Review of Pain Medication

[marquesa]

Hello everyone, I have been reading past threads/posts regarding pain management. It is overwhelming at the many different names a drug is called, depending on whether it is in the US or UK, and I am sure, other places.

Is there a chart out there, that anyone knows of..or perhaps Josephine and Jamie....that you know of that goes over the different names a pain medication goes by.....and which drugs are ok to combine with which others?

I am taking Ultram ER, 100 mg a day and most times, it is ok..but not enough. I have Aleve 250 mg, tylenol 500mg extra strength that I can get "over the counter" and am wondering if they can safely be added.

I am sure this has been covered somewhere, and have found references and different posts regarding such..but I don't know much about this subject.
I have come across names for pain management that I have never heard before. And realize they are many times the same drug, just different brand names.

For instance, what is "Percocet", "Darvocet"..."Hydrocone"

And it sounds like many of us are taking lots of pain medication for extended times..at what point is it harmful to the liver or kidneys??

I would love to read a "primer" explaining the various main medications and how they can be combined especially with ones easier to obtain.

Thank you for any help.
Marquesa

 

[calling_all_angels]

Marquesa,
There are many that may be able to help you. But I was wondering what your OS sent you home with?

 

[Jamie]

Marquesa....I think this is something you don't need to worry about right now. Your medical team will assess your situation following surgery (with your input, of course) and develop a plan for your pain management while you are directly under their care. They will take care of ALL of your meds...even the ones that are not pain related for that period of time.

Shortly before release, you need to discuss long term pain management with them. Each person has different needs and it would be pretty difficult to try and put all that information into some type of guide. Discuss it with your doctor and trust him to provide you with adequate medication after the surgery. If for some reason your pain levels increase after you get back home, your primary doctor can help you with either prescription medications or over the counter medications that you can safely use.

Generally, though....with the over-the-counter medications in the USA, you can take Tylenol with other medications. You should not take multiple NSAIDS at the same time (Advil, Motrin, Aleve). And since prescription meds like Hydrocodone, Vicodin, and Percoset contain an NSAID also, you can combine Tylenol with them, but not the others.

Try not to worry about his now. You have plenty of time to discuss pain management with your doctors once you are in recovery.

 

[edk]

Jamie:

I think you said something wrong. Many of the Rx pain drugs (e.g. Darvocet) contain acetomenophen (Tylenol) so its dangerous to take the two together since an OD on
tylenol is really damaging to the liver. In general you can combine tylenol drugs/combinations with NSAID containing drugs (aleve, ibuprofen)....

 

[Jamie]

I apologize....You are absolutely correct. Sorry for any confusion to you, Marquesa.

EDK.....thanks so much for quickly catching my error. My brain must have been clicked off this morning. I actually had a bit of a problem during my recovery when I tried to get off prescription pain meds too quickly and took more Tylenol than I should have for a day or two. I should have known better.

Marquesa....Jo can probably give you some general guidelines, but other than that, I think you are best to work with your doctors. As you can see, it is easy to become confused. Your pharmacist is another excellent source of information. These folks spend a lifetime studying drugs, their side effects and combinations of them. They are the professionals.

 

[Josephine]

Well, I know you can take Ultram with Tylenol but not extra strength Tylenol as it has codeine in it which is an opiate derivative. You don't want to be taking codeine and Ultram.

Ultram is synthetic morphine. When I was recovering from my TKR I was prescribed 100 Ultram with 1,000 of acetominephen (or paracetamol as we call it in the UK!). But if I had a bad day I could take an extra 50 of Ultram and I could even take it about an hour after taking the main dose if I wanted. As days progressed and I started trying out using only 50 and 1,000 only to find it wasn't enough, I could again take the extra 50 about 1 or 2 hours later. But if I did, I'd then reset the clock to take the next dose 4hrs after the top-up, not 4 hrs after the main dose. It was good being able to do that as you don't always get it right and then being faced with waiting another 2-3 hrs was a bit much especially in the night.

 

[cotton1958]

Hi funny. I am on Ultram, waiting for a couple of hours to take my next ER dose. I just added Tylenol to my daily meds per this site. Now, I have OTC Extra Strength Tylenlol, in fact I just took one. This doesn't have codeine does it? Or you may be talking about a RX X-strength Tyelonol?

Thx.

 

[beth1954]

Tylenol 3 is a prescription drug and has codeine in it. Extra strength Tylenol has no codeine.

 

[Josephine]

Beth, you're a treasure! I just checked that out and it's

Regular Strength TYLENOL contains 325 mg of acetaminophen
Extra Strength TYLENOL* contains 500 mg of acetaminophen.

Which is interesting because it means that in the UK we always take extra strength! The regular is not available here.

 

[Pat29627]

I agree, you don't really need to worry about all these drugs. Your OS will know and prescribe what he wants you to have. But, for your own info, I found these sites:

Pain Management (Opiates)
https://www.globalrph.com/pain.htm
Opioid Comparison

https://www.pharmer.org/forum/discussion-prescription-and-otc-meds/opioid-comparison

You can Google and find an endless amount of information.

 

[abunnybabe]

Marquessa, you also will be on blood thinners after the TKR surgery and you CANNOT take any NSAIDS (motrin, mobic, aleve) while you are on blood thinners! The combination can make your blood too thin. I was just operated on, and had lovenox shots for two weks and am now on aspirin therapy to prevent clots. I'll find out Monday how long I have to do this. I miss my motrin, LOL.

 

[marquesa]

Hello everyone, I just arrived home in beautiful Mexico, yesterday. A very different environment than the great city of Houston where I have lived most of my life. Both so fabulous in their own way!! Thank you for all the information.
I know my surgeon will assess my pain meds before I leave the hospital and before I return here from Houston. But in the meantime, I am very uncomfortable sometimes..I have 71 days until surgery, yes, I am counting them. The surgeon told me to take aleve, two in the morning and two in the evening with the Ultram ER 100 mg. (the ultram that is time release and is to be taken only once a day.

He said it wouldn't hurt me for the short term. But all the labels and so much on the internet about the dangers of too much of these "over the counter" drugs.....
I just wanted the experience and advise of you that have been thru this..I know I will be ok and can do the 71 days..seems like a long time but I feel it has been for the best.
Thank you all, kind souls that you are. I am blessed to have found this site and I can see how the support here has benefitted so many people.
Marquesa

 

[Jamie]

Hi, Marquesa.....I hope this mixture of drugs works to keep your pain at bay until surgery. I'm glad you are trusting your surgeon and going with what he recommends. If, by chance, it doesn't work for you, don't hesitate to contact his office any time during that waiting period. They won't mind and could make some adjustments based on what you tell them.

Waiting is the WORST part! I hope you are comfortable. Come chat with us if you're feeling anxious. We'll be here for you.