I have taken NO pain medicine per se in 30+ years of RA except post surgical.

I take an anti-inflammatory, MTX and Orencia.

If you are not getting relief from MTX alone, I strongly encourage you to discuss with your rheumy adding a biological such as Enbrel, Humira or Orencia. They will help your pain while also stopping the progression of the disease and reducing the risk of heart disease RA has over the long run.

I'm a firm believer in getting pain under control quickly, because the stress caused by pain can only worsen the situation you're in. However, it's really tough, and perhaps not a good idea, for any of us to offer advice on specific drugs. However, here's my experience...

First of all, I'm not sure what dose of MTX you're on, but if you haven't been on it long, it could very well be that you're in need of an increase in the dose? I would definitely ask your doc. Maybe it's time to consider another drug? Again, make sure you discuss that with your doc.

I'm afraid I don't have an good experiences with any of the drugs you mentioned (never tried valium, however), and after recent exeperience with a pain med that got me through a lot of rough times, I won't even mention it because it made me sick. I buprofen is all I take now, and strictly on a limited basis. I would definitely talk to your RD about prednisone. I already hate myself for saying that, but in the context of working toward a better drug solution, prednisone can be a very effective mediator of pain from inflammation. It's a hellish drug long-term, however.

I wish you the best in this. Pain really sucks. I know. I hope you're able to deal with yours successfully.

doug

You poor lady - you have so much on your plate to cope with. I don't have many wise words, I'm sorry. My Rheumy gave me Endone which is an opiate for severe pain and it worked most of the time. The only other painkiller I've had is Panadeine Forte but it can be pretty hard on the stomach for some people.

I do hope you get some relief before you see the Rheumy.
Gentle hugs
Angel

I don't believe in pain killers either. I used to take them, and all they did was hurt my stomach and give me migraines.

The way I dealt with pain is to hit it at the source. I also think you need a biologic. It will also help the other issues. Once you get the flares under control, start exercising and stretching. That really helped the muscle pain.

Right now, you need help. If you have 6 sons, get them involved in cleaning house. I made my 3 boys help, they learned how to clean, and their wives love me for it. There is no reason they can't help with the cleaning.

My oldest son did a list of all the household jobs - and everyone had to pick a job on Sat., and the whole house got cleaned. They also had to do a week each of dishes. You will be doing them a favor. You are sick, and they are healthy. In the long run, they will be better people, learning to care and help.

Thank you all so much I was just trying to get some ideas on some things I could mention to my doc.
Angela THANK YOU!! My boys are great and they do all the CLEANING and errands. They are 22, 19, 17, 10, 9 and 2. And I learned long ago that they were gonna have to pull their weight when I started getting sick. My hubby is an over the road truck driver and that takes him from home 5 days a week sometimes 6. My 2 year old has a bone disorder and a blood disorder that he has to have IV treatments twice a month for and I am learning to let my sisters and other family members help wit that because I usually have so little energy and the treatments take 7 hours:( Anyway enough about me and AGAIN THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH:)