How often are you in pain?

[UnhealthyCopingStrategies]

And how often do you take painkillers?

I'm in pain daily, but today is the first time I've taken painkillers (this week), which got me wondering...

I'm in some pain on and off most days - osteoarthritis in my spine. I don't take painkillers, because my kidneys are damaged and I don't want to risk it (and don't trust the dismissive "Panadol is fine" GP I saw). When stretching isn't enough, I use Fisiocrem, which works remarkably well.

Everyday -
I have severe icu related neuropathy in my hands and legs
I had severe surgical debridement in my left leg last year which has left 90% of the nerves damaged.
I have a spinal cord injury from being proned for too long in ICU.
I take pregabiln 3 x daily paracetamol PRN and I have a 15mcg relatrans patch that I change weekly,
I also use ibuprofen gel as I cannot take oral ibuprofen due to lifelong blood thinners.

I get frequent headaches due to intracranial pressure.

I do get a lot of pain but some days are good some days are horrendous - just have to keep on going ❤️

I have constant joint pain because I'm hypermobile. I take paracetamol at bedtime otherwise it stops me getting to sleep. I try not to take anything during the day, but if I'm getting irritable with the pain I take paracetamol.

If I get a sinusitis flare up I have to take co codamol as it's so painful. I also do lots of nasal sprays to try and calm things down.

Every other year or so I get a gallbladder attack, so I deal with that with buscopan and tramadol because the tramadol knocks me out until the attack wears off.

Not exactly in pain but I have had lifelong skin problems which mean I am ALWAYS itchy. I was talking with a friend recently who is always in pain and we compared notes on the mental weight of always being in pain/itchy. It was similar. I know it's not as dramatic sounding but being itchy alllll the time keeps me awake, keeps me from doing things, makes me embarrassed. It occupies a lot of my thought during the day. It's awful.

Constantly as I have rheumatoid arthritis. I take long acting pain killers every day plus some more if I need them. I do try not to need them

Most days, to some extent or another. I have arthritis. It's either a niggling pain or I'm full on shaking and crying from the pain of it.

I take prescription strength codeine every day. I have actually cut it down quite a bit recently as it had got to the point I was taking it just so I wouldn't get a headache from not taking it. I've gone from 6 to 10 tablets a day to 2 or 3.

I occasionally have oramorph for the pain too, but that's only a couple of times a year.

Most days better now than I've had both my hips replaced but my ankles and knees and shoulders still hurt and get a lit of headaches/migraines.

I only take pain killers If I'm in extreme pain and not narcotics just like paracetamol and ibuprofen/asprian I hate how narcotics make me feel so I stay away from them (I can get them at any time but choose not too).

I do a lot of heat ice threapy, physiotherapy, compression socks/knee support it doesn't help 100% but slightly takes the edge off.

Every day. I can't accept that this is normal and am fed up on consultants telling me that mindfulness is the answer. It isn't. No one should be in constant pain. It's not right.

@MetaDaughter I'm not in any pain.

I'm 61. I run and practice martial arts in a very non-competitive way. Both keep me supple I suppose,

I'd never been a gym bunny, no real exercise between school and my 40s. And I did as little as possible at school so I probably have undamaged joints.

If I do a charity 10k I'm a bit stiff the next morning, but it wears off fairly quickly.

Thank you all for sharing and to you all

That's the thing though isn't it? Pain is subjective... I have sore shoulders/upper back, lower back and then my hips, especially my left is constantly sore. Carpel tunnel like symptoms that seem to come and go linked to my cycle... I'm active daily and I try not to let it stop me, but sometimes I take a dose before bed to help me sleep, or if I'm going to have a very busy day e.g. going into London, I will take painkillers en route to mitigate it.

Every day (hip labral tears, arthritis in feet). I take painkillers every day because I don't know what else to do.

So sorry to see so many in pain, I hope this thread is not representative of the general population.

When I was younger I used to take them regularly to manage migraines caused by the contraceptive pill. I rarely take them now, maybe a couple of times a year if I have an injury.

24/7 for the past 12 years. I've tried various pain killers ranging from paracetamol to oral morphine and none of them work anymore. My body has become immune to them due to been on them for so long.

This is awful to hear and makes me very grateful for my luck so far. I am rarely in pain and probably have a headache maybe once a month which goes off with a couple of neurofen.

A few years ago I had plantar fasciitis and being in pain every time I walked was just absolutely awful, but it did go off with strapping and physio and I’m grateful to live pain free every day.

Constantly for over 20 years now. Last 2 years constantly 8/10 or higher. I don't take anything for the pain because nothing works.

Headaches - a lot, hormonal and tension - the pain makes me feel sick, almost migraine. I take codeine - which doesn't work very well - sometimes I get a stronger dose from the GP but we all know how much effort that requires. I am not inclined toward codeine addiction as I'm a low converter, so the codeine doesn't work as well for me as it does for others, I get anxious trying to buy it at the pharmacy when one overly officious assistant quizzed me intensively about my pain - my GP was furious on my behalf.

@ImPunbelievable I'm in pain every day with endometriosis and adenomyosis, ovarian cyst and inflammation associated with that.

I take pain relief every day. This allows me to work, to exercise and look after my daughter.

I know I have a high pain threshold (I didn't notice contractions as I wrote them off as normal pain. I also tolerated internal bleeding for a week - I was in pain but coped). So, I'm not sure I buy the if you take pain relief you won't be able to benefit when you need it. I think people react different to pain relief (psychologically and biologically).

I'm a firm believer that if you're in pain, relieving that pain (however you chose within legal limits lol) is a good thing to do. It slightly irks me when people say oh I dont take pain killers / don't believe in them / don't agree. I genuinely believe people who say that are not the people who have to tolerate daily or chronic pain. It's a bit like me saying (as a non diabetic) oh I don't agree with taking insulin or whatever.

Everyday. Left knee and right arm. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Also neck. No, not taking pain killers. Only allowed Paracetamol anyway, due to various health problems. I take enough pills for them as it is!

Everyday tbh

@notagainnotnow
I do get your point though!

Constant "background pain", which is bearable as long as I don't need to concentrate on anything else.
If my ME is flaring or I'm in a crash I can't manage the pain so well and will take painkillers to get through the worst days.
I went to pain clinic but they said they don't prescribe or advise painkillers for chronic pain .
I can't actually remember a time when I had no pain at all.
Right now it's a headache, back pain and hip/shoulder joint pain, a fairly standard pain day for me.

@Deathraystare ❤️ I'm in a 'lucky' position where I can take pain relief. I also have a toddler so in terms of 'managing' pain some of the options (rest, sleep, stretching etc) just aren't open to me. So maybe I'll shift to less medicinal approaches as life becomes less frantic!

But, painkillers set me free a bit. Once I was diagnosed and was prescribed more than just OTC. I was able to do so so much more and this has been revolutionary for my mental health as wel as physical health.

I have pain every day since I was 15, with osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease (diagnosed in teens) and continuous sciatica, as well as cysts and other odds and bods. Spine is a bit of a clusterfuck. And peripheral neuropathy, numbness etc.

Tramadol every day, pregabalin is meant to be 3 times a day but use it as needed due to some gnarly side effects. Kidney disease so no anti inflammatories. And a splash of amytriptaline at night.

Helps me keep cracking on with life, rather than self shuffling off this mortal coil at nearly 40 years in continuous pain.

Very rare here, I don't have any long term issues and have been fortunate to avoid many short term ones. When I used to have periods I might take painkillers on the first day some months but I don't think it was every month. I get a headache bad enough to need them maybe once a year, at the moment I can't remember last time I took a painkiller. I am sorry pain is so constant and severe for so many of you

@Meadowfinch - I don’t think the observation I quoted meant in noticeable, severe or significant pain that clouds one’s life - it’s more a philosophical comment on human sentience.

Completely healthy people must still interact with other sentient or inanimate entities every single day - paper, toddlers, hairbrushes, ice; and we have tongues and fingernails and eyes and skin and all of them are vulnerable to sensation 24 hours a day. Most of these things may be so fleeting as to go (almost) unnoticed - but the fact of this vulnerability confirms our sentience as living beings.