by dmcff » 05 Nov 2018, 04:03
Sorry you are suffering. It's indeed true that people who haven't experienced the pain of AF don't understand how bad it can be. I don't know of any quick fix, but like others here have found some medication that helps. The anticonvulsants gabapentin (neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) can be effective - I don't have experience of the former, but have been on pregabalin for several years now, and find that over time it keeps the pain at bay, especially at night, without many side effects. I certainly find it preferable to opioids like Tramadol and NSAIDs like ibuprofen, which often seem to cause more problems than they solve.
Maybe you could discuss pain medication with your GP?
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan