frustrated with meds-- 1 week post op

[SASSY178]

Thanks for making me feel better everyone!!! I thought I was crazy!! Thank God that my pain has tapered down a little and I have some oxycodone left to take when I really need it. I think that I will take everyone's wonderful advice and seek out a pain management doc. I know a great one here. I am actually surprised that they have me going off pain meds so soon too-- but the other thing that I neglected to tell everyone was that the doc himself did not tell me to cut out the meds-- the nurse did. Perhaps I should request a talk with the doc about this.

Sarah

[runner]

Sarah,

This is ridiculous. There is no way you should be off pain meds at this point if you are still having moderate to severe pain.
Come on. A nurse told you that? (Is she a real nurse, i.e. a registered nurse or some medical assistant, who doesn't know about pain?) Yes, you need to talk to your doctor as soon as possible and see if he told her to say that.
I would check with him before using your left over oxycontin. If he concurs with what the nurse says, you have two options. And I didn't tell you this (because I am an RN) but 1) don't tell him about the oxycontin so you have something to take inbetween getting into an appt with a pain management doctor or 2) If you have uncontrollable pain, go to an ER and get some help. I am sure they will be understanding of a post-op patient and even go to the same hospital where you had the surgery.

runner

[runner]

Oh yeah,

If he wants your pain under control and wants you using something more than tylenol, tell him what you have available, what works for you and how much pain you are having. 0 is no pain and 10 is the worse pain imaginable. What is your pain on a 0 to 10 pain scale and don't sugar-coat it. Tell him what it is at worse.

runner

[SASSY178]

Thanks for the tips Runner! I appreciate your feedback with mt situation. I will give my doc a call tomorrow.

[runner]

Sarah,

Anytime. I just get upset when a patient's pain is not taken seriously or they are under treated. I have been there and suffering through pain does not help healing. Good luck. Sarah, I just read your signature. Is Dr. Yue at Yale the pretty well known surgeon? If so, please check with him directly.

runner

[SASSY178]

Runner-
Yes, Dr. Yue is the Dr. from Yale who has worked with Dr. B from Germany. He has done much research in ADA. I put a call in to the office but haven't heard back yet. Thanks again.

Sarah

[Terry Allen Blackburn]

I have been in the field of addiction medicine for over 30 years. You may become physically dependent upon the short acting pain medications as tolerance builds rapidly with the use of these medications. Physical dependency is easy to take care of with a competent physician doing a gradual step-down from the narcotic pain medication. Opiates act on the mu-opioid receptor site and block pains messages to the brain. Allowing your body to not be wracked in pain speeds the healing process. You are not going to experience euphoria from the medications if you are using them for the intended purposes. You owe it to yourself to talk to the physician directly. If his responses are the same as the nurses it is important to find someone who is going to adequately address your pain issues.

Hang in there and let us know how things are progressing for you.

Terry Newton