Rheumatoid Arthritis
Painkillers and rheumatoid arthritis
A variety of drugs are prescribed for people with rheumatoid arthritis and some of the first are likely to be analgesics (painkillers) together with anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the swelling and inflammation in the joints. Painkillers help to relieve the pain but do not affect its cause, so other types of drug are prescribed as well. Many different types and strengths of painkillers exist; some need a prescription whilst others can be bought over the counter from a pharmacy.
Participants often found that particular ones worked better than others for them. People reported taking painkillers at different times of the day. This depended on their pain levels so they took them either at regular intervals through the day, just once a day, or as and when they felt they needed them, perhaps occasionally during a flare up.
One woman's pain was so bad that she would count the hours between doses. Other people took them first thing in the morning to help get over their early morning stiffness. Two people said that if they knew they were going to do something strenuous at work or were going to be on their feet all day they would take painkillers beforehand to counteract the pain before it started.
Describes intense pain - counted the hours between taking the pain killers.
Describes intense pain - counted the hours between taking the pain killers.
Has learnt to take painkillers before doing something strenuous to counteract the pain before it...
Has learnt to take painkillers before doing something strenuous to counteract the pain before it...
But do you then feel the affects sort of the next day or?
Not normally no, no. It's the painkillers normally sort of, if I know that I'm gonna do that, I sort of perhaps take them perhaps for a day if I know I've got something really sort of straining to do. But I don't really feel anything else after that. The painkillers wear off and you're fine. But you know if you don't take them, you are gonna seem to suffer. Obviously with the strain of whatever else really.
I also sort of have now got to that stage where I know what's going to aggravate it as well. So I'm able to take precautions that way so I'm going to do something that's to me is aggressive to the joints I can take a few more painkillers or something like that and get myself sort of dosed up and I'm able to sort of cope with sort of most situations quite sensibly and helpful to myself sort of thing. And so that's, that's some benefit at least. At least I do understand, understand it a lot more sort of thing. I mean obviously than you did in the, the first case.
Some people needed painkillers to ease the pain to help them get to sleep at night. One woman tried to do without them but sometimes needed them if the pain was bad. Another said that although she did take them to help her sleep, they didn't last the whole night so she would wake up in the early hours in pain.
Avoids taking painkillers if possible but needs them sometimes to help her sleep.
Avoids taking painkillers if possible but needs them sometimes to help her sleep.
So it's generally at night that you take them?
Yeah, yeah 'cos in the morning, I get up and a couple of hours, it'll take for me to get back on, you know, on track as I call it [laugh]. And then I'm all right till maybe the evening.
Many people regulated the dose of painkillers they took themselves and they would consult their GP only if they felt they needed stronger ones to control the level of pain. One man described taking them when required but also how he had found other ways to cope with the pain.
Uses painkillers together with exercise and distraction to overcome pain. Has come to terms with...
Uses painkillers together with exercise and distraction to overcome pain. Has come to terms with...
And do you find you have to take many of those?
It varies, it's up to six, six a day sometimes if it's bad, but obviously when you're not working like right, I always tend to, well I've tended to find now I can, I can manage it a lot better I can do things, exercise certain things, I've got exercise sheets where I can try and sort of exercise the pain out of it more than, than take pills and things like that, so I've done that more sort like, like swimming as well like right, which is pretty good a couple of times a week.
Use me mind a bit more like getting out of it, getting round it that way basically as opposed to just swallowing tablets all the time, but when it does get bad like right, out come the tablets and away they go like and they are pretty good yeah.
And how do you feel about taking them long term?
A lot better now than what I did do, I had a real problem with tablets years ago, I didn't think, you know, like I said like a person who'd never taken in their life, I thought 'God I'm taking all these pills' and what have you and I have a cupboard, well a box full of pills and there was pills for this that and the other and you know it was a bit of an eye opener and it was a bit frightening really. But as of late, sort of the last year I've come to terms with it a lot better, and as the illness has sort of, as I say the last few months sort of died down a bit, I'm taking less tablets so it's working quite well. I don't feel bad about it at all really.
Several people described avoiding taking too many tablets and how they had tried to reduce the dose they took and this was because they didn't want to become dependent on them or because they were unsure if they really needed them. One woman didn't like taking co-proxamol but felt she was addicted to it.
Tries to go without painkillers to test if she needs them for a particular activity but takes...
Tries to go without painkillers to test if she needs them for a particular activity but takes...
Yeah I think I know what you mean, yeah.
Kind of you don't know whether you need them unless you don't take them sometimes, you know, 'cos they're the extra, they're the extra ones on top of the, the Diclofenac that I take so I kind of I shouldn't be taking them every day anyway so. I just take them when I need them [laughs].
Although people tried to keep the amount of painkillers to a minimum and take them as and when needed, one participant talked about an education course she had been on and learnt from a nurse that, if required, it is probably better to take them more regularly. Another woman described how she didn't drink alcohol whilst taking some painkillers.
One woman accidentally took too many painkillers whilst on holiday.
Although many people had no side effects from painkillers, some did. They included 'fuzzy head', hallucinations, skin rash (aspirin), sickness, and sweating.
Last reviewed August 2016.
Copyright © 2024 University of Oxford. All rights reserved.