@irene5
hello. thank you for thinking of me. I've heard of Elavil. What kind of med is it? Pain pill? I can't take Gabapentin, because I had bad allergic reactions to it. I've had over 30 meds cause allergic reactions, usually edema. do you no longer need the Elavil? I hope and pray you have a lot less pain now.
Clownscrytoo

Elavil is also amitriptyline which is used for depression, neuropathy, migraines, and fibromyalgia. It is also used to lower blood pressure. I was on it for ten years, and it was awesome. I no longer have migraines. Even though I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I don't think I have it. I do gave chronic pain and peripheral neuropathy - a pain med that might help you instead of hydrocodone is tramadol. I am on so many meds for a debilitating lung disease (never smoked) that I stopped the Elavil - I saw your post and thought that it might be a great choice for you. I am overly careful with pills because I am old and small. Hope you feel better soon. Quality of life is sooo important. Irene<br><br>

@irene5
I really appreciate your advice/tips, thank you. i'll check to make sure I haven't taken it before and had bad reactions to it and if it's compatible with my other meds. I am sorry you suffer from lung disease. I pray you get better soon.
Clownscrytoo

I have heard so many medical professionals say that opiates don't work for fibro pain. I can only speak for myself, but that is hog wash! Oxycodone is the only thing that brings me relief. I take 800mg of Gabapentin 3 times a day. I've also taken tramadol and flexerol. It has been suggested that I take Excedrin, wait two hours, then take naproxen. I don't really care what is typical. I know what works for me. I took it for years, 4 pills a day, and never became addicted. I have an extraordinarily high tolerance, so maybe that is the reason. Once I moved to the Ohio Valley, where there is an opiate addiction epidemic, they tend to treat everyone as if they are just seeking drugs. I'm going to try one more pain center, then it's time to find a new doctor.

Even Doctors admit medicine is not black and white. What works for you or each of us, individually is the goal and your carer should understand this. Its cruel to make you feel bad for wanting to reduce pain.

I haven't taken elevil for years due to side effects. My neurologist has me on Topiramate /am and Gabapentin /pm, which helps sleep. Also, Fetzima & Welbutrin 300 for emotional. (No marijuana allowed here.)

My only intention was to warn of any anti-inflammatories taken for the relief of pain because it may have been a contributing factor to a tumor developing in my kidney, which I lost.  Ibuprofen was the only pain med that worked for me in regard to pain.  I did have to change to other non-anti-inflammatories such as prescription drugs I didn't like, because they would make me 'high' and made it very difficult to do my job.  This is when I finally found one that helped with pain while not making me high...Methadone.Elizabeth

Have tried these 2 medications and I have not gotten the response I hope for to relieve my chronic pain from fibro and spondylythosis, sciatica and degenerative disc in my neck and hip. I am a 53 year old woman and I have had very unfortunate results. My rheumatologists have had mixed ways of treating my pain and while I have tried for years to get a combination to work, they keep trying to switch me from this medicine to that.
Some of my concern is based on bad experiences with medications like SSRI's and the horrible withdrawls when they don't work to ease the pain. Even after months of use. The other is the long term effects some of these medications bring.
It's like the doctors read an article and think, " Oh, here's an alternative. Let's try this psychotropic and see how you do." After dealing with these types, who neither have a degree in psychology, nor adequate experience coping with chronic pain, I am at my wits end.
There's a lack of substantial understanding here about how these medications work and how they effect different people.
I don't suffer from depression, but I do have spells of anxiety from my pain when it is beyond my ability to cope.
Diazepam has worked when the pain is that great to both calm the anxiety and ease the pain. And I don't have to take it every day.
Tramadol helps me during the day to both ease the pain and fight the fatigue. Although some days the fatigue is too great even for that to be useful. At night I have used cyclobenzaprine and sertraline, which calms my pain enough to sleep. Although I never , ever feel rested. I wake every morning with pain and with fatigue. I try to walk every day. When I have a good day, I do some gardening and house chores. But when I stop, the symptoms persist.
Now the doctors are trying to switch me to cymbalta and are unwilling to continue the tramadol and the diazepam, which do help me get through. I don't always need to take these & I am sick of being treated like my pain is not real, or like I am misusing them.
Can someone write about how We who are dealing with chronic pain and the treatments are REALLY doing? Or is that just too much to expect? Doctors will read about the treatments and new developments, but do they read the case studies after use? Do they check on things like how the atudy subjects who continue suffer are coping.? my experience is, likely not.

Frustrating...thats what this is.

Staboo, TN

@clownscrytoo Also have had severe reactions to medications. There are also many foods that cause fibro flares for me. One illness acts up and all of the rest kick in.

This fibro is very frustrating that's for sure. I overdid the housework yesterday and today nothing is working.Ordinarily what I take does keep me out of pain but when I overdid the cleaning of shopping then I suffer next day.If you know what helps you ,be persistent with your Dr.after all you know your own body.To Stabo