If you are on Morphine it sounds as though your doctors have ruled out NSAIDs. Do you perhaps have a history of gastritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohns or some other Irritable bowel disease? If you do, that would account for the non prescribing of NSAIDs, because they will exacerbate the IBD condition.
If you don't have a history of IBD then you should definitely try NSAIDs because as the full name implies (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) they will assist not only in pain relief but also in treating the underlying inflammation. If you can't tolerate them (like me - and BTW I am also sero-negative) then you only have paracetamol and the opiates for pain relief. That's a shame because they are not as good for inflammatory pain. That's not to say they don't work - just that they are not the first choice. Nor are they a primary treatment for RA symptoms. Such treatments are many and varied, which is why you need to see a specialist
But I am surprised that your unsympathetic docs have put you on morphine alone. There's a foursome of pain meds that I use, staring with paracetamol which my doc asks me to take four times a day even if I am not feeling pain, as a preventative, Then there is MST continuus - a slow release form of morphine. Then I have codeine phosphate to use as a back up when the pain get really bad and, at the top of the tree, ora-morphine for when things are really bad. The big problem with codeine and morphine is that you can become addicted. I tried to come off them recently and had cold turkey.
Do get any nausea with the morphine - there are anti emetics that can be prescribed to counter that.
I wonder why your docs are unsympathetic? In most practices you don't have to see your assigned GP. If I were you I would select the most sympathetic and stick with them, because RA is a long term disease and it is helpful to see the same person so they can look at your relative condition compared to previous visits. That's not always easy when you have an acute phase, though. Then you will have to make a judgement call on whether you are prepared to wait for your preferred doc or see someone else sooner.
The most positive thing you can do, bar none, is to get a referral to a Rheumy Consultant (and you have the right to ask for that) so that you can get into the hands of the experts but particularly so you can get access to the rheumy nursing team. The quality of that service varies form place to place but they are generally very good and a fount of knowledge concerning the day-yo-day management of a chronic disease.
Hope that helps
Paul Barrett
Hexham - Northumberland - Loads of spectacular walks - all I need now are the joints to go with them! :)
Enthesitis (2012)
Ulcerative Colitis (1990)
