This is a bit of a strange and difficult one

I am on something called Etoricoxib for my joint pain. My consultant gave me some to try and it works very well. However, my GP won't prescribe it and the hospital says they won't prescribe any more because the GP should do it. I have used it very sparingly and only have 2 tablets left. They just constantly argue about medication. It is tedious. Maybe you could ask/mention it?
I can't take opiates at all.

I know I know. But I'm getting to the stage where I'm sick & tired of people asking me if I've taken any painkillers - yes, I needed to so I could actually make it in to work, or the kindly suggestion that someone had found a lot of help by taking up walking; I did try telling her that I was under strict instructions from a specialist NOT to walk any more than absolutely necessary until they had the scan done & fully analysed the results, but that fell on deaf ears. And the kindly meant questions about whether my back was better - no arthritis doesn't get better over time like soft tissue injuries can, it can only ever get worse. And now I have symptoms of something else potentially more serious going on.

So far in the last couple of months I've had suggested to me:

Try OTC co-codamol (multiple times) - I'm on prescription co-codamol much stronger than you can get OTC.
How about Ibuprofen (multiple times) - well the Naproxen is supposed to be stronger than any OTC ibuprofen.
Go for long walks - see above. Plus walking more than about 30-40 metres is VERY painful. Closely related is the suggestions I go for a walk at lunchtime.
How about one of those TENS machines - you mean like the one I'm currently using as we speak?
How about a hot water bottle (multiple times) - enough said!

Most of these people also know that I'm qualified as a sports injury massage therapist, which means I needed to know what to do with many types of injuries.

You're not an addict, withdrawal from omeprazole is hellish. No-one accuses anyone of being addicted to those.

I'm on 3 gabapentin a day, sometimes I forget the midday one which is fine when I'm having a reasonable day. I've cut back the ibuprofen to morning and bedtime if I'm in a lot of pain because my stomach really hates them.

I've increased my exercises which does seem to be working as does lying on my stomach on the sofa.

I sometimes think if I could be stretched out on a rack every day it would help my spine. 🙈

The g.p will not prescribe any more tramadol if you have "cannot locate 100 tablets" .Maybe keep them in a locked box if you suspect family or the cleaner is stealing them .The chronic pain clinic would recommend things such as CBT therapy, complimentary therapies,physio, exercise such as Tai chi in unison with analgesia .They use the Socrates approach to assess what type of pain it is i.e neuropathic and use the analgesic ladder to prescribe the appropriate medication.Tramadol is known as a highly addictive drug and not to be used long term .Patients are often desperate for this and display drug seeking behaviour to obtain it so the G.p is quite rightly cautious when prescribing this.

No need to be sarcastic .people are just trying to help

You really should take this further.

If you start to get bad withdrawal please phone the GP. 24 hours is really early days.

Have you tried Pregabilin ? It’s similar to Gabapentin in that it blocks nerve pain, but it’s a bit stronger. There’s also Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline which are anti depressants used off label for this type of pain. I have sciatica caused by a complicated spinal condition and l don’t think people realise just how painful it can be.

Ha Bloody Ha.

Yes I've used acupuncture, and it can help though eventually the effects get less over time. I also use a TENS machine (similar principle) sometimes, and again the effectiveness reduces after some time so no point in using it for a few months. But something like acupuncture only relieves the symptoms for a brief time - it can't cure arthritis, or pressure on the nerves, or reduce a prolapsed disc, it just reduces the impact of the associated problems.

So these are just tiny little top ups to the prescribed medications, used in addition rather than instead. Everything people with severe back pain (or TBH most types of chronic pain) do adds together with each thing reducing the pain by a certain amount. I can't remember the last time I was pain free, but you just sort of get used to it and do as much as you can to counter the worst days.

On hospital all controlled drugs need two nurses to sign these out of the drug cupboard and the same 2 nurses both witness the patient taking them to prevent this.

Lidocaine patches are normally only prescribed short term use for things such as acute fractured ribs.

Perhaps try acupuncture for a bad back it's. Very effective.

Yeah. I've had years of painkillers from a neurological condition and a spinal injury when I was 10 and have always been told that anti inflammatory painkillers were the most effective and codeine was pointless to prescribe for joint pain although I have tried it and tbf the doctor was right it did nothing. It does seem to boost the effect of Diclofenac when taken together though.

For a broken back I can well imagine he'd need morphine, poor sod! I've only had morphine once and that shit is good. If it's working for him then run with it. Long term pain is horrendous to live with.

Is it? I've a friend who broke his back some years ago, and he has codeine and morphine prescribed. He doesn't always need it, but when it's playing up, that's what he takes. I have no idea if he's had discussions with his GP about alternatives.

Not everyone can take NSAIDs though - some asthmatics, this with a history of stomach ulcers or similar circumstances.

I’m currently on naproxen (as well as paracetamol, buprenorphine patches and, when the pain is bad enough that it’s needed, oromorph). I’m going to be having some surgery soon and, after that, won’t be able to have the naproxen because it is contraindicated and could cause other issues. I also have to take other medication because the NSAIDs can lead to stomach issues.

The big issue with taking NSAIDs, as an entire group of drugs, out of pain management is that there is limited access to viable alternatives that are appropriate without going down the opiate drugs direction unless your pain is neuropathic in nature in which case drugs such as prefabs lín, gabapentin or amitriptylline may be effective. I was on tramadol for a long time but then, about 15 years ago, access to it was being tailed off due to the number of people who end up with a functional addiction to it.

It sounds like you're addicted to painkillers and are trying to get info from mumsnetters in the know on how to bypass the system. You really need to speak to the GP about weaning down the tramadol and finding alternative ways to manage your pain. Big hugs xxx

You really need to pursue this with the pharmacy and insist they investigate, it's quite a serious issue - either it's an accident in which case needs to be flagged and rectified otherwise something much more serious could happen, or it's deliberate and is theft. Whether you want to continue taking the tablets or not, this is not OK and needs reporting.

I have a diclofenac stash in the bathroom cupboard, I can't recall why I was prescribed them, possibly post surgery once.

I've sciatic pain, some days excruciating. My GP prescribed gabapentin two years ago. He said recently when I asked for an alternative that it was pointless because all drugs cease to work after a while. So gabapentin and ibuprofen when necessary, which mucks up my stomach so I try to avoid it, I took two at lunchtime by mid afternoon was digging out the nexium.

No-one takes these drugs because they're addicted but just to function to some degree.

Yes it is, I'm on it and have been for months. Probably going to have it for a while as its neurological pain and there is no cure for the condition. GP hasn't been reluctant in the least to prescribe it, he suggested it. Comes as suppository rather than pills but I don't care, as long as it works.

I'm just suggesting that opiates are possibly not the most effective choice over NSAIDS anti inflammatory effects and that her GP might recommend changing it anyway.

My pain is primarily nerve related although it does cause some secondary muscle pain. I've had tramadol for it in the past but it wasn't that effective.

Diclofenac is no longer prescribed by GPs for long term pain - wish it was, as Naproxen is nowhere near as effective for me.

And the OP is most likely taking NSAIDs and the Tramadol - I'm taking Naproxen and co-codamol together for my back, which is just about enough to keep me working. You can't assume that any fracture is the same as any other fracture either, and with backs you are looking at discs, impingement on the nerves etc as well as bony changes such as arthritis.

As a one-off what happens if you say you lost them? Some of mine went missing at a hotel, Mine are not addictive IDT but they do have a street value.

Pharmacies can and do make mistakes. I know someone that got a 0 added to the dosage and it ruined their health long-term.

OP what a load of accusatory comments when you are preparing to endure back pain. Sorry about that. And good on you that you're finding a silver lining.

To me the facts you state point to something going wrong at the pharmacy, whether by design or not. I guess the best you can do is reconstruct as far as possible what you got vs. what you should have got and speak yo GP and pharmacy. Not sure in which order.

Hope you find a good resolution.