Pain meds problem..?

[richinsdakota]

Anyone else have to beg and fight to get the surgeon to write an adequate amount of pain meds after surgery? Im about 5 wks out now, but still have lot of pain, which inhibits my activity (walking) at times, as well as being a real drag, hurting all day. Dr. only writes from 3=5 days worth of meds, so I gotta keep callin and beggin..sheesh. I can understand their reluctance to give too much habit forming stuff, but aint there some other things they could let me have that might fill the gaps between delays and misunderstandings and miscommunication with pharmacies, insurance,etc.?? (Last week, the RN said she simply "forgot" ! )

Long distance bills notwithstanding, I cant understand their unresponsiveness, as tho they dont believe I have pain, or something. Dunno, maybe its just like everything else these days..once the bills are sent out out, hey, were busy and would really like to put you behind us, please. sheesh In pain tonite, skimping on pills cause dont have enuff to last till next weeks appt.

I dunno...whether its a policy issue, or incompetence issue. I feel like the dismissed aerospace worker, begging the neighbor for a sandwich...sometimes.

Anyone have to resort to over the counter meds for pain during their recovery? If so, whats the good stuff that I should look for? Sorry to have to ask about things that should be taken care of ...but... I thot medical science had advanced a little since civil war soldiers had to bite on a miniball bullet. Little frustrated with it all, as u may have guessed from my tone here. Anyway, thx...just fishin for relief that I can manage myself, I guess.

[Justakid]

My problem after surgery was that none of the pain killers worked. The Dr. would give them to me but they didn't solve the problems.

I used ibuprofen, it helps with swelling too. It didn't work for me but I tried to trick my mind into believing that I was taking meds so I had to feel better.

Good luck!

[MurielK]

Sorry about your pain and the hassles with your doctors office. I've found that Alleve works best for me (better than tylenol, advil, etc.) You might try that.

I still have a few pills left over from my surgery/recovery. I used percoset and the doctor was very generous with it. I've heard that it's important to control the pain in order to have a quicker recovery.

Good luck. Maybe you need a new doctor????

Muriel

[ljdub]

There is NO reason for you to have to beg for medications to relieve your pain - this is obviously a sticking point for your particular doctor and frankly, is an old-fashioned and outmoded way of looking at it. Fear of creating a bunch of addicts post surgery is ridiculous. One of the things ALL my caregivers stressed was that keeping in front of/on top of the pain was key, and that it was much easier to control BEFORE it got bad, than to try to catch up once it was hurting badly. They've actually found (so I've been told) that patients take LESS medication than expected when they're given some control over it, and obviously confirmed what seems obvious - it's different for every patient, with some needing more and longer than others. I work in a hospital so this is the opinion of more than just a few - this is system-wide where I work, and the comfort of the patient is of paramount importance. While you're recovering, you should have the meds you need to ensure your body can use its resources for HEALING, not for fighting terrible pain and stressing about the number of pills you have left. I would DEFINITELY pursue with physicians, case managers from your insurance company - anyone who can help get you the relief you need. But be assured, this is NOT the standard everywhere - just with your doc, it appears. Best of luck with getting some help!

[slinaresholz]

Hello Rich,

I had the same problem after surgery. I was prescribed percocet for the pain and they would only prescribe a little at a time. The surgeon wasn't too bad but the regular Gp was very stingy. After a while they wouldn't even give it to me because of my high blood pressure, but after a while they weren't helping much anyway. They said to take Motrin. There will come a time in a few months where it should become tolerable without pain meds. You will have the discomfort on the side they operated on and it will hurt some when you walk but it seems to be the norm after surgery. I didn't have the whole lung removed, just half of my right lung. There are some people on the site that had the whole lung removed and are surviving very well. There has been some who are living for years and years so have hope. The fact that they didn't find any metastisis is very encouraging. I had them find one positive lymph node in the mediastum, but I still have hope. They removed those lymph nodes anyway. I'm eating like a pig and driving. I don't feel too bad. Best of luck!

Sharon

[SJAS]

Lynnel has it absolutely right. That is exactly what all my husband's doctors and nurses have told us. Pain has become one of the vital signs because it plays such an important role in recovery. There is no way you should be going through that. Not only that, Steve has taken himself off morphine a second time as his symptoms have been relieved. While he does have some withdrawal symptoms (mostly an inablility to sleep), he has managed to get through it. If you're using narcotics to deal with real pain - addiction is a nonissue.