When this question was asked to my mom's hepatologist last year, he said that the best pain medicine for her would be Tramadol. It's not as strong as a narcotic but stronger than a Tylenol/Advil.

thanks for your response my doc gave me tramadol also but it wasn't very effective for my pain :( maybe I could take a higher dose will ask my doc thanx again.. blessed evening to you...

Ah, thats what I was going to ask; whether they told you no OTC or won't order a script.
Certainly I wouldn't tell you to take anything w/o asking your dr, your condition may be too fragile. In fact, I won't even say what I do for RA pain but it is OTC low dose. I have cirrhosis & hcv.

I'm sure you've already explored things like regular exercise & meditation. They increase endorphins & decrease anxiety. Anxiety = stress increases pain. Its made a big difference for me.

Hi,
Just my 2 cents worth
I just started taking Tramadol about a month ago. My legs were not only painful but I wasn't able to get any sleep as they were jumping and cramping.
Couldn't see myself doing pain pill as I never have.
And I have tried many other things. My PCP was amazing about it as we talked about the quality of life. She wasn't sure it was going to be enough but I am only taking 1 each night and they are timed release.
I wonder now that I don't need to play with how many Tylenol to take in a day I believe I feel better.

@ptriss, I have tried excercise but not meditation I will look into it. and yes stress is a big factor I would literally have to move and leave everything behind if I want to be stress free and for now I can't do it I have 3 lil doggies that depend on me for they too are also sickly. one has diabetis and the other 2 are very arthritic one to the point that she can no longer get around on her own. and I know if I don't take care of me then I wont be around to care for them tricky situation I do the best I can. thanx for your response be happy, healthy peace to you and yours...

@ wishsister, quality of life I've been dealing with this pain for aprox 6yrs I take nothing, nada, zilch it gets so unbearable sometimes that I just wann give up, but I don't I keep fighting for myself and my family thanx for your response and I will give the tramadol another try :)
peace and health to you and yours......

I suffer from painful kidney stones in addition to my Cryptogenic hepatitis and cirrhosis. I was given both Tramadol and Hydrocodone for my pain. I use the Tramadol if the pain is mild to moderate. if the pain is worse, it is the Hydrocodone which puts me to sleep.

hello clovers. im new to this site. I'm a 51 yr. old male with end stage liver disease. currently on the transplant list at LANGONE hops. in the city. i am on dilaudid for my pain. i get my script at a pain management. my liver doc is aware that I'm on them. so is the transplant team. they are o.k. with it. with the cirrhosis it is hard to get docs to prescribe almost anything. i suffered from day night reversal with this disease. no one would touch me with a sleeping pill. i felt as if i was going out of mind. after a heart felt talk with my liver doc and he could see how badly i needed to get back on a normal sleep pattern he wrote me a script for tamazapam. i see him once a month for check up's and blood draw. he gives me my sleeping pill. thank god. as far as pain meds go i have found that going to a pain clinic with a anesthesiologist who writes my script for pain meds. of course as you know everything goes thru the liver and its really hard to find a doc who wants to write a script for anything. dilaudid is not as hard on the liver as most. actually " methadone " is the least toxic to the liver. i was on it but it knocked me for a loop. also there is the stereo-type that goes along with methadone. believe it or not it is a great pain med and plenty of people take it who are not or have never been on herion. but there is the stereotype like i mentioned. the first time i got mine filled i felt compelled to tell the pharmacist that it was for pain not because I'm a herion addict. also if you go that route it is very addicting. very hard to get off of. worked great for my pain but was just to strong for me. i would doze off in the middle of eating. the dilaudid is pretty strong but effective. the generic name is hydro-morphone. i am on 2mg every 4-6 hours. i can function while i take it. you can google it to get more info. i hope this has been helpful to you. like i said I'm new here and looking for friends and support while going thru this terrible disease. have a good day.

Think I've mentioned in this in other threads, but I was passing out due to low BP. One fall I tore my rotator cuff (two operations to repair) another I got a huge gash in my forehead and broke several ribs.

Hydrocodone helped, but made me extremely tired and basically "stoned" They finally put me on Oxycontin, which worked great. Completely took care of the pain, but I was still able to function normally. Must be my body chemistry because I had no addiction to Oxycontin, even though I took it for three months after breaking my ribs, and another two after my second major shoulder operation.

It's a lot more restrictive than Hydrocodone, no phone in re-fills, needed a written scrip every time, but my doctors didn't want me taking the Tylenol that Hydrocodone is mixed with.

It will probably be very difficult for you to get your doctor to prescribe Oxycodone/Oxycontin, but it's very liver tolerant. I think some doctors are overly paranoid about pain meds, but when you really need them, you're hardly a "drug seeker". I hate that phrase, but don't push the subject to hard, you will get blackballed at all hospitals, other doctors, etc.

I'm allowed to take small doses of Tylenol, up to 2G a day, but it's very rare.

Not allowed Advil or other NSAIDS like Aleve. They can cause internal bleeding, so would advise staying away from them.

I am in total agreement with WilburTheCat about asking "too often" for pain relievers....It seems to be a good way to become "labeled" as a "drug seeker". I have "done without" pain meds of any kind for a lit of years. I think you call it, "biting the bullet"....... I have lived with RSDystrophy (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome) for 23 years now and took OTC pain relievers heavily for a long time because the doctors kept pushing PT and meditation, etc. as opposed to pain pills. Made me feel like they weren't taking me seriously when I told them how bad the pain was.

Now, with the liver disease (taking those handsful of Tylenol daily sure did nothing to help that problem) I can't take much of anything OTC unless it is a regular Tylenol tablet for fever.......on limited occasions.

I wish there was a drug that I could take when the pain gets unbearable that would afford me a little more sleep......Always feel better when I get more than 2 hours sleep a night.....but, that is what I have most nights.

I hope that you find something that will help you with your pain level. Hugs and prayers to all.........CarolLentz

I also take Tramadol but actually my pain is back pain I also have Xanax for about once or twice a week

Hope you find something....................Jean

my husband is stage 4 cirrhotic and hep c (though undetected right "now" with treatment"... he is 40...

He was given tramadol bc he was given nuepogen bc his WBC went too low. I think the tramadol makes him sleepy, but has trouble sleeping... He is also on Clonazepam, as needed, which is mostly daily, and Zoloft for the anxiety side. All low doses. He sometimes takes advil.... for the leg cramps. I am going to telll him to read this thread and ask questions at his next appt on the 31st....

so many meds... @ptriss... meditation is great... it helps all...

Thanks all...

I was doing some research about gout since I have had several bouts with it and it has caused me much pain and lots of days feeling like I had the flu........I looked up Colcachine (sp) that is usually prescribed for recurrent gout. In my reading, I found out that this is the drug that they are working on for people with liver disease. It has been shown to be beneficial and actually has shown promise as "reversing" some of the damage done by cirrhosis. I could hardly believe what I was reading.

The articles went on to say that they are still in the testing mode for this drug related to cirrhosis but it looks very promising. I heard quite a while back that there was a "new drug" that showed promise but had to go through all the usual tests before it could be used specifically in liver disease. Seems this drug may be the one they were talking about. I hope so, anyway. My Dad, who suffered from gout for years, used it and it gave him some relief from the gout symptoms and lessened the frequency. That is how I knew what to check online related to gout. The rest was a pleasant surprise.

I fully intend (ed) to ask my liver specialist if there would be any reason I couldn't take the Colcachine for gout (I always clear meds prescribed for other illnesses with him first). Now, when I go back to visit him this time I will ask him straight up if there is anything to the reports that say Colcachine used for gout is also beneficial for cirrhosis............We'll see!!!!!!!
Hugs and prayers.........CarolLentz

@CarolLentz I can't wait to hear what your doctor has to say about this. Very exciting.

I would like to add some of the things I do to relieve pain other than pain meds. This is of course for muscle pain, cramps and especially my back pain (I have many back issues that cause serious pain) That being said.. Have any of you tried "mineral ice"? That stuff has saved me many times. The generic is cheaper, but this is one of those things that the name brand works much, much better. I've tried all of the "deep heats, rubs, creams) etc. Mineral ice works the best it goes the deepest. I must warn though, do not put it on directly after shower, sauna or anything like that...wooo weee. I also have a tens unit. It is just a little thing with 4 electrodes that I place on my muscles that give you little electric shocks.. its like an electric massage. That has also saved me many, many times. If you haven't tried that, please ask your doctor about it, it is amazing. I have never tried meditation, although I've often thought about it. I have no idea how to do it. I will have to look that up for sure.

Shelley

I agree about the TENS unit - it's a great device!!