close to the edge Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Greetings to all. monday feb 9th was my surgery to remove the left lower lobe. surgery went fine & yes it was nsclc tho it didnt show up in the lymp nodes Pain management team however didn't do so well i spent 6 hours in recovery because i continued to have pain dispite the epidural right from the start i kept telling them it was muscle spasams but they would not bleave me. The next five days they tried different oral pain meds but they made me vomit to. I did tell them from the get go i was sensitive to pain meds. so after several days of experimenting I finnaly asked them to go with a pain med that i knew would not make me sick from a previous surgery Tylenol w/ codine #3 the doc says " oh there addicting" I'm like yea but they dont make me puke!!!! So they sent me home on Saturday afternoon all pumped up with pain meds everything was great untill the pain meds decded they were not doing muscle spasams any more........... so after they sent me home on saturday i did have a major muscle spasam it litteraly flored me. imajine a charlie horse that envelopes your back and left shoulder , right thru the body to the chest. I could not move without being in agony. so much agony that even speaking or crying was searing pain poor john(my husband)he was so worried and didnt know what to do to help me sooooo several hours later we called 911 the ambulance whisks me off back to the hopital. ( this was a major feet in itself as the local EMT's dont do the city) I dont know what john did to get them to take me to the city they pump me up with so much morpine . to releave the pain. I think i left for mars at that point only trouble was that the more morphine they pumped into me the more i would throw up. (thankfully the nurses understood and didnt leave me without my puke basin. I really didint want them to have to clean all that yuck up) i get re admitted I kept telling them i was sensitive to pain meds i kept telling them the pain wasnt from the surgical sight it was muscle spasams they said "ohhhhh thats very rare" Ok so since when did i do anything by the book? at one point the pain management team who worked with me said " well ya gotta expect some pain" My response was "yes discomfort put not outright pain!!!!"I felt like i had to fight for the right pain meds. now the docs are listening to me now they do beleive me when i say the pain is from muscle spasams So now i'm on major pain meds along with a morpine back up that made me puke up any thing i ate they add the anti inflamitory drugs they add muscle relaxants they add drugs for anxiety to help me relax so you can imagine how waisted i was Sat night & Sunday I would be talking. drift off. then wake up and talk about a totaly different thing I did halucenate myself to a YES show. even the chairs were dancing I even got backstage with my mom of all people! My dogs came to the hospital I Went to Amsterdam on holiday though i can't remember who went with me! Thats just a few of the halucinations i remember The docs did wean me off the morpine on monday and all the other pain meds & muscle relaxants are working to keep me relaxed and pain free now I am sooooooo sooooooo glad to be home I'm a little uncomfortable at times but no pain so to all of you out there your advice was great i did take a stuffed animal i named Funk This way when i caughed i could hold him and say # OH FUNK!!!! the intern doctors loved that! I had a pair of wild jamie bottoms so i wasnt mooning everyone on my hall walks I did my breathing excercises as often as possible so other than pain management all went well ill post more later cause im getting a little tierd now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Glad you are back home, and it sounds like good news. Also sounds like John is taking good care of you. Sure sorry I missed seeing the jamies! Oh, well! Take care and keep us posted. Blessings. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyjohn Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 I sure see something here that makes no sense. They were afraid to give you Tylenol 3 because you might get addicted but I bet you they gave you Vicodin which is the most addictive medication there is. Then Morphine? Everyone knows that Morphine is not addictive. Yea Right!!!!!!!! Anyway glad they finally listened to you and got the meds that you need to get you thorough this. I know about that pain for a muscle spasm. I have suffered more than once with pain from that big muscle that encircles your body. Never dreamed a person could hurt so much and remain concience. Live and learn. Best of luck to you sounds like great news that the lymph nodes showed cancer free. Heres to a quick recovery and I pray that you remain cancer free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tess Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Glad you are feeling better. Things get much better when you get to go home! my husband also has NSCLC, he is 48. He didn't get surgery, the Dr said it was already stage 4 so no need to go thru all the pain of surgery. They did radiation, it was real hard for him to take. You sound like your spirits are good, and you have a great sense of humor. Laughter is the best medicine. Good luck to you in the future! You know I can't believe that your Dr was worried about getting addicted to pain meds? Why should you be in any pain? My husband's Dr says there is no reason for it, and we agree. Tess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carleen Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I am so glad you are doing better. It can be so frustrating when doctors in their egoism think they always know more about our bodies than we do and will not listen. The best doctors we've seen are the ones that actually listen to us and not just go off of reports and their own minds. I will be praying and sending out good vibes that you are back on your feet and feeling tip top in no time. Loved the fact that you named your stuffed animal Funk, that is so clever. God Bless, Carleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilyjohn Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Tess would you Pm me or email me who your doctor is? Lillian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresag Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 close to the edge, I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience. The so-called pain management team doesn't seem to know what it's doing. The first rule of pain management is "believe what the patient tells you." I can't believe it took a re-admission for them to prescribe muscle relaxants. That is first-line treatment for spasms. I'm glad you're feeling better. I hope you can put this behind you and go on to enjoying good health. Blessings, Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 Dear Close to the Edge, I am so sorry you have been through so much pain and frustration. I am glad that you are home now and hope your healing will begin and go from strength to strength. Love and Prayers for you and your hubby, Paddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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