Am I the only one allergic to narcotic pain meds?

jbara

Regular Member

Joined : Jan 2006

Posts : 84

Posted 2/10/2006 7:29 AM (GMT -7)

As far as I know, I am allergic to all narcotic pain medications. I am about to have a major operation, and my worst fear is that I won't be able to manage the pain afterwards with just OTC pain meds. Has anyone else been faced with a similar dilemna?

Red_34

Forum Moderator

Joined : Apr 2004

Posts : 23570

Posted 2/10/2006 10:01 AM (GMT -7)

What narcotic pain relievers have you tried and found you were allergic to? I personally can't have codeine like in Tylonel #3 because it gives me severe migraines and I can't have any anti-inflammatories because of my chronic illness so I am somewhat in the same boat. A few years ago I had my tonsils and adnoids removed and because I couldn't swallow, they gave me a liquid form of a narcotic pain reliever. I honestly can't remember what it was because I was in a drug induced fog for 2 weeks to deal with the pain but I do remember that it was yellow and it helped me a lot with no ill side effects. But like you, I have to be choosy on which pain meds I use. The only other pain reliever I can take is Darvacet, have you tried this one yet?

~Sherry~
_{Ulcerative Colitis since 1992
^{Meds: Colazal & VSL#3}
^{Secondary Raynauld's Syndrome since 2004}}^{Meds: Niacin when needed
_{Donate today to helps others like yourself!
https://www.healingwell.com/donate}}

jbara

Regular Member

Joined : Jan 2006

Posts : 84

Posted 2/10/2006 11:53 AM (GMT -7)

Hi Sherry... thanks for the response. I think I've tried most everything, i.e., Percocet, Percodan, Vicodin, Phentenyl, Darvocet, Tylenol #3, you name it. I can take any of these drugs if I'm in the hospital because at the same time they can give me Benedryl intraveneously to take care of the itching, hives and nausea. Oral Benedryl isn't sufficient, so once I'm home I'm outa luck. Sherry, I noticed that you were diagnosed with Reynaud's Syndrome. So was I, just a few months ago. What are your symptoms, and do you do anything for it? I have these really funky electric boots that I wear all the time when I'm at home (if I'm just sitting down that is) and I use toe warmers in my shoes when I go out. I have UC too... proctitis actually. I take Canasa for my flare-ups (about every 6 weeks or so).

Post Edited (jbara) : 2/10/2006 11:57:09 AM (GMT-7)

Red_34

Forum Moderator

Joined : Apr 2004

Posts : 23570

Posted 2/10/2006 12:23 PM (GMT -7)

My symptoms for the Raynauds are considered mild/moderate and I only take Niacin (flush free) when I need to. I haven't had to go to the prescriptions (yet). My fingers get red first then lose color and become numb. I have absolutely no feeling in the tips when they get numb. And when I warm them back up, I get that horrible pins and needles feeling. Also if I stick them in cold water, ohhhhhh does that hurt! When I get things out of the freezer, I use a towel or I have one of my kids get it for me. My toes aren't as severe. They get cold easily and turn purple on me but very rarely do I lose feeling in them yet. I think those warmers are a Raynauds sufferers best friend! :) Your Uc may have brought on your Raynauds since it's linked to many auto-immune diseases.

I'm just curious, do they make a prescription strength oral antihistimine like Benedryl? Seems to me that if they can have one in the hospital IV then they could have one to send home with you after your surgery.

~Sherry~
_{Ulcerative Colitis since 1992
^{Meds: Colazal & VSL#3}
^{Secondary Raynauld's Syndrome since 2004}}^{Meds: Niacin when needed
_{Donate today to helps others like yourself!
https://www.healingwell.com/donate}}

jbara

Regular Member

Joined : Jan 2006

Posts : 84

Posted 2/10/2006 12:41 PM (GMT -7)

Sherry, I don't know if they make a Rx strength Benedryl or not, but I think it woudl be worth looking into. Thanks for the suggestion. Yea, I kind of wondered the same thing about the Reynaud's and UC... I've also developed joint pain that feels like arthritis in my hands and feet, although I had hoped it would go away once I cleared up my most recent UC flare... it didn't. Can you relate?

Red_34

Forum Moderator

Joined : Apr 2004

Posts : 23570

Posted 2/10/2006 5:10 PM (GMT -7)

I get horrid joint pains when I flare and when my flare is over it tends to be more milder. It seems though that when I am flaring that my Reynauds get worse and I can never get warm enough. You should pop in over at the Uc forum if you haven't already done so. Many of us over there suffer from joint pains and they could give you some suggestions on how to cope with it.

[color=blue]~Sherry~[/color]
[color=blue]^{Ulcerative Colitis since 1992}
^{Meds: Colazal & VSL#3}
^{Secondary Raynauld's Syndrome since 2004}
^{Meds: Niacin when needed}
^{Donate today to helps others like yourself!}
^{https://www.healingwell.com/donate}[/color]

jbara

Regular Member

Joined : Jan 2006

Posts : 84

Posted 2/10/2006 5:41 PM (GMT -7)

Thanks Sherry... I've actually been to the UC forum, but haven't looked specifically into the joint pain issue. I'll do that.

ann4450

New Member

Joined : Mar 2006

Posts : 2

Posted 3/18/2006 1:46 AM (GMT -7)

I am also facing surgery and am worried about pain meds as I am allergic to most everything!! The dr. told me that they would have a Pain Dr. (specialist) see me before the operation and they would be able to give me something....

The only thing I can take is morphine...I don't break out in a rash, or itch, but it makes me feel terrible....It is quite hard to be allergic to everything!!

jbara

Regular Member

Joined : Jan 2006

Posts : 84

Posted 3/20/2006 10:05 AM (GMT -7)

Hi Ann... welcome to Healing Well. I'm sorry to hear that you're in the same predicament as me. about 12 years ago, I was on a morphine pump after a knee surgery, and like you, I didn't itch or anything but felt horrible... I couldn't wait to get off that stuff.

A friend of mine who is a PA and works for a surgeon writes a lot of prescriptions for pain. He told me that he prescribes a drug called Atarax to counteract allergic reactions to pain meds... you might mention it to your pain doc, although he will hopefully know already what the solution to your problem is. When is your surgery scheduled for? If I don't hear back from you, good luck with your surgery... I hope all goes well and you are able to 'comfortably' control your pain.

Jamie

IBS sufferer... too many years to count

Degenerative Disc Disease L4-S1... 10 years

Ulcerative Colitis... 6/03 - present (flares every 6-7 wks)

GERD... 7/04 - present

Dyspepsia... 9/04 - present

Reynaud's Syndrome... 11/05

Medications... Canasa, ~~Nexium~~, Zelnorm, Maalox, Zantac

Zots

Veteran Member

Joined : Jun 2005

Posts : 1635

Posted 4/10/2006 12:25 PM (GMT -7)

hi ann

i was in the same boat as you. i finally went to the mayo clinic who did dna testing and found that i am cyp450 deficient. cyp450 are the genomes in the liver, small intestine and kidneys that are responsible for metabolizing medication. i am deficient in all. this means that my liver does not metabolize medication so in essence, i over dose on very minute amounts of medication. so what the drs were mistaking as allergic reactions were actually over dose symptoms. you might want to discuss this with your drs. i went for 12 years getting progressively worse. i ended up not being able to take any pain meds whatsoever and no antibiotics, antihistamines, antihypertensives, etc. now, i have to take these things in very very minute amounts and they work ok. basically, if a normal person would take 500mg of say amoxicillin, i would take 25 mg and get the same affect from it. so my body only needs a very small amount to do the same that a large amount in a normal person would do. very rare but you might check it out.

ann4450 said...
I am also facing surgery and am worried about pain meds as I am allergic to most everything!! The dr. told me that they would have a Pain Dr. (specialist) see me before the operation and they would be able to give me something....

The only thing I can take is morphine...I don't break out in a rash, or itch, but it makes me feel terrible....It is quite hard to be allergic to everything!!

What a mighty God we serve! :)

UCTD; Hashimoto's; Fibromyalgia; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; PSVT; Atrial Fibrilation; Liver Dysfunction

chrisv

New Member

Joined : Nov 2006

Posts : 2

Posted 11/10/2006 5:13 PM (GMT -7)

I have been searching the internet all day looking for someone who was somewhat in the same boat as me. I thought I was the only one on this planet with this problem. I can not take "ANY" RX pain meds. I've tried Tylenol 3, Lortabs, Percocet, Morphine, etc., etc., etc. I have SEVERE inflammation around my rib cage and my heart feels like it's going to literally explode. Basically, I'm having symptoms of a heart attack so they always hook me up to heart monitors, etc. I was told that it's an allergic reaction. I thought it was strange to be "just having an allergic reaction" to ALL pain meds. Thanks to Zots, I'm going to see if I can get a doctor to listen. I go to military docs, though, so they have certain protocols they go by so I don't know if it's going to do any good. It'd be great to find out why I can't use pain meds.

I had an emergency csection 3 months ago. Over the weekend, I had severe lower ab pain (around the csection scar). On Tues. morning, I couldn't take the pain any more and also felt a "knot" of sorts around the scar. I went to he ER for 7 hours where they finally did a U/S. They found "fluid" and thought it was an abscess. They brought in an OBGYN who said it's not possible without fever, etc. The ER sent me home with pain meds (which I had a severe reaction to and couldn't take----chest/rib pain). On Thurs., I went to my PCM who did a CT scan (which was recommeded by the radiologist initially come to find out). They've found that I have a hemorrhage in a muscle (not an abscess). I'm to contact the surgical clinic on Monday to get an appt. for a Biopsy. I don' t know why they're needing a biopsy, though. But, I'm scared to death that I'll have to have surgery and can't control the pain because I can't take "anything" at all. Does anyone have any suggestions for pain meds/management????

Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Red_34

Forum Moderator

Joined : Apr 2004

Posts : 23570

Posted 11/10/2006 6:49 PM (GMT -7)

Hi Chris, welcome to Healingwell. I'm so sorry to hear that you're going thru a rough time. It does make it tough when you can't have pain relievers especially when you need them. I don't have many suggestions other then possibly Bio-feedback? I'm not quite sure of the mechanics behind this so I recommend you google it, but I believe (don't quote me on this) that it retrains your body/mind connection to preceive pain in a different way by altering different things such as the way you hold your body or move a muscle. I don't know if this kind of thing would help with surgery type pain. I also recommend you ask this question on our Chronic Pain Forum, they might be able to offer you more advice on how to control pain. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

^{@--->--Sherry--<---@}

^{Uc(Left-sided) since 1992 - Colazal, 6MP, Hydrocortisone enemas, Biotin, Forvia}

^{Secondary Raynauds Syndrome since 2004 -Meds - Norvasc...}^{Fibromyalgia since 2006}

^{Co-mod for Ulcerative Colitis.....}^{Moderator for Allergies/Asthma}

^{Help others such as yourself by donating to Healingwell, every penny counts!}

https://www.healingwell.com/donate

chrisv

New Member

Joined : Nov 2006

Posts : 2

Posted 11/13/2006 1:02 PM (GMT -7)

Thank you, Sherry. I will look into the Chronic Pain Forum. I couldn't stand the pain any longer so I went to the ER this morning. They took me to the Surgical Clinic and the surgeon saw me and did a second U/S. It "appears" that my hemorrhage inside the abdominal muscle is from my c-section scar attaching itself to the large ab muscle and it literally ripped it. I can't lift anything (including my baby) for at least 2 weeks to see if it will heal itself or else surgery will be required. I gave my surgeon my RX pain meds this morning to dispose of so they know that I only tried one dosage of it and had a severe reaction to them all. But, he didn't want to do surgery just yet since I can't take pain meds after surgery for the inevitable post-op pain. But, thank you for your insight and I will be looking into the Chronic Pain forum.

This is a very helpful and infomative website and I'm grateful for those who are willing to share their thoughts and experiences.

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