Pain meds

Elamiras

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2025
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14
My pain level is through to the roof. I’ve been taking a combination of also relaxers, tramadol prednisone and Toradol. It seems to have stopped working. Any suggestions?
 
hello @Elamiras
Unfortunately, people with fibromyalgia often have this experience - that of pain medication that works for a while and then stops working. The only thing I can suggest is that, first, you do not increase the dosages of things like tramadol or prednisone.

Prednisone, being a steroid, will build up in your system and can cause very serious health problems if it is used long term. And tramadol, being a synthetic opioid, can be addicting and the body can easily develop a tolerance for it at higher and higher levels, which is what leads to possible addiction, so caution is needed.

The only thing you can do with regard to medication is try different things, with the approval and supervision of your doctor(s).

But there are also many other things you can do that might help, things that are not dependent on doctors or on medications. Experimenting with your diet, with exercise, with managing stress, and other things of the kind can have a big positive impact on your management of fibromyalgia. There's a post at the top of the General forum with many suggestions for things you can try, and just reading and posting in this forum can be helpful, as people write about the things that are helping them.
 
I asked my doctor once what would be the plan of action should my pain medication stop working due to tolerance.

She said that, if that should happen, we would wean me off tramadol, then abstain from any tramadol for one month, then resume. The idea of that happening scares me, so I totally understand your frustration, but I have to agree with my doctor that I really don't see any other option. Switching pain medications isn't going to work in that scenario.

I feel very fortunate and grateful that, after 2 years, tramadol is still effective for my pain. For many, my doctor told me, they develop a tolerance within a matter of weeks.

This is something that you must absolutely speak with your doctor about, and consider the dangers that @sunkacola presented to you. And even though your medications are not working for you anymore, do not stop taking them abruptly. Do it under your doctor's supervision, especially anything that affects the CNS.

Don't give up hope. I'm sure that your doctor, assuming they understand and appreciate your pain, will do all they can to help you. Unfortunately, what you are experiencing is a common enough scenario when taking pain medication long-term.

In the meantime, don't forget all of the other things that you can do to help manage and reduce your pain. Among the things that work best for me are: self massage, stretching, activity, good sleep hygiene, hobbies/passions, and socialization.

Hugs.
 
Good morning Elamiras, Prednisone does not work for Fibro it works for Polymyalgia which i had for 4 years before it morphed into Fibro so with your doctors permision i would stop taking it.
It is not a nice drug and totaly unnesasary.
Good luck with finding something that works for you.
 
Hey Barbara,
For some reason, the Prednizone worked for about 6 months. I know it's not for Fibromyalgia but they gave me some for a mangled shoulder muscle with nerve pain that was also bothering me. I am starting gabapentin instead of Lyrica for the pain. Heres to hoping it works!:sneaky:
 
@Elamiras I hope that the gabapentin works for your nerve pain. A word of encouragement: for me, Lyrica did absolutely nothing for me whereas gabapentin works beautifully on my neuropathy.

I hope your doctors is starting you on the lowest dose of 300 mg three times a day. Also, gradually working up to that over a period of a week. The main side effect I have is slight dizziness shortly after taking it, but then that goes away. It is not debilitating or bothersome to me in any way since that side effect is minor and short-lived. But just watch out for that. You may also find that it helps you sleep better if you have trouble sleeping.

I hope that you have the same positive experience with it. 🤗
 
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