Voltaren and Vicodan for headaches

[Mei Mei]

Dear Everyone,
As I reported to you last week that I had suffered two broken ribs from dragging my father from the bed to the wheelchair on Halloween night, I didn't tell you about the lack of headaches since.   I was saving this for week 2 in order to make sure it was real and would last.   I am happy to say that there have been only two headaches for the last two weeks and that was when I had a glass of wine which always bothers me.   Don't ask why I drank it   The Monday morning after Halloween when I woke up in terrible pain, I didn't know I broke my ribs and thought it was a muscle strain so went to the accupuncturist.  At the end of the visit she prescribed Voltaren for the pain and I took it all week with great results with the exception for the pain in my neck and sub occipital area.   I've had no middle of the night and daytime headaches since.   When I went to the E.R. for the continuing pain on my side they diagnosed two broken ribs and sent me home with Vicodan and a muscle relaxer:  Skelaxin 800 mg.

I'm still not having headaches and the pain in the neck is getting better as time goes by.   Over the past summer I've tried some pretty heavy drugs to prevent headaches:  Verapamil, Lyrica, Lithium and Neurontin; none of which worked to prevent headaches.   For some reason Voltaren and now Vicodan are doing the trick.   I hope it works for any of you who are suffering.

Hugs,
Mei Mei

[cin605]

Great news Meimei!Maybe just maybe we can have a pain free holiday!

[Mei Mei]

I sure hope so.  I am hoping for a great Thanksgiving

Mei Mei

[Lizard]

Wow awesome!!!!!!!!!!

[Captain Deb]

Careful with the Vicodin (hydrocodone)--it is an opioid painkiller, quite addictive and can cause rebound headaches when taken on a regular basis.  Just googled and Voltaren is brand name diclophenac, which is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory). Be sure to take it with some food to protect your tummy.  Hope you didn't pay for brand-names for either of these because they are common generic drugs.

Capt Deb

[Mei Mei]

Thanks, Deb.   I got the generic, but stopped taking the Voltaren when I went to the ER for my ribs and arm and chest pain.   The internet said that if you get chest pain while taking this to see a doctor and stop taking it so I went to the ER and I wasn't having an irregular heartbeat but two fractured ribs from helping my father two Sundays ago.   Now I'm all out of the Vicodan and Skelaxin now and the headaches came back.   It's good information for me to tell the pain doctor that I was on all these drugs and had i.v. morphene at the hospital after they looked at my x rays of the ribs and none of these drugs stopped the pain in my neck and skull.  When they said they were going to put morphene in my i.v. I immediately thought of my neck and skull and not  the ribs and got happy and excited, but was disappointing when it only helped my ribs.   I can't even turn my head to the right to look when I'm driving.

Mei Mei

[sunfish]

I've taken Voltaren for a variety of musculo-skeletal aches and pains, and I'm a big believer in its effectiveness as an anti-inflammatory.  I've taken it in low doses on an almost daily basis for months at a time with no side effects.

I did have a doctor say this stuff can be pretty hard on your system, so be careful with it.  Mei Mei, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Voltaren that broke your pain cycle for a bit.

[cin605]

I say get more voltran and see if it works!
I hate the pain in the head and neck...grrr..go away!!!

[Mei Mei]

I wouldn't be surprised either.   I haven't had any headaches in the middle of the night any more but it still takes me a long time to go to sleep.  I have been having headaches in the late afternoon this week since I've been off the Volaren and the Vicodan.    It was the Voltaren that initially stopped the middle of the night killer headaches, but I was having arm pain and chest pain.  The websites on Voltaren say that can be a side effect you need to see the doctor for and stop taking it.   I would like to go back on it, but am afraid of the side effects.

Mei Mei....What to do?