Visited doc 12 hours ago. Put me on a "Ladder of Pain" drug regime.
The first rung is paracetamol - up to 4000 mg daily.
The second is NSAID meds - two strong ones daily with food.
The third rung of the ladder is Tapentadol, a synthetic opioid, I'm allowed up to three per day unless I plan on a long driving stint like tomorrow. One side effect is drowsiness although it is less of a problem when compared to other opioids.
The idea is to come down the ladder slowly. Drop back to 1 or 2 Tapentadol then none as the pain level eases.
The same process applies to the strong NSAIDs.
I'll stay at the bottom rung as I use 4 to 6 x 665 mg tablets of slow-release paracetamol daily for my osteoarthritis control.
Starting to feel a bit drowsy now from the opioid drug, it's almost midnight now.