't bother me quite as much, but I still need to pull the covers back and let the heat escape in the middle of the night sometimes.

A memory foam mattress with some sort of cotton layer would probably be the best bet.

I take a cocktail of analgesics:

Paracetamol
Nefopam
Tramadol
Amitriptalyne


As well as medication for other things. I think I must rattle.

Good luck with sorting out pain meds. It's worth all the trials of different things if it works in the end. I also agree the pain clinic is a good place to go to. Ask your doc if you can be referred. Also, I agree about heat. I use a hot water bottle and a 'heat on the radiator' bag.

The other thing I know helps, even though I'm really bad at it, is regular rest breaks. I find them hard, as it's not easy getting up again. But if I make myself go through it I benefit in the end (it's just coping with the pain of getting up I find hard).

Biggest and best advice, don't ever give up!! Not suggesting you are /will do. It's just what someone once said to me and although I get bad days and feel like giving up at times, I always somehow hold on to those words.

Different things work for different people at different times. I hope you find the right thing, or mixture of things that make a real difference.

I take a cocktail of analgesics:

Paracetamol
Nefopam
Tramadol
Amitriptalyne


As well as medication for other things. I think I must rattle.

Good luck with sorting out pain meds. It's worth all the trials of different things if it works in the end. I also agree the pain clinic is a good place to go to. Ask your doc if you can be referred. Also, I agree about heat. I use a hot water bottle and a 'heat on the radiator' bag.

The other thing I know helps, even though I'm really bad at it, is regular rest breaks. I find them hard, as it's not easy getting up again. But if I make myself go through it I benefit in the end (it's just coping with the pain of getting up I find hard).

Biggest and best advice, don't ever give up!! Not suggesting you are /will do. It's just what someone once said to me and although I get bad days and feel like giving up at times, I always somehow hold on to those words.

Different things work for different people at different times. I hope you find the right thing, or mixture of things that make a real difference.

Dont they cancel each other out if you take too many painkillers?

Dont they cancel each other out if you take too many painkillers?


At the moment they seem to work for me most of the time. I know that different painkillers work in different ways on the body, and my doctor explained that by taking a mixture they hopefully compliment each other.

Like mny others I have chronic pain 24/7. It's been hard to find a workable solution, mediction wise, that allows me to carry on being as active as I can, which is already extremely limited. In the past I've come to tolerate medication, or even been addicted to it. For example, it took me several weeks to get off Codeine which I'd been taking for more thn 10 years. But I did it, which even surprised me!

I suppose all any of us can do is look at covering as many aspects as possible in the hope that 'something' works. This could be trusting GPs and traditional medicine but also other things too. Why limit ourselves?

I have a memory foam mattress and find it helps a lot, I used to have to roll out of bed and crawl to the loo before my body freed up enough to walk, but now I can get out and walk :)

The only trouble is that it seems to hold heat, so my husband gets too hot in the night and ends up on the settee :(
It doesn't bother me quite as much, but I still need to pull the covers back and let the heat escape in the middle of the night sometimes.

A memory foam mattress with some sort of cotton layer would probably be the best bet.

That's interesting as my memory foam mattress seems to have the opposite effect on me. I have hypermobility syndrome but find I wake up really really stiff and my whole body aches, like when you have flu.

Mine came with a 'coolmax' cover which helps to prevent you getting too hot. My partner commutes so we only get the weekend together but I used to find I got too hot when sharing with him and was fine alone, with the memory foam mattress and coolmax cover his presense doesn't seem to make a difference and we're both at a comfortable temperature. I have a fairly light duvet though as I'm not strong enough to lift heavy ones! Maybe you can get a coolmax cover for yours?

I should add that I think mine makes me feel stiff because it's too soft. Mine is 10 inches thick, the top bit is one kind of foam and the bottom is another, maybe a mattress with a few inches of foam and then springs would be better.
What a pain, I only bought it a few months ago and I may have to get another.

That's interesting as my memory foam mattress seems to have the opposite effect on me. I have hypermobility syndrome but find I wake up really really stiff and my whole body aches, like when you have flu.

Mine came with a 'coolmax' cover which helps to prevent you getting too hot. My partner commutes so we only get the weekend together but I used to find I got too hot when sharing with him and was fine alone, with the memory foam mattress and coolmax cover his presense doesn't seem to make a difference and we're both at a comfortable temperature. I have a fairly light duvet though as I'm not strong enough to lift heavy ones! Maybe you can get a coolmax cover for yours?

I should add that I think mine makes me feel stiff because it's too soft. Mine is 10 inches thick, the top bit is one kind of foam and the bottom is another, maybe a mattress with a few inches of foam and then springs would be better.
What a pain, I only bought it a few months ago and I may have to get another.

What a shame it leaves you feeling stiff :(

I think you might be right about it being too soft, mine is a mix of springs and memory foam layer on top, so it is quite firm and supportive under the top layer.

I googled Coolmax and found a mattress cover, but at nearly £200 I will have to leave it. I did find that M&S do some Coolmax fitted sheets which are only £22 so I might give them a go, just to see if it helps - thanks :)

Ouch! My mattress was £277 with a coolmax cover, free pillow and next day delivery from mattressnextday. Yeah I saw that M and S do sheets the other day, may be worth a try.

I have rheumatoid arthritis and take all sorts of stuff co- codomal, diclefenac, methitrexate , amitrypiline. The last I takje at night when I really am desparete as it makes me a bit of a zombie the next day . ONly you know what works best for you. also be prepared to change thing a round and as k for differenet medication if 1 isn't working for you . I have a tolerance to codeine now but it still does the job even tho I have been taking it over 4 years daily. There are ;loads of different anti-infalammatories and peole respnd to them differently- again thier efficacy can wear off afte a time- i think I am on my 7th. Have you kept a diry to see if you can idenitfy triggers to increased pain or feeling better. I agree with all the above and also cold packs .
The other thing that is really a psychological shift is to accept thepain and do something anyway , at least the doing is a distaction and you feel like you've achieved something.
i do try to set myself goals every day- nothing big like getting up and dressed and on a good day walk round the block and find thsat lifts the spirits.
There is a really good article in arthritis news this month which I read at hospital. It is all about amnaging pain - in all its aspects with lots of practical suggestions.
Ido have good days and bad days and one of the sytoms is fatigue so like ME.
I have found that REALLY pacing my activites helps, not pretending or hoping I can do things in the old eway.
Also I do meditation which helps me relax and develop acceptance about the way my life has changed as a result of this disability. I have to say it has been a long journey to get where I am now in terms of that and I don't always manage it but I feel better mentally ands therefore mange pain better.Good luck and try to keep positive youare not on your own. Cheers Siobhan

Dont they cancel each other out if you take too many painkillers?

Actually there's lots of evidence that you get better painkilling results but less side effects if you take 2 or 3 painkillers at low doses than you do by taking one painkiller at higher doses.

If you talk to palliative care physicians or pain control experts they generally start people on one painkiller then introduce a different medication to control each aspect of the pain (background ache, stabbing pains, burning sensations etc).