Sustained Release Pain Relief versus Fast Acting | Arthritis Information
I have now been on 5 different sustained release pain relief medications and none of them seem to hold you for the course of the dose, even though doctor's claim that it is the same amount of drug you are getting just released a different way. I found that about eight hours into a twelve hour dose, my pain was surfacing again.
My Pain Team doctor's are humoring me at the moment by changing my oxycodone to oxycontin and then allowing me to go back to the oxycodone 4hourly to see if I find it better than the oxycontin sustained release. I think they decided that I was stubborn (no idea where they got that from?) and realised that I was going to have to prove it to myself. I would prefer to be off sustained release and only use fast acting when I need it for breakthorugh pain.
Just after five of them, I am starting to question their usefulness in this whole pain process.
What are other people's experiences of the sustained release meds versus the fast acting???
Have the sustained release meds worked for you or not?
Do you use a combo of both?
Or is fast acting more effective?
Hi Cordelia,
This is a good question as I have been on the fentanyl patch for about a year now. I am trying to "come off" of it and when I do, I cannot function as well as when I have the patch on. My thinking is that the patch works well for me. I do, however, experience pain that I take a breakthrough pain killer like tramadol (doesn't work that great) or percocet which works well. So I would say in my experience, that the sustained release rates of the fentanyl patch work for me. I have added hydrotherapy to my list of changes and have found that it helps me dramatically. Without doing the exercises, I stiffen up. My hope is to get off the patch and find the right combo of meds that deal with the cause of the pain. I am in double trouble with this because I had many stomach surgeries and am highly sensitive to NSAIDS and with Type 1 diabetes; prednisone sends my sugars into the danger zone. Good luck to you...Hiking_gal
Thanks Hiking-gal. It definitely requires a combo of coping strategies, only one being narcotics. I have just tried so many sustained release meds and given them a really good go that I think I am feeling frustrated with the whole thing in a big way.
Hi Cords, firstly, please check your private messages. Regarding the SR pain relief, I had exactly the same question about 3 weeks ago, had recently switched from oxycodone immediate relief to oxycontin SR, and found "it was not working as well". So I took myself off of the SR and went back to oxycodone, boy was I sorry, after switching I realised the SR is so much better, but I was still getting breakthru, so now for that I take tramal and panadol. Hope this helps, love Janie. Are you going back into hospital? I don't know if you are aware but in Newcastle NSW, there is a hospital devoted to Rheumatoid arthritis, I have often thought about trying to go there for a month or so and see if they can do anything. Hugs Janie.XX
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