Are there any alternatives to Tramadol?

[dorothys_shoes]

Hi,
It's my first post here, so sorry if I am putting this in the wrong category.

I have Crohn's disease and am currently trying to manage the pain with 1g of paracetamol, 60mg of codeine, and 20mg buscopan. It isn't working and tomorrow I have a doctors appointment about pain relief. I was on Tramadol (the highest dose, I believe) but the pain reduced so I was able to come off it. Anyway, I'm presuming since I've already been on that and we know it works, my doctor will want to put me back on it. However, I'm scared to go on it again as, and this might sound stupid, but the hallucinations were horrifying. For a bit after coming off them I was still freaked out and had to keep a light on at night.

So, I was wondering if any of you could suggest some other medication? I am allergic to ibuprofen and have other health issues so my doctors are wary of pain relief for me as it can cause problems for my health (I have m.e., asthma, hypermobility, IBS, arthritis, and possibly something else that doctors are currently looking into). I'm on medication so I think the risks of interaction would have to be weighed up - I'm on azathioprine (immunosuppressant) and fluoxetine (antidepressant).

I was wondering about anti-spasmodic and if they would work? I have tried buscopan and mebeverine but they aren't strong enough. Is there anything as strong as tramadol in the anti-spasmodic category? Or will anything that strength have nasty side effects, too?

Sorry for the long post! And thank-you for any help
From Libby x

 

[darster]

I would be careful with tramadol, it is as addictive as OC, and can cause withdrawal if stopped abruptly. Amitriptyline (Elavil) can be an effective pain reliever in low doses. Levsin is an OK antispasmodic.

 

[UnXmas]

Was the 60mg codeine the entire amount for a day (as oppose to a single dose)? You can go a lot higher than that, but there is the potential for tolerance and addiction with codeine when taken long-term (as well as other side effects, such as constipation, as you probably already know).

darster mentioned Amitriptyline, which has a great number of uses, including pain relief, though it also has a lot of potential side effects, so it may be hard to manage it when you have a lot of other issues going on - in particular I'm not sure it wouldn't cause interactions with other anti-depressants (Amitriptyline is also an anti-depressant, but has pain-relieving properties as well). It's worth trying though.

I've tried anti-spasmodics but with no success. No sides effects, but I've found it tends to be the case that when something does not cause side effects, it's also not strong enough to produce benefits.

Is the pain you're getting stomach cramps? The cause and nature of the pain often relate to the type of treatment that's effective. Honestly one of the best things for stomach cramps is a hot water bottle! Heat relaxes the muscles and eases cramping.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.