General Chat

Mine are not so high Sylvia because I am not so high!

I am pleased I bought them because they are very comfortable for my height so suit me fine.

Joy ................

We have a pair of barrel/tub chairs, they were among the first items we bought when we came here in 1968! They weren't very expensive but they were very well-made, and have since been re-covered.

One is my computer chair, and the other is "my" chair in the living room.

Nice and high, easy to get out of, and arms to help if I need it.

Sylvia, I agree with you about the tub/barrel chair. I bought two when I recovered from my twisted sciatic nerve and I find them much better for the posture than a soft armchair. (I have been known to shift people from the chair in the lounge when they come for a chat. It's mine!)

So far, so good!

I hope your OH gets some relief soon Ann.

Ann ..................

I have 2 kinds of bags, one kind is filled with rice, the other with plant seeds.

The instructions for all of them are as follows ...............

fold in half
heat on medium for 30-50 seconds
Turn them so the inside is now the outside
Heat for another 30-50 seconds.

You can feel them for warmth at each stage, and add extra time in the microwave though more than 2 minutes per side is not recommended.

I do one of mine for 1 minute 40 seconds each side, the other is slightly larger and fuller and 1:50 each side is better. Both happened to be filled with seeds.

I have one of the filled microwave heat pads and it goes in the microwave for 1 minute, but you could try starting with 30 seconds and build up the time if it needs more - just so you don't overheat it.

I wasn't on co-codamol but did take dihydrocodeine (an opiate) for about 2 and a half years before my knees were replaced and then again for about 2 years before my hip replacement. They were very good painkillers and I had no problem stopping taking them after I had recovered from the operations.

Kath. x

Thanks Sylvia, it is lower spine. He does find it helps if I rub in deep heat ointment. We don’t have a hot water bottle or heat pads, might get one though. Do have one of the microwaveable ones but can’t remember how long it had to be in the oven for.

Ann .................

As far as the eating goes, then, just make sure that he has more than A biscuit when taking the co-codomol. I've found that I need at least 3 medium to large biscuits (or cookies :-D ).

It may take a couple of days for the pain killers to build up sufficiently.

But there are a couple of non-medications he can try in addition to the co-codomol ...............

Where is the pain in his back? Lower back, middle, upper?

Can he manoeuvre to lie on his stomach?

Do you have a heat pad or hot water bottle?

I'm a long time sufferer with back pain in the lower and middle (lumbar) back, due to spinal deterioration.

I've discovered that a warm to very warm, NOT hot, heat pad or hot water bottle on the area of the pain is a wonderful relaxant of those screaming pains.

But, yes, it can mean a great deal of "manoeuvring" to get there.

Alternatively, I found a hard-ish upholstered, armed chair barrel or tub chair is great .............. the heat pad is held in place by the upholstered back, and the arms and back give great support. An easy or lounge chair is too soft and low.

I have at least 3 different sizes of the micro-waveable heat pads which I find wonderful. They are much easier to keep in place than a hot water bottle, but wrapping a bottle in a towel may help to keep it in place.

I've had one small electric heating pad but didn't like being "tied" ny the cord, and found it was not as efficient for me as the micro-waveable ones.

I've also found that standing under a hot shower with the water beating against my back can be a relief ......... unfortunately the modern shower heads don't give as strong a flow as the ones of 20 or 30 years ago, which is why I refuse to have a new water-saving head on "my" shower! ;-)

so far the cocodomol do not seem to be as effective stopping any of the pain (back or head) as the Nurofen. Maybe there has to be a build up, this is only the second day.

He has lost about 4/5 pounds in 7 weeks, although the first couple of weeks he was eating normally. He does have a biscuit every time I make a cup of tea or coffee, he did go off tea and coffee but has started drinking both again.

Ann, I think your OH is doing well as far as eating is concerned.

I lost over a stone when I twisted my sciatic nerve. I did not feel like eating at all and I suffered dreadful nausea each time I tried to move.

The advice I was given about exercise then was the same as I was given more than 30 years earlier when X-rays showed arthritis in my neck and I was unable to turn my head at all.

My, then, doctor told me to take the tablet and exercise my neck when the tablet kicks in so the pain is less severe. As soon as my neck was 'looser' (for want of a better word) I was instructed to stop taking the tablets but keep up the exercises. (No great deal for me as I have always been fairly active - probably the reason I stuck to stretch exercises which I have always done, before a dance class.)

My arthritis has spread but it is manageable now without any tablets as I still do stretching exercises regularly and I'd recommend them wherever possible.

Sylvia he is not actually refusing food, just doesn't fancy it but does eat a meal albeit about a third the quantity of normal. (he has always been a quite big eater). so yesterday he had eggs on toast for breakfast, a biscuit halfway through the morning. a banana for lunch, biscuit with a cup of tea at 4pm and a smallish portion of prawn and mushroom curry and rice for evening meal

He will still eat two weetabix for breakfast and sometimes a sandwich for lunch. Yes he would eat soup and he will eat toast. Part of the problem is, for as long as I have known him (64 years) he has had a tendency for something to catch in his throat occasionally when eating which 'goes the wrong way' and makes him cough. At the moment coughing is excrutiatingly painful on his back, almost unbearable. I think it is partly fear of that makes him not want to eat. Oh, a drink can cause that as well. I think it is his tonsils, he should have had them removed when young in my opinion.

codeine is of course an opiate .......... like heroin.

It IS addictive, which is why over here you are not allowed to have repeat prescriptions, and can only actually be prescribed a certain number each time.

You have to see a doctor every time you need a new prescription, and are questioned very carefully about how you are taking them, when and why.

The best a doctor can do if he or she thinks that you are handling the dosage well is to write a prescription, for example, for 180 tablets with 90 to be handed out now and 90 when required.

The prescription is also duplicated (at one time there were 2 carbon copies, with the copy/ies sent to different authorities.

In one sense, the paracetamol is nothing compared with the codeine ................. all you have to do with the paracetamol is to remember to keep your daily total dosage intake to less than 4000 mg or you face liver damage.

Do not try to commit suicide by taking an overdose of paracetamol ............... if they manage to save you, then you will b eleft with permanent liver damage.

I have a niece who tried that about 15 or so years ago. I think she has managed to get about 30-40% of her liver function back.

Lesser dosages of paracetamol can damage the stomach lining leading to ulcer(s) if taken without food, although the usual sign is nausea. That's why food must be taken before you take the dose.


Ann ........ what about soup? Will your OH take tomato soup, chicken noodle, any kind, with some crackers or bread? Toast and jam/marmalade, cheese and crackers, cereal, porridge??

I couldn't stand the pain day and night so had no choice Ann

Gosh you were lucky LG as that was a long time to be on it.

I was on codeine phophate high dosage for 8 years until both my knees were replaced I had no trouble stopping taking them,one of the lucky ones

Thanks all.
Vera it is 30/500

Ann, several years ago when I twisted my sciatic nerve, after about four weeks and after a couple of other types of tablet that weren't suitable, the doctor prescribed paracetomol and codeine and told me to keep doing the exercises the physio had given me and as soon as I felt a little ease, stop the codeine and only take the paracetomol. The codeine is the addictive part of cocodomol, of course, for some people.

It was extremely painful doing the exercises (or trying to do them, at the beginning) but I got there in the end. It took six weeks before I was able to hobble around with a walking stick then another couple of weeks before I could ditch the stick.

I have been left with soft tissue damage in my left ankle so it is permanently bigger than the right.

Good luck to your OH.

Ann, 500 mg is the paracetamol. There should be a figure in front of that e.g 8/500, 15/500. The first figure is the amount of codeine.

Edit: I have sent you a pm

Thanks, he is on 500mg dosage.

As he has lost his appetite it is difficult to get him to eat much at all but I will nag when he takes them. He is drinking lots of water.

I think that lists of side effects can be a bit scary - bear in mind that they have to include everything, even if a very small percentage of people may experience it. My sister has had them, constipation seems to be the main problem. Plenty of fluids, fruit and veg.

My OH was on coco. after her cancer opp and then again cos of double herniated disk. Strong.
For the cancer about 3 months - they made her sick.
'cos of side effects and dereasing effectiveness she moved onto something else for the disks which works fine few side effects. Major fight with her GP to make the change though.
Coco. esp strong ones are addictive and taking them for very long is not a good idea though there are always exceptions.
They are very, very cheap which endears them to health practioners everywhere.