Antidepressant for pain control

[ChronsSUCKS]

Hi everybody i need some help. Ive been complaining to my doc about pain now and how its affecting everything and i need to control it etc.

After speaking with my doctor, he doesnt want to prescribe any opiates (that i know will work for me). "Its a chronic problem and opiates will have problems down the road". He says he wants to meet with me before making this decision. I doubt that he change his mind.

So instead he prescribed me an antidepressant called Saroten. Its not an SSRI, its part of an older group of antidepressants thats not prescribed anymore. They do help some people with stomach pains and other chronic pains by effecting the neural signals somehow.

But i am bugging out that he wants me to take these. I dont have any mental problem, and i dont want to take antidepressants that will effect my personality, not to mention the million SIDE EFFECTS of these type of drugs. Such as dry mouth, being sleepy all the time, zombiefied with no emotions etc. I have taken Zoloft before and there was nothing positive about it either.

I have just started Saroten, and theres a chance that it might help with my pain. Thats great. But i still dont want antidepressants because i want to be myself.

Maybe i'm wrong though. What should i do and wich paintreatment is best in this case? Take Saroten and suffer the sideeffects and personality change? I already feel like an emotionless zombie taking this stuff and i hate it. Not to mention ive just slept 14 hours and im still tired.

If you get the same medicines, how does it affect you in the long term? Im feel shitty taking these pills and i want to stop right now, but i dont want to make any bad decisions just cause of emotions. My doctor told me to use them until we meet in two weeks, what should i do?

I want medicines so i can control my pain and do work, be with friends and family without feeling pain.

 

[kasper87]

My Gastro wouldnt give me anything but tramadol.. I went to my PCP and got fentanyl and hydrocodone. I live a much better life when I am not in pain but then again I dont know your situation.

 

[shmooda]

My gastro didn't like giving me pain meds either, it was like pulling teeth. I also went to my PCP and got oxycodone. I can somewhat control my pain when I need it. I am also on an anti-depressant to help with pain. I am taking Pretiq. My husband has severe neuropathy he was also prescribed methadone and Prestiq. It does help with the pain, but it takes a couple of weeks for the anti-depressants to even out with your body. I am at a low dose, but I was tired for 2 weeks before it settled in.

 

[forum contributor]

I have been on antidepressants for the past 11 years, waaaaaay before I had (knew I had?) Colitis. If they DO work, I'd hate to see how much pain I would be in without them.

How can you tell if they do work?

 

[ChronsSUCKS]

First off what is a PCP? Can you get a different expert if your gastro isnt doing the job?

Ive been taking the Saroten for a couple of days, and i gotta say i do feel a difference. Im on remicade and Imurel, and the blood tests i take on weekly basis all say that there is no inflammation going on in my stomach.

Only the liver is a bit hurt but that can be because of the Imurel.

But what does this mean? If i have no inflammation (probably) and im still in pain. But an antidepressant helps for the pain. Does that mean that im imagining it somehow? I find it strange that this Saroten can treat my stomach pain but still let me feel normal pain, for example normal muscle pains or hitting my toe on a table and things like that.

@Santos; Saroten is not an SSRI, its something called Amitriptylinhydrocloride. SSRI did nothing for me in the paindepartment but it works different for everyone. If you're not in pain = they help i guess.

I cant decide what to do, but i will take these Saroten for two weeks to give them a chance.

(Ive been in pain for 13 years and never had any effective painmedicine prescribed. Thats why the light opiates have an appeal because i can choose when and when not to take them. And they dont have any sideeffects that bother me.)

 

[soupdragon69]

Amytriptylline (?spelling am tired today! LOL) is known as an anti depressant.

However, it is used by chronic pain management teams to relieve chronic nerve pain and a side effect of this drug when used in low doses is to do this. So you may not have active inflammation but medics are more and more recognising that IBD patients can suffer ongoing pain and it could be partly related to over responsive nerves that have taken such a hammering in that area already. It was something one of my gastro nurses did a poster presentation on at last years IBD conference here in Europe.

I am on gabapentin under the rheumatology team for my inflammatory arthritis which is known as an anti epileptic and in low doses it is used for chronic nerve pain also.

Like you I didnt like the idea of using it knowing what gaba did overall and that I didnt have epilepsy BUT as I said in LOW doses both these drugs can have an impact.

Its a benefit/side effect that was discovered about them both.

So no you aren't imagining things at all! Think of it as drinking peppermint tea for enjoyment of the taste but it also impacts on the gut by helping decrease spasm and trapped wind.

As another thought I was also introduced to using a TENS machine for pain relief and found it does help me so might be something researching and trying if you havent already. As you have already said what works for one may not for another.

Does that help?

 

[ChronsSUCKS]

Thank you! You answered everything im wondering about. Over responsive nerves. That will definately put me at ease knowing that. So just cause im in pain doesnt have to mean that theres something wrong with me.

When your tests are alright, but you still have pain, i started to think that ive got a whole other health problem going:applause:

 

[forum contributor]

I hope you feel better, CS

Keep us in the loop!

 

[shmooda]

Did you decide on the staying on the anti-depressants? Feeling a little more awake yet. I take mine at night to help with the tiredness I felt at first. A good doctor should be able to give you pain meds for the breakthrough pain, they do help if you don't abuse them.

 

[ChronsSUCKS]

I will keep taking them. Actually the zombie-feeling is gone now.. the other sideeffects are still there but, its worth it if it helps against pain (on the plus side, i get very lucid dreams almost every night when i take Saroten). It worked very well for the first few days of taking it! But now its like slowly its creeping back. I'm not sure yet.. maybe it will balance out again (im on day 6). They dont have as much of a mental effect as they did at first, wich im happy about. The dose is 25mg, and i read that the minimal dose to treat depression is 50mg.

But it does help, for sure better than nothing. I can eat without pain generally and go to the bathroom etc. Its so hard to describe to my doctor cause the pain is so random.

See sometimes it hurts when i eat, sometimes it doesnt. Sometimes it hurts if i sit a certain way sometimes not. Sometimes the pain is in the middle of my stomach and sometimes on right side. Sometimes high, sometimes low on my abdomen, sometimes crippling pain where i have to lay down and sometimes just short cramps.

Also i have been off opiates for more than a month now in case you read my other post in the painkillers thread. I dont see any abuse potential in the weaker opiates wich you take orally.

I'd like to be able to tell my doctor "look i took this and that drug before, and i could quit no problem. So i wont get "addicted" to your little headache medicine".

My idea now is that i should keep taking Saroten forever, and also compliment it with an acute painmed to take when needed. If the Saroten makes the pain less frequent that reduces the need for opiate-based stuff. Also thanks very much everybody!

 

[ChronsSUCKS]

Update, and review of Saroten.

Part
Ive been on 25mg Saroten, tricyclic antidepressant, for about 3 weeks now. Thats one 25mg pill every night. Before starting the Saroten treatment i had severe stomach pain every day, but my inflamation has been in remission already because of success with Remicade treatment. The pain was a cramp-sort of pain, and a scratching/motion pain. It was pretty fuzzy, there was no appearent cause for it. But my doctor thought that i had oversensitive bowels. After years of pain the nerves can get oversensitive, so even normal sensation for the bowel feel very painful. So i think since the Saroten is working that this was infact the hidden problem that ive had for years now.

After starting Saroten it made a huge impact right away. I mean they say it takes time, the body has to get used to the pill, all that kind of stuff. But Saroten worked right away after the first pill ever. My pain has been completely gone since then! And the change it has made in my life is beyond what i thought was possible.

Part
There is no useless pain anymore.

An not only that, but with that the fear of pain is gone aswell. Without pain, i dont think in a negative way anymore. So i can do things, take risks, experience life without always worrying about WHEN, rather than if, the pain hits me. And of course RUINS EVERYTHING *gasp*

For the pills antidepressive effect... i dont notice it much (wich i think is good). Im sure that it does something, but at the low dose of 25mg its probably not much. If anything it makes me a bit more calm... in stressful adrenaline situations it lets me easier distance myself and make a rational judgement about what to do/say. But still it lets me feel adrenaline rushes like when im watching a soccer game on TV and my fav team makes a goal:beerchug:

Part
The sideeffect of the medicine is that it gives you cottonmouth and that it makes you sleepy. The cottonmouth was worst at the beginning, but its almost gone now. I still get it in the mornings but for most of the day my mouth is normal. The pills make me sleepy as hell though, and thats STILL like that 3 weeks later. Its also improved, but i can definately feel a little sleepyness pretty much all the time now.

At the start of the treatment i loved the fact that it helps you sleep. I would have really intense lucid dreams every night of taking Saroten, it was pretty nice. At the time i had been in a very long period of insomnia and depressive thoughts.

I think the sleepyness is a resonable tradeoff for now, because the pain itself made me sleepy and fatigued anyway. It is possible to break through the sleepyness. If i do something that gets me active, like sports, i break through the sleepyness so i dont feel it and i can be active and think quickly.

So i recommend anybody with problems to consider Saroten, or tricyclic antidepressants. It might make a huge improvment to your life.

Part
There are a few other uses for Saroten aswell. It has more potential for recreational use than SSRI's... you take a couple of them and you can feel a sort of body buss. It occured to me that it feels like cannabis - specificly the part at the end of a cannabis high when you are no longer high. But you still feel the cannabis in your body as a kind of tiredness thats pretty chilled out. Saroten will also boost the sedative effect of anything you take, so be careful with alcohol while you are taking Saroten or it can get ugly...

Also; No more need for opiates now

So best wishes and good luck to everyone!

 

[imisspopcorn]

That's awesome. I'm so glad you've gotten some relief.

It's amazing how much pain people can tolerate. Mine is gone now, but when I have the slightest little twinge even just hunger pangs, I immediately start to worry...Is it coming back?

 

[Lisa5326]

Thank you for all the great info very thorough!

 

[PERDITA]

Just read your message, wow I might have to ask my doctor about it, what you were saying about the pain moving around sometimes high up in the middle and feeling really tired all the time has described me exactly!! I feel tired but then find it hard to sleep at night when the pain gets really bad also get stressed REALLY EASILY so maybe this antidepressant may help - could you tell me what side effects the remicade has though if any? I am only on pentasa and have been since surgery in 2003 and it feels pretty pointless now as nothing working.