pain meds with hepp c

[krista74]

i live with chronic pain ,i have degeneritive disc desease,two broken feet that never healrd right,mild lower lumbar pain,and arthritis.i have been on lorecet and soma, now i have hep c and i need to know of something safer for my liver. and dont say overthe counter medication i have tried them all.

[ceanothus]

Hi Krista! I've had severe chronic pain since 1983 and was diagnosed with HCV in 1986 and with cirrhosis in 2004. Before my liver got so bad I used a variety of different pain meds, but have had to be way more careful since 2004. For the last year I've been using Opana (oxymorphone) ER twice daily and a small dose of oxymorphone IR for breakthrough pain. It has worked well for me, contains no acetaminophen, is okay with my hepatologist, and has fewer supply hassles than OxyContin did. (The pharmacies always seemed to be unable to get enough OxyContin!)  Good luck to you.

[8nickers8]

I have chronic horrible nerve pain and all the other arthritis stuff and so forth associated with aging and the presence of cryoglobulins.  They have me on two meds that are perfectly safe for the liver.  They are Lyrica, for the nerve pain and oxycodone which is a narcotic and has no tylenol or aspirin, just the narcotic.  If one tends toward addiction, then oxycodone will trigger a relapse.   But in answer to your question, these two are totally safe for the liver.  I have been on both since 2005 and once my Hep C was treated my liver enzymes returned to normal (alt21, ast25) and have remained so on these two meds.  

[mckansas]

Can't speak for all, but I too have chronic pain that was addressed via Lortab, Soma and Ibuprofen. Doc took me off the Ibuprofen 800's, changed my Lortabs to Norco as they have less Acetaminophen. I am ok taking them and my liver is trashed, but still compensated.

[HectorSF]

Which pain medicine is appropriate for you depends upon how much liver disease you have. Not on your hepatitis C infection.
What stage of liver disease do you have? If you have had a liver biopsy you should know.

Lorecet is an opiate (hydrocodone) and contains Acetaminophen (APAP). You must limit limit your dosage of  Acetaminophen (again depending on the amount of liver disease you have) or you could cause liver damage. You should not drink alcohol when taking Acetaminophen.

Soma/Carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant, is used with rest, physical therapy, and other measures to relax muscles and relieve pain and discomfort caused by strains, sprains, and other muscle injuries. The liver and kidneys help remove Soma from the body. If you have liver or kidney disease, your healthcare provider may need to monitor your response to Soma more closely.


Cheers!
Hector