My dd is having severe knee/joint pain and is going to the Dr later this week. She needs to have a corrective surgery done, but our current ins wont cover it. She needs pain meds she can take, but still work, go to school and take care of her 2 year old. I would rather she not have Loritab. Any recommendations?

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

Well, I had knee surgery 8 1/2 weeks ago (UGH!) and I'm on Darvocet right now. It's the only thing I've found that I can take and 1) Still function 2) Still drive 3) Still have a semi-normal conversation 4) Not get nauseous

The one thing I have noticed is that normally, I'm a really good speller and I'm having to stop and think about how to spell simple things. On the bright side, I'm down to one pain pill a day (and sometimes, not even that).

Good luck to your dd. I feel for her

It depends on what works best for her. She may need some steroids to bring down any swelling/inflammation or irritation. She may benefit from non-steroid anti-inflammatories. Depending on what is going on a muscle relaxant could be beneficial. A specific type of brace could be helpful.
If it's nerve pain, Lyrica can be helpful.
It really is a matter of what works for her. She also needs to think about if she's getting restorative sleep. Not resting/sleeping well can increase pain complaints, plus being tired also makes it harder to cope w/ pain.

I can take Percocet, Lortab,etc. and can continue to function. However, if I take Demerol combined w/ pheneragan--I'm out like a light. Codeine is of little to no benefit to me. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain--and pain meds.

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Well, my mom swears by Aloe juice. You can buy it in a large container at Walmart for about $8.00. It truly does help heal and give the joints in the body more lubricant. We are not sure what it does but i used to have knee pain from being too rough when I was a kid. I drank it for about two weeks and noticed that my knee quit hurting. My knee still doesn't hurt anymore. Also... mix it with some juice because it is very bland. I know other people who swear by it. My postmaster who has a friend used to walk with a cane, he started drinking it and now he can walk up a flight of stairs and no more cane. I would try it... it's worth the 8 bucks!

I swear by Tramadol now and I also take Lyrica for my pain from Fibromyalgia. I used to be on some pretty heavy stuff and I would get really sick on it and I begged my Rheumatologist for something that was not sedating, but that would work on my breakthrough pain and its Tramadol I can go to work and function, drive, crochet, and think straight on the stuff without getting very ill, and doped up beyond belief. Its been a lifesaver my 2009 resolution so to speak and its the best thing in my opinion I have ever taken.

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I have trouble with a few of my joints, and steroids work better than anything else. I usually just get the 5 day pack of medrol when I'm really hurting, the rest of the time I rely on nsaids.

I have a script for tramadol and soma.

Soma is a muscle relaxer. I would not recommend taking it at work though. I rarely take them and when I do it's usually before bed.

Tramadol is a non-narcotic pain reliever. It works for some people, others say it does nothing. It works ok for me, not great. I usually avoid hydro or oxycodone unless it's for a short-term problem.

Occasionally I take demerol for a bad migraine (maybe 6-8 times a year) Not a good choice for work.

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I will eventually need knee replacement surgery, I also have a herniated disc in my lower back. I take steroid injections in certain spots in my spine, usually about 5-6 injections every 6 months, helps make it so I can function normally with minimal pain. However one of the "side effects" of the steroids is I have NO knee pain. I was taking Lyrica at one point, which was ok but I had alot of fluid retention with it, so they changed it to Topamax which is what I am taking now. I still have back pain, but no knee pain.

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Is the Aloe Juice in the juice section, can or bottle and how much do you drink a day?

The aloe juice is in the vitamin section of walmart. they also sell it as a berrry flavor but it is more expensive. Just purchase the big bottle that is bland and add your own juice. I hope you try it, it really does work!

I have arthritis in the knees and have been taking Tramadol for a few years. It is strange in that it seems to work for my knees, but I can still feel pain in other joints such as fingers and shoulder. I did have to go up from one to two over the years, as I think after a few years you get used to that dose and it doesn't work as good. I don't take every 4 hours though, my pain is worse at night and I take two after about 3 oclock and that works till the same time the next day. I ask the doc if it was ok like that and he said yes. I hate to take pills, but that is the only thing that worked for me so far and I tried everything imaginable. I didn't take the aloe and think I will give that a shot.

Thanks you, I woulda probably woulda never thought to look in the vitamin section

Well, I made the 100 mile trek thru Wal Mart today and found it. I tasted it plain before I added in some juice, it is not a strong taste, but it certainly isn't good plain. I am gonna give it an honest try tho, Thanks for letting us know about it.

Not for after surgery pain, but for arthritis, some people swear by certo pectin in a little grape juice, but that never helped me. I have a neighbor who uses that for years. Others swear by glucosamine/chondroitin, but I break out in hives from that.

I was also going to ask about glucosamine chondrotin......haven't tried it myself, and of course it isn't a pain reliever, but may be worth a thought...

cj/

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Thank you for all the replies! We have an appt with our GP, who knows my dd's history on Tues. We have done the Glucosamin/Chondroitin and it helped, but I think this is something more.......will update when we see the doc.

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