Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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Question about drugs

didyann
didyann
For the last three days my legs and hands felt like swollen balloons. I finally broke down and took a half of a flexeril and a ultram. I worked but I'm afraid that they might be addictive. Please let me know so that I can take precaution. I wish my Rummy would just put me back on naproxin.
deleted_user
deleted_user
These medications can theoretically be addictive, but generally this happens to people who abuse them. If you're taking them as prescribed, you should be fine. And the doses you took are very small and it doesn't sound like you're taking them on a regular basis, so it doesn't sound like you need to worry about becoming addicted. Why did your doctor take you off of the naproxen? Was it not working well, or was it causing unpleasant side effects? Maybe at your next appointment you could discuss getting the naproxen again if that worked for you, either to replace one of the other medications or in addition to. I am on both painkillers and an NSAID, and I know lots of others are as well.
didyann
didyann
she took me off naproxen and mtx because my hands broke out in hives then the skin pealed off. It was horrible. Not sure which one caused it .
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi Didyann,
I agree with Quee, there's really little chance of addiction unless you start taking your drugs more frequently or in higher doses than your doctor prescribes (or if you've had trouble with addiction in the past).

The three meds you mention here are all completely different. Flexeril is a muscle relaxant. Ultram is a mild synthetic opiate (same family as Vicodin or morphine, but for milder pain). People can abuse either of them, but if you don't abuse them you won't become addicted. Naproxen is an NSAID. NSAIDS work by relieving inflammation, thereby lessening pain. There's no risk of addiction, but they can cause other problems, most notably ulcers in the stomach (I have one and am not allowed to take any NSAIDS. Have you talked to your doctor about trying a different NSAID? I don't think addiction should be your main concern, but a lot of people like NSAIDS because they actually help stop inflammation instead of just masking pain. If your pain gets to be severe, like it does for many of us, you might need to have all these drugs in your arsenal.