I've not been diagnosed with this very long and I'm having difficulty managing the pain. GP has given me plenty of pain relief but I don't like taking pain killers. The pain killers definitely help but I have some mental block on allowing myself to take them when I need. Kind of like I'm punishing myself and making myself suffer.

I seem to be having some sort of flare up at the moment. My hands were so painful this morning it woke me up. They are swollen and stiff, what the H did I do to make that happen? GP did say I need to think about my whole health, she said it isn't just my joints affected by this. I am on annual leave right now and perhaps treating my body less healthily when I'm not at work? I don't know.

Anyway, I have no trouble taking the anti inflammatory but the zapain is a real strong pain relief and makes me feel good if I take it. I don't deserve to feel good. The pain is not so bad right now as I have taken my meds now but how can I learn to manage this better?

Talk with your doctor and trial & error. (For those wondering, Zapain is acetaminophen (Tylenol) and codeine.) I'd be guessing what you mean by, "I don't deserve to feel good," however you don't deserve to be in so much pain that you cannot function in your day-to-day life either.

The amount of codeine may be too strong. Generally, pain medications should be taken at the onset of pain. This will result in less medication being required, and it will work faster and better than if left until the pain is intolerable. Start with the lowest dose necessary, wait until it reaches peak efficacy (ask your doctor or pharmacist), and if necessary, titrate up a little more at a time until the pain is at a manageable level. The idea is not to be pain-free, but to reduce the sense of suffering and improve the quality of life.

There are many ways/techniques of managing pain other than medication. See Pain Management and Managing Your Pain: How to Use Prescription Drugs Without Becoming Addicted.

Doc

"You don't deserve to feel good?" Why not? Are you a terrible person? I think not, my friend. You say "you're punishing yourself and making yourself suffer." Do you have any idea why?

Dearheart, you are as DESERVING of pain relief as anyone else! Why should you suffer?? Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional !!! We ALL will have pain at some time in our lives, especially as we age. But we all KNOW that there are options out there to relieve our pain -- and we TAKE those options! None of us wants to suffer!

Unfortunately, for 26 years, I could NOT find a doctor who was willing to prescribe the medications necessary to relieve my pain -- I'm a spinal patient and my surgeon screwed me up. Plus there are other problems besides that caused/cause pain and not one doc would prescribe until 2 years ago! It was absolute AGONY. I didn't choose that agony. But now I TAKE those meds willingly and will continue as long as any doc will prescribe!

You should too! DON'T SUFFER -- did you know that continued extreme pain is actually harmful to your health? It's true!!! It raises your blood pressure to sometimes dangerous levels! Plus fighting pain all the time can actually effect your blood counts. Do yourself a favor, and take your pain meds and LESSEN your pain!

I wish you the very best Pegasus my friend. I want only the best for you. God bless you & PLEASE -- take care of yourself???? Love, Lee