My 92 yo mom has among other things constant pain. Her MD and her peers have told her it pretty much comes with territory at her age.
Her pain doc says not to take ibuprofen, apparently not good for elderly but she can take two tylenol pills three times a day, whether she is pain or not
Her brother does this. My mom does not like to take meds unless she is hurting at the time. Others and her doc tell her just to take them three times a day to keep it in your system, and it will help pain in AM
Any insights on this? Could this help? From what I understand there is nothing to lose, staying within limits will not hurt you so why not try?
Ibuprofen is the same as Nurofen. It is a muscle relaxant with a different mode of pain killer than Acetaminophen. My doctor says that for 10% of people it irritates the stomach and intestine lining to some extent, and for half of those (ie 5% including me) it is a serious and dangerous irritation. After 3 days I am in real pain (including suppository based, which a locum doctor recommended and then my regular doctor had trouble keeping his temper). But it works well for most people, and would be my medication of choice for my back pain if I could tolerate it.
For most serious continuous pain (eg cancer pain), the medical recommendation is to keep a base level of medication in the system, so that when peaks come you need less extra to ‘scale the peak’. With nothing in the system, it can be hard to hit it effectively. For episodic pain, it can reduce the amount helpfully if you only take it when needed.
For greater pain, opioids are much much more effective than Acetaminophen. Codeine (NOT cocaine) is the mildest opioid with the least ‘drug high’ and the least addiction issues, developed for that purpose over 100 years ago. Codeine related deaths from overdoses are nearly always because it has been combined with Acetaminophen and it is the latter which is the overdose. It is now often difficult to obtain because other stronger opioids (Fentanyl and Oxycontin) have been badly misused and all opioids are now ‘on the nose’. I take codeine most days, usually non up to max 120mg. It can cause constipation in some people (not me).
I know this stuff really well, and I hope this helps. You can check it on the Web, but it’s difficult in the US because things are usually marketed by brand-name with advertisements that aren’t always realistic. Good luck!
I have to say that I wish I didn’t need to know so much about this!
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/pain-management-alternative-therapy
I and my husband have high thresholds of pain. Maybe your Mom doesn't.
The pain doctor said she COULD take an ibuprofen now and then when pain was particularly bad but not regularly.
(she does not drink alcohol, her friends and relatives have told her she probably should have a glass or two of wine each evening just to calm her anxiety :) )
I am sure you have all heard my tales of woe about her anxiety/etc . I think while her peers who tell her you have to live with pain at her age, she doesnt get that
But with your mom being 92, and on the down side of life anyway, perhaps the pros outweigh the cons in her case.
I'm like your mom, I hate taking any medications, and I have pain everyday and take nothing(I'm just 63 though). Instead I have learned to just keep on keeping on. I've never had luck with Tylenol or ibuprofen helping with any pain I've had, and wouldn't waste my time taking it, but I guess at your moms age if she's getting some relief from it, the pros may just outweigh the cons.
Let her decide what she wants to do.
BUT your mom is mentally ill and certainly will not listen to you or her doctors.
Accept that, and don't react to her complaints. It's sad. But it's her (bad) choice.