Concerned about how many pain killers I take

[Letmeinletmein]

How many pain killers do you take a week?

I have insomnia and endometriosis. Lack of sleep causes me to have headaches and if I don’t take paracetamol on office days, the headache will progress to a migraine due to the lights and computers etc. if I’ve had a good nights sleep the night before, it’s not an issue. But I would say on average I need to take paracetamol three times a week. When I am on my period I need to take them every day for about a week.

I really really have tried not to. I’ve tried to push myself to go a few weeks without but it’s the office days that kill me. I can’t possibly get through a work day with a banging headache and raging period pain that just gets worse. Is it generally safe to be taking this much? I do sometimes use sleeping tablets so that I can get a good sleep when insomnia gets back but of course that’s not really a fix because I don’t want to be dependent on them

I'm the same; taking paracetamol and ibuprofen every day, at least once, sometime two or three times.

How long have you been taking them this frequently for? For myself it’s been a few years. I try not to take ibuprofen because I know that’s worse but sometimes I do have to take paracetamol and ibuprofen together

I take dihydrocodeine and paracetamol daily but I have been seen by a GP. Osteoarthritis related reasons for daily painkillers. I couldn't function without my repeat prescription.

Some weeks I need to take more than others. If I have a bad headache, I need to take 6 tablets (combination of paracetamol and burden, spaced out) before it goes. Atm I’m just taking an occasional paracetamol but then when the headaches strike (usually sinus or stress related) it’s a lot more.

Paracetamol alone is useless for my own pain, it does nothing on it's own.

It does sound like the blue light from computers and the office lighting is at the root of your problems. Is there any way you can mitigate that? Do you wear glasses? You can get yellow-tinted ones that help.

The problem with constant painkiller use (been there, done that) is the physical dependency they can cause so that they'll end up giving you rebound headaches. I suspect they can also mess with your gut over time, so ideally it would be better to get off them as much as possible, and the light issue looks to be the main thing.

Period pain is tricky (I too had awful pain) and sadly I only discovered that raspberry leaf tea really helped me in my late 40s. Otherwise I needed to be on the Pill for relief.

It’s the lack of sleep that I would say is the main issue. If I have slept well, the lights don’t bother me. It’s only when I arrive at the office already with a headache that the lights etc then make it worse. If I could manage to sleep well and not wake up with a headache I’d be fine

I can measure it in how many I take a year. I probably take 4 a year and only ever for painful periods.
Not as a matter of principle, but because I (thankfully) never seem to have aches and pains.
Anxiety is my thing, so I've not escaped totally Scott free!

You can’t become dependent on paracetamol can you?
I take 8/10 codeine tablets every day and have done for the last 12 years, I wouldn’t be able to work or take care of my children without them, I’d just be permanently sobbing in pain.

Perhaps go to your GP and see if there’s anything else you could do to help, my SIL gets Botox injections every couple of months for her migraines. I have a colleague who uses pain patches for her endometriosis. You shouldn’t suffer in silence.

I'm the same. I think mine is hormonal (peri), I just feel so dreadful and the headaches/migraines just keep on going, I can't function with job/kids if I don't take pain relief.