Pain not relieved with narcotics...

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SheliaMarie
SheliaMarie Member Posts: 302
edited August 2018 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

It’s the weirdest thing, but whether it’s joint pain in my knees, back pain or shoulder and pectoral pain, nothing seems to relieve the pain. I’ve tried Advil, hydrocodone 10/325, fentanyl patch 25 mcg, and have now been upped to 50 mcg of fentanyl patche and oxy 10. Still no relief. Why am I so weird? Does anyone else have trouble getting pain relief?

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  • blainejennifer
    blainejennifer Member Posts: 1,848
    edited August 2018

    SheilaMarie,

    Oh, how I feel your pain. I have trouble with pain meds as well.

    My MO doesn't know what to make of it. If you find anything out, I'm all ears. I live in a smallish town, and we don't have a pain clinic. Frankly, part of me feels like they wouldn't do much better anyway.

    In the meantime, keep moving, even if it hurts. It helps to keep the big hurt away. And, I've had to stay on a schedule of pain meds, because I have found that if I don't take it at the prescribed time because I feel pretty good, the pain rushes in much worse later. Heating pads and ice packs are your buddies.

    How long have you been dealing with this?

    Jennifer

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  • SheliaMarie
    SheliaMarie Member Posts: 302
    edited August 2018

    It’s mind boggling! I’ve only been dealing with it for about 3 months.

    Yeah, I figure a pain clinic wouldn’t help me either.

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  • Aussie-Cat
    Aussie-Cat Member Posts: 5,168
    edited August 2018

    SheliaMarie, I've been going to a pain clinic for my nerve pain and the Lyrica they put me on is helping. I wouldn't discount going to a pain clinic if you have the opportunity. They might at least be able to work out what's happening. I'm sorry you're going through pain that isn't relieved by drugs and I hope you find something that helps very soon. Is cannabis oil available where you are? That seems to help a lot of things.

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  • JFL
    JFL Member Posts: 1,947
    edited August 2018

    Cymbala eliminated my joint pain when I was on AIs. I asked my MO if there was anything bedsides narcotics I could take and he mentioned Cymbalta. There are clinical studies on Cymbalta for this purpose. As an added perk, it also helped with my bone pain at the time from extensive bone mets.

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited August 2018

    SheilaMarie, et. al. There's a possible biological explanation for this. Some people carry a gene mutation which does not allow their body to metabolize morphine, ergo narcotics. I know this because I know someone with this.

    http://sciencenordic.com/genetic-defect-makes-some-nearly-immune-morphine talks about it a bit.

    The solution for the person I know is to give morphone. (not morphine) It's a precursor to morphine and the body can metabolize it. You could try that or something like gabapentin (non-morphine derivative)

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  • Lynnwood1960
    Lynnwood1960 Member Posts: 1,284
    edited August 2018
    Sheilamarie, I complained to my onc for months that my muscles and joints were screaming with pain. She gave me a muscle relaxer which knocked me on my ass. I went to a pain management dr and she gave me Gabapentin and it has helped me immensely! I still have pain but it is not that heavy drag you down pain. I’ve gone from taking 6 Tramadol a day to maybe 1 and a couple of extra strength Tylenol.
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  • SheliaMarie
    SheliaMarie Member Posts: 302
    edited August 2018

    I’m starting to freak out. My shoulder is hurting again, though not as severely!as it was,my lower back pain has gotten worse, now my hips, left leg and lower abdomen hurt. I’m due to have a PET on Thursday, will get results on Tuesday, but I’m terrified that I’ve had widespread progression...

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