Only pill I can take that doesn't make me feel crazy, Etodolac. Love it love it ....love it!
Takes pain away and it's time released, and it's not a narcotic, so you feel normal. I really need it when I wake up, my hand hurts, and I'm sore and stiff, takes 10 minutes and Im good all day.

Lin

Trish,
I feel like all I do is work on pain control. I take Tramadol three times a day. I use hand splints 2 hrs daily to help with swelling and pain. I wear gloves at night to help with warmth and swelling as well. The rheumy has my on Vicodin four times a day and Oxycodone PRN. I am more severe then some right now. I had emergency surgery in July and it has sent me into a very bad flare. My rheumy has tried all this since then. We tried Lidocaine Gel for my hand pain and Voltaren Gel for my hip pain. Both have worked GREAT. I would recommend both. Lidocaine patches work great on my legs at night to help the pain so I can sleep. Hope some of these options help. When my hands hurt in the morning---I will try to pet my dog to get my fingers slowly moving and help decrease the pain. When my dog doesn't want to cooperate, I use a "stress" ball instead. Good luck.
Jeanne

Jeanne is Tramadol a prescription? Funny thong my husband made me a splint from a paint stir stick; I sleep in it so I don't wake up with my middle or ring finger locked into a closed position; painful!

Tramadol is a prescription. It is also known as Tramadol. If there is a CVS pharmacy near you, they have a finger spling that might work for your finger too. Good luck.

Trish if I could think clearly..........Tramadol is also known as Ultram.

I take Tramadol and that seems to hold me. I did see a pain management doctor who prescribed Nucenta. That is very strong and works when the Tramadol does not. When I am at work or going to work I take Motrin and grit my teeth until the day is over.

i take meloxicam twice a day (7.5mg each dose - it makes me nauseous if i take it all at once, so i have to split it up), oxycontin 15mg twice a day, and i have fentanyl patches that i change every 3 days. i also have vicodin for breakthrough pain, but i'm not really supposed to use that much, since i have all of the other stuff - so the vicodin is an extreme emergency med. yup, i've got a lot of pain meds.

I take Tramadol and have hydrocodone (both 5mg and 7.5mg) to use if I need something stronger. The key for me is to not chase the pain....I really need to stay on top of it.

I tried Etodolac, made me horribly sick. I take 50mg 1-2 pills as needed every 4-6 hours. I need it maybe 2-3 days out of the week. It makes me feel spacey and I don't think clearly, so I can't drive. But it helps with the pain, so I can deal with it.

Okay, what I intended to say was I take Tramadol (Ultram) 50 mg. I do also have some oxycontin, but I've only needed it once or twice in the last year.

Meloxicam didn't work for me and I am afraid to start using anything stronger. Nothing over the counter touches my pain, except for headache pain. :(

I have Flexeril and Celebrex to use daily.
I have a few tramadol and a few Percocet left over from early last year. My first rheumy was good with pain meds, but not so hot on other stuff. I felt like I saw more of her interns than her.
My second rheumy was very complacent and when I went for a follow up after my rib pain started (ended up in the ER) the only thing she would continue is Flexeril. Trying to get even Tramadol out of her was like pulling teeth.
Now on my third rheumy and I like her, but she too is stingy with pain meds.
Apparently where I live there is a huge prescription abuse population, so bad that the FBI created a central task force. It seems to me that the doctors are even more hesitant to write pain med Rxs now.
I am at a 7/10 right now and I have already taken Celebrex, Flexeril and Tramadol, three hours ago.
I've been through Chronic Pain rehab and am fully aware that I need to stay ahead of the pain, but what am I suppose to do when I know it could get worse and I am almost out.
I am so frustrated.