Anyone on dihydrocodeine for chronic non-cancer pain?

Question

This is a personal question, so don't take offense and skip to another question? What kind of pain are you taking it for and how many mg? I have severe fibro and are taking 90mg 3x daily. I know, it is alot, but nothing else works.

Dihydrocodeine is twice as strong as codeine. The DF 118 tablet is an opiod and does not contain tylenol.

Have you been using it for a while and did you have any complications?

Answer 1

I have Fibromyalgia and certainly understand the pain you are going through. I take mild pain relievers because I used to use the heavier drugs and after a while they didn't work for me anymore. What has made a difference for me is getting massage therapy on a regular basis. That relieves the pain for me better than any pill.

here's what I recommend for Treatment of Fibromyalgia:
Change in diet and nutrition
Supplements geared toward Fibromyalagia
Exercise: Gentle stretching such as warm water stretches and light aerobic activity, if possible.
Physical Therapy under the guidance of a Chiropractor or Naturopathic
Massage Therapy
Avoidance of activities that over stress the body (Consider keeping a journal)
Regulate sleep patterns
Avoiding emotional stress

Nutrition is very important with this condition as with any serious physical condition. Avoid caffeine products, sugar, processed foods and fried foods. Low blood sugar (Hypoglycemia) is often a factor in causing the person with Fibromyalgia to feel fatigued. That is why a good nutrition program is very important, eating frequent small meals with some protein is very important in keeping the blood levels even.

Whole grains, seeds, nuts, yogurt, chicken, Turkey, organic beef, eggs, natural cheese and cottage cheese should form the base of your diet. Accompanied by Appropriate vegetables and a minimum amount of fruit.

A good quality multi-vitamin is absolutely essential with this condition. It's important to replace what the body loses daily. If a person takes no other supplement but a multi-vitamin they're helping to support their body daily.

There's no definite cure for Fibromyalagia but there are certainly many alternative methods that can help you improve the quality of your life. Physical therapy that is performed at home is very important for Fibromyalgia. Warm water stretches performed at least three times weekly can be of tremendous help keeping the joints and muscles flexible. A Jacuzzi or hot tub is without a doubt one of the best treatments you can do at home, not only does it improve circulation you can also perform warm water stretches in it. If you have access to one and can use this daily you would see a tremendous change in the body. Using a moist heating pad on areas of pain for 20 minutes can ease the pain.

If you have any further questions please let me know.

Billie77

Answer 2

I have never heard of it. Is it anything like Dilaudid ( hydromorphone)
I heard that is what they put people on when nothing else works.
Also does dihydrocodeine have acetametiphine ( tylenol ) in it? If so you will really need to watch how many mg's of that you are taking a day. You should not take any more than 4000 mg of tylenol daily in order for it to be in a safe range for your liver and kidneys.

If your added question about complications from the medication was geared towards me....I am not on Hydromorphone, I have chronic back pain and I was on hydrocodone ( vicodin an Opide ) 10/375mg for over 2 years. I ended up getting addicted to them, In order to prevent going through withdrawls I am now on Suboxone ( a drug used to help opiate addicts come clean ).....I got on vicodin for a legit reason and I ended up getting addicted, buying them off the streets, taking more than I was supposed to because the amount they started me on no longer worked. I am a normal everyday person, wife, mother, and I had never been addicted to anything in my life until those pills came along. That was the worse time in my life, Those pills destroyed me. Yes I was doing hydromorphone ( dilaudid ) for a while because that was all I could find on the street, I was buying them from a cancer patient who basically got all the pills he wanted and he told me that they put him on everything they could think of and the dilaudid was the strongest thing that they had him on.
So I guess the main "side effect" that I had from taking them was addiction and now I am paying the price for it. I have been on suboxone for about 4 months now, I have another 2 months to go and my doctor is going to start weaning me from those. I can't wait to be completely pill free.
If you can avoid taking opiates please do. They are highly addictive and have taken many "normal" lives away.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with fibro about 15 years ago, the more pain meds you take, the more you will need. I also found the the more a laid around the worse I felt. They had me on 6 drugs, and I think i felt worse with all the drugs, I only take the night time sleep drug and aleve 4- 2x a day when needed. When you feel really bad, just go with the flow, rest, but I'm telling you, that all that pain medication is only masking your pain and not fixing it.