Can anyone recommend a safe, non-addictive painkiller?

I broke a rib an am in bad pain since stopping the 'tramadol' which I know is very addictive.

I took tramadol for 7 days.

I recently had a couple of broken ribs and my doctor gave me pain killers which I took for a few day's and a LP rib cage brace which you should be able to buy at most large pharmacy's. I found worked well especially when sleeping .

This can be very uncomfortable for a couple of months, I still have twinges of pain after 4 months .

Also warning , try not to sneeze

Try Ponstan.

There are many pain-killers which are not addictive. The addictive ones tend to be those which have some kind of opiate or hypnotic content. Tramadol is one of those, and can be addictive, but is not as addictive as, say, Diamorphine (which is heroin), Morphine, or Pethidine (a strong injection which you may get after an operation).

A broken rib can be very sore for the first couple of weeks, although you should be gradually reducing the strength of the 'type' of pain-killer.

Paracetamol can be a surprisingly good pain-killer, even tho' it is very common. One answer for you could be Para plus Tramadol. In Thailand you can buy these at the pharmacy, and they are called ULTRACET. The amount of tramadol in them is 'less' than the pure tramadol capsules you are currently using.

Some pain-killers are very good for bone pain, although it often depends on the person. Brufen (Ibuprofen) is good for some bone pain, as is Voltarol (aka Voltaren). Like aspirin, these can cause gastric upset, but if you are taking for a short time you will be OK, unless you have stomach ulcers. Many of these kinds of pain-killer can be taken with food or a glass of milk. Voltaren also comes as a gel, which you can rub on. As a general rule, don't mix pain killers (don't take brufen AND voltaren), altho Ultracet works well as a mixture of 2 drugs.

With any tablets, you should not exceed the normal dose unless your doctor advises. Some people think that they will get better if they take 6 paracetamol instead of 2 (every 4-6 hours)...but this drug can damage the liver very badly in high doses.

Strapping of the ribs is not generally done these days (in the west) especially if only 1 rib is broken. One important aspect of this is that you still need to cough, like any normal person. Holding your hand firmly over the rib when you cough can help some people. In extreme cases, where many ribs are fractured, people who can't cough may retain phlegm in the lungs, which can lead to pnuemonia as the phlegm collects (but you would know this because you would get a temperature and feel very ill, and breathless!)

You may get twinges for a few months, but rib pain should settle down within a couple of weeks. Getting comfortable in bed can also be a problem, so use pillows to get comfortable, even if you hug one!

Eddy

I have been on tramadol low dose for 12 months for pain (100-150mg/day)

In Australia its a controlled substance however in Thailand you don't need a script. Abusers tend to take very high dose 1000-2000 mg where it must feel similar to a heroin hit.

I haven't found anything close to it or as effective for chronic pain. If you use at as prescribed and taper down at the end you should be fine.