I'm having a EUS the 25th Input Would be appreciated

Wow, didn’t realize that they were so addictive. I took the 50mg, just one. It worked really well, got my energy back, took care of the pain and was able to go to sleep in the evening without tossing and turning. I felt “normal”. Usually I’m ready to fall asleep by 4 in the afternoon, so I was happy that I was able to finish the day up with my kids and not be in such a crappy mood. Thanks for the warning though. I’ll use with caution.

Tramadol is chemically similar to morphine. It can be habit forming, especially if you have an addictive personality. It does work very well for some, but for me, it made me sleepy. If it works for you, go with it. Anything to make our lives more tolerable. I happen to tolerate Vicodin ES very well so this is what I stick with. Pain relief without the side effects.

Good luck

Teresa

Hi Sossa,

I use tramadol 2 tabs up to 4 times a day, but normally have to hit the break through pain meds so i take 2 when i get up and 2 at evening, it only does okay for me, but my cp has progressed alot, i am working on years of this bad disease and i only have 20% of my pancreas left and now diabetic from the removal of 80%, so i pretty much have ALOT of pain everyday, but my dr. like yours is not concerned because the pain has to have control.

I do not have addicting personality either and if i do not have extreme pain i use nothing so i guess it just all depends, but yes for me it does an okay job to get me going in the mornings.

Hugh, I agree with you. It’s great to have the pain killers when the pain is unmanageable and there’s no way around it. But I’m for doing all I can to avoid them.

Not only are they potentially addictive, I understand that over time the narcotics become less effective, and you have to go to stronger and riskier medicines.

If I’m going to have a positive attitude and expect to have a lot of decent years left, I want to match up my pain killer strategy with that expectation. If I can avoid the worst of the pain with a low fat diet and truckloads of enzymes, as I’m fortunate enough to be able to do now most of the time, then I’m doing myself a favor in the long run, saving the pain pills for later when the pancreas is further along.

My doctor recently told me that when we use the narcotic pain killers over time, our natural level of pain tolerance, whatever that is for each person, goes down. Obviously there comes a point when we have to have the pain killers, and thank goodness they’re there. But I tell myself everyday that I’m able to use other ways to avoid them, I’m keeping my pain tolerance as strong as I can.

By the way, my doctor told me about antioxidant supplements for pancreatitis. I googled that, and there are reports that these supplements can significantly reduce pain for some people. I’ve always taken a lot of vitamins. I’m going to find out if I need to be taking more of some of these. Has anyone here tried this?

I agree it is tough to give up the favorite fatty foods. Just a couple of cashews becomes a handful and then oh no. But I keep thinking about the life I still want to live. I think about that lot, and that does help me eat that salad without dressing and so forth. I have my shelf of food I can eat in the cabinet and the fridge, so I automatically don’t go to the foods the rest of the house can eat. Getting in the habit of automatically rooting around in my personal stash, and not having to go around stuff that hurts me, is another thing that helps. Mostly, I just hate to hurt. Most days, the threat of pain makes me put down the nuts before I shoot myself in the gut with them!

RKG

I like the idea of having a stash just for you. I have a small stash, since most things hurt me now. As far as the ensure goes, I need it. There was a time when I wouldn’t have touched it. But I do now. It helps keep the weight up and gives me nutrition that I am having a bad time getting now. If you drink it really cold it isn’t too bad. I also use carnation instant breakfast with vanilla flavor soy milk or powdered non-fat milk. (You can make hot chocolate out of it - nummy) And I juice and put in a powder that is full of good stuff. Chocolate has caffeine, so I probably shouldn’t drink it, but it doesn’t seem to bother me. Anyway, the beat goes on and so do we, by the Grace of God.

Keep the Faith and God Bless,
Vonnie

Great answer teresa!

I am with you, use whatever works to keep this beastly pain down, i would spose at some point all of us suffering with cp may be addicted to our pain meds, but on the flip, we will never be out of this pain at this point in our lives, so go for it and be comfortable as when this pain is out of control it feels deadly. hope everyone is relatively pain free! i use to try everything and not take my pain meds, not a pretty person !!!