IvanKatz

I've been off my pain medications for 3 months now and have noticed that my arthritis pain it not anywhere close to what it was.

To give you a better example, When I was using my pain meds (for serious physiological back issues), I noticed that every morning when I woke up, I had REALLY bad arthritis pain in my fingers. When I woke up every morning, I could not make a tight fist. As matter of fact, clenching my hands when I woke up was quite painful. Of course, when I took my meds that morning the pain went away. As the day would go by, my fingers would limber up but still did not be able to grab hold of something without the joints hurting. But every morning was the same thing... Joint pain in my fingers. I noticed that if I took more meds than I was supposed to the day before, I would have more joint pain in the mornings (primarily in my fingers but in my knees too).

So, my question to everyone out there (especially you older ones), has anyone noticed an increase in joint pain when you take pain meds?

I thought I read somewhere where opiates caused joint damage. I can't be 100% certain that is the case... Just wanted to ask my SR friends if they have encountered this.

BTW, Yes I'm 3 months off now! While I still have to deal with Chronic back pain... I've been able to manage it without having to use the narcotics I used to. I frequent the gym 5-6 days a week and eat much healthier. I've lost some weight too! Those things have helped my immensely! Understand this though, I can't say that I'll never use again... My back pain will dictate that. BUT, now that I'm 3 months out, I know that my addict brain is no longer in control of what I take.
YES I've taken some pain meds during my 3 month clean run. *BUT* I DO NOT take them every day as I once was. It's been a two weeks since I've had to take a pill and when I did, I took 3 pills over a 3 day stretch. I had to because I was unable to walk because the pain was so bad.
One thing that has helped me sooo much is I use the jacuzzi at the gym almost every day. A 20 minute soak works wonders for my pain!
If any of you suffer from chronic pain, I can assure you that soaking in a jacuzzi will work wonders for you. I still despise having to go to the gym but it has helped me tremendously. The one thing that keeps me going is the fact that I use the jacuzzi as my reward for working out for an hour. When I slip into the Jacuzzi... All my stress and pain simply vanishes for that 20 minutes. The hot temps wear me out and I'm exhausted when I leave the gym but as i said... It has paid off quite nicely. My wife has noticed that I've lost some weight and I look much healthier too. She has been much more receptive to me and has also stated that my drive to get healthier has made me more "attractive". That in itself is worth all the effort.

Anyway... I just wanted to ask all of you if anyone has notice a correlation between pain meds and joint pain.

Thanks guys! Love you all!