General Points

Thursday, 03 March 2005 19:58
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In general, new treatment should be introduced one measure at a time in order to allow for accurate assessment of its efficacy and/or adverse effects.

Most medication is best started at a low dose and gradually increased, and the possibility of the interaction with other medication especially vis-?-vis adverse effects always borne in mind.

You must bear in mind that in order to adequately trial a particular treatment, a minimum of 2-4 weeks is advisable. There may well be distressing side-effects initially, but these tend to reduce after the first couple of weeks.

It is vital that you appreciate that analgesic (painkiller) medication needs to be taken regularly, around the clock, not on an "as required" basis, if it is to be effective. "As required" use increase adverse effects including tolerance (the need for increasing doses for same therapeutic effect), whilst decreasing benefit.

Timing of doses may need to be adjusted in order to minimise the impact of adverse effects: for example, drowsiness in the morning, which may encourage you to stay in bed during the morning, can be reduced by bringing the bedtime dose of medication back a couple of hours: this can help to promote normal daily routine and stop the cycle of late nights and late mornings, and probably disturbed sleep, which of course, not only impacts on you in a negative way, but also the entire family (and it can interfere with the ability to work or have social contact).

Over the Counter (OTC) medication: be careful with what you take from the chemist: especially if your prescription medications contain paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen (brufen: or other NSAIDs).

Always ask your pharmacist before purchasing OTC drugs as they may well interact with your prescription medication.

An important point to remember is that not all of your symptoms will necessarily be related to arachnoiditis. If you have new symptoms or a sustained increase in symptoms (more than 48 hours) you have already been experiencing; you should seek medical advice.