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Posted 5/15/2009 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
Anice, please let us know how the day went. It is hard to imagine another night with no relief. I know you were not very optimisic but there has to be hope and I do hope that you had a good day.

Posted 5/15/2009 4:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, I am okay, finally. Maybe not quite okay, but way better than I was last night.  I didn't sleep a wink last night. It was a long, miserable, high pain night. I went to bed finally around 8:15 this morning. I did sleep until 1:30pm. The PM nurse called me first thing this morning and said she was sorry for not getting back to me yesterday afternoon. She asked how I was. I told her about my night. She said she

was sorry. And that the Dr. wanted me to know that if I didn't hear from my surgeon today that he would have the lortab filled-he agreed I should have not had to be without. I finally got my rx. around 3:30 today.  He did refill the Lortab 10 mg. #60. Now the directions say to take one q8h. He must be out of his mind!!  I will do the best I can. But I don't think I can go 8 hours in between doses. I know he is probably trying to taper me down. But, I am hurting. This is not just in my head. Oh, the rx. was called in from the surgeons' office,not my PM.  I did think it was nice for the PM to say he would help me if I needed him to.  Sorry if I am making it more confussing. I will try to go longer in between doses. But I don't want to wait too long and end up in the shape I was in yesterday and last night. I understand what he was trying to do. And I will have to respect it and try my best to comply or come pretty close.

Thank you all so much for being here for me again. You are all such a wonderful, caring group of people. And you don't know what it has meant to me to have you all in my life like this.  And this may come out not sounding right but I will try anyway... I am very glad that the surgery went good and corrected the horrific nerve pain. But, it has almost a bittersweet part of it too. I am looking ahead of myself. I am not any where close to being there yet.  But IF I do get better, recover over and all- I am not going to want to leave this forum. I feel so close to you all. And I feel like I would miss the daylights out of all of you!!!  But, who knows what the future brings. I hope all that came out right.  It has been 3 weeks since the surgery. And I do feel better than I did then. And that is a good sign, but I am not healing and doing as well as I want to be doing. I am trying. But maybe I am not trying hard enough. I am going to try to push myself a little harder(but not too hard) and see what happens. I do want to be better. I do want my body to recover. And I will try my best. I don't think I'll be going anywhere any time soon. I have no idea how long all this will take. I am suposed to return to work in 3 weeks. so I better get more busy at all this. My next appt. is for the 26th. of this month. I am thinking he will bring up those dreaded words"PT". at that visit. We'll see.

I am sorry to have made what should have been a quick thread so long and drawn out. I have posted so much last night. I am embarassed and ashamed. But I was in such a bad place last night, I just had to keep coming back and adding more. I felt like my mind was about to explode. Thank you again everyone for caring and helping me once again. I shouldn't be so needy and dependent. I should try harder to deal with things better on my own. I feel like I talk way too much.Thank you all for continuing to put up with me!

Anice

Posted 5/15/2009 4:58 AM (GMT 0)
Oh Anice I'm so pleased you got your script even if it is for 8 hourly intervals. My latest was for 6 and I've ignored it, I go every 4 hours when I'm active then try to stretch it when I'm not so busy. How are you going with the walking? Are you managing to get out? I love this site too, I hang out for it sometimes, such a relief to be able to talk to others without guilt that you're always moaning!!! Go for it, best wishes, golitho 

Posted 5/15/2009 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
Anice, Ah why so sceptical of PT. Does PT mean physical therapy or pure torture? I hope you get some much needed sleep tonight and tomorrow you feel better. Don't over do it but I know what you mean about trying to be alittle more active. Of course with me, everything is over done. Blessings!

Posted 5/15/2009 6:32 AM (GMT 0)
Anice,
I'm so glad you got a refill. But it seems your so hesitant to tell your surgeon that what he's giving you isn't covering the pain. They need to know that every 8 hours isn't enough for you, and see if you can take them more frequently, or get something for BT pain. My experience with my surgeon was that he started me out on a very minimal dose of pain meds and if I hadn't called his nurse and formed a good relationship with her I'd be hurting way more than I am. They are still prescribing my meds, and they're 3 hours away so she sends me scripts every month in the mail after I leave her a message.

You seem to feel you need to suffer more than I think you do. Remember this is hopefully a time-limited situation, and especially as you try to slowly do more, it's important to have you pain managed well. You may want to consult with your PM and perhaps he can talk with your surgeon. But call and let them know when the lortab wears off, and what your symtoms are, as well as how much you're trying to do to get better.

I'm glad you posted, and hoped you're getting some rest tonight!

Sweet Dreams,

PaLady
Posted 5/15/2009 8:39 AM (GMT 0)
FatherJohn, I haven't ever had PT before. I don't even know a whole lot about it.I know just what I have heard from others. I think it is just a little bit of the fear of the unknown for me. But if it is recommended for me then I will enter it with a positive attitude. And I will do whatever the doctor wants me to do. I want to get better. It may not be as bad as what I think it is. Like I said, I don't know exactly what is done.

PALady, you had some really good input, as always. I will start to pay closer attention to what my body is telling me. I don't want to suffer anymore than is necessary. It sounds like I need to call my doctors office and let them know. I think the lortab is helping me. I do feel alot better taking it. And no, I don't think I can wait 8 hours between doses. I haven't had to deal with all this before. I don't know how much I should be suffering. And I certainly don't want to suffer any more than I should. I know that to get better, I will have to increase my activity and force myself to do that. And I imagine that I will have an increase in pain for awhile doing so. I guess my communication with the doctor isn't what it should be. I wasn't given alot to go on. I really don't know what is expected of me other than the walking. And honestly I haven't been doing alot of that for the past couple days. I need to write down some things and make a call to them. I do think I need to be a little better informed than what I am. Thanks for the input. It helps.
Anice
Posted 5/15/2009 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Anice,
I'm so glad you are feeling better now and finally got your meds. I have been to countless Drs for injuries, surgeries and pain and I can tell you that what your Dr. is doing is common practice. They expect you to be healing and getting better with time and exercize. They cut your meds over time too because they don't want you to become to dependent on them, this is so old school medisine! Everyone is different but they treat us all the same! Everyones pain thresshold is different and as PM said, you shouldn't be suffering through your whole recovery. I thing you should tell your PM and your surgeon exactly what you told us in your last thread how you are under informed. Also let them know exactly when the Loratabs wear off and how often you are using them. Please don't forget these Doc's work for you, but you have to let them know exactly how you feel. I am going through something very simmilar right now. I had surgery 2 months ago and I'm still having problems so I understand how you feel. Please hang in there and continue posting. These people are GREAT aren't they??? I don't no how I could go through all I am without them! Lets get better together!
Your Friend,
Pete
Posted 5/15/2009 1:09 PM (GMT 0)
I have read the hole post... I'm so sorry you have to deal with such pain. My husband had surgery twice on the same shoulder within 6 months. He was on pain meds for 9 months.

I saw that you posted 60 pills. I'm sure he will refill them. I started seeing a PM and between nerve blocks he gave me 60 percs 10/325 as a 15 day supply. Seems to me your on target with taking them 4 times a day.

I really hope you find some confort......
Posted 5/15/2009 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Pete, Thanks go to you too. And you are so right. i don't know how in the world I could have survived all of this without the wonderful people who make this forum what it is-a wonderful place to be despite the reason we are all here.

You gave me some new insight. These doctors do work for me. I haven't ever thought about it that way before. I don't have to see my PM again because I have found relief from this surgery. So I am just seeing the ortho. who did the surgery. I am to blame for alot of this. I don't like to make conflict. And I feel bad for "bothering" people. That is why I didn't ask alot of questions going into all of this. I should have been better informed and have asked the questions that I wasn't sure about. That is a personality conflict that I have.I am basically a quiet person(believe it or not) and really don't want to be a pest to anyone(like my doctor). But I need to become more vocal and ask the questions that I have so I will better educate myself and know the answers to the questions I have. And I could just kick myself in the backside for letting my lortab get down that low without calling in for a refill. I only have myself to blame for that one. And believe me, I have learned a valuable lesson here-one I won't forget too soon.
Anice
Posted 5/15/2009 5:50 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Anise,

I am so glad to see you got the refill on the meds. Three weeks post-op is not unusual to still have a fair amount of pain. Yes, by all means now that you are calmer and feeling somewhat better make a list of questions to ask your dr. I do it with my drs and they always take the time to answer me. Why your meds were rxd a little different could be many things, but why waste precious time trying to figure that one out. Call the nurse tell her what happens when you wait 8 hrs and let her know how they were rxd initially and I bet you get an ok to change them up. It could have been a simple oversight. Be sure to explain how hard it is to get the pain under control once it gets out there out of range.

Well, in spite of it all you still have a very good attitude and that goes a long way in recovery.  I too feel you will do very well once you get over this post-op hump. Are you on a muscle relaxer? Are you having alot of spasms? Alot of people have terrbile muscle spasms for a bit after surgery. If you answer yes to this, then take your muscle relaxers just like you would your pain meds to get the spasms under control. Taking one here & there will not help.

I think you are scared too of going to PT since you are still having alot of pain. But, a good therapist can really help you out alot. So, try not to be afraid. They are not there to hurt or harm you, they are just another tool in recovery. Do not push yourself in PT thinking that will make you better sooner, it will have the opposite affect.  If something is done by a therapist that gives you pain tell him/her, a good one will back off and say ok, we will try this again on your next visit. I could retire very nicely on the money I have spent in 20 years on PT. I have had more PT on my neck, back and knees than you can possibly imagine lol.

Everyone heals at a different rate and everyones pain is different. No, maybe you should not be in a lot of pain, if you are then thats why there is pain medication. You know what your pain threshhold is, anything beyond what you can handle needs attention. You are not a whiner, you are not a wuss, you just had surgery and you have pain due to that. They cannot put us all in a box and label us the same when it comes to pain and recovery from surgery.

I think you are doing very well from surgery. You really did not know what to expect afterwards and I think you may be expecting a little too much of yourself right now. I know you are looking at the 6 weeks mark heavily-take it a day at a time and you will do much better. Try not to add stress to your already stressed body, its not good.

Let me tell you a surgery story that happened to me. I had surgery on both knees 3 weeks apart. This was my 4th & 5th surgery so I knew what to expect and in 6 weeks I would be good to go. I had a menicus tear in one knee and partial tear of the ACL in the other knee. Ten days post op I twisted the ACL knee severely and tore tendons the whole bit. Spent a week in the hospital after that one. I was also on all the crohns meds, it strips your immune system and delays healing severely, at the time I was on Remicade infusions. My ortho felt I should go off the Remicade infusions for a while before surgery-gi says no its ok. So, did these surgeries and tore up the knee. It took one year for my knees to heal on a surgery that should have been 6 weeks. On my prior surgeries I was not on any crohns meds and had no trouble healing. I spent 12 months in a Don Joy brace on my knee that I screwed up after surgery. It was awful. If someone were to tell me surgery now, I most defintely would not be on any of my crohns meds for a long time before considering. But,lol, it would have to be a life or death situation to get me back under a knife again. This is one of the problems getting my foot to heal and infection just seems to be something I have so fast and easy, grrr.

So, when you need to come here and talk, ask questions have it, we do not keep count of how many times we post a day and there is no limit. Hugs, Susie

Posted 5/15/2009 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Anice,
Just wanted to add some good things about physical therapy. I have had many in my life, like Susie. Most of them great, a few awful. Your first session is an evaluation and they may move you in ways that hurt a little more - you have to speak up when this happens - but that's to see what your limits are. Then you should be given some gentle things like heat and maybe a stim. unit or ultrasound before they do any exercises. In fact it was quite a long time after my surgery (but I had a double fusion) before I was given any exercises. They were mostly trying to relax the muscles around the incision.

PT shouldn't be extremely painful. Muslces will be sore as you strengthen them, but that's different from sharp pain. So if you start feeling sharp pains and things like that you stop what you're doing. You listen to your body. But if the muscles are just alittle sore from being weak it will be a different sensation. And the advice to not overdue it is right on. You can do more harm than good trying to rush things. You've had a successful outcome and that is wonderful, but trying to move too far too fast (even in returning to work) is NOT worth jeopardizing that. Even if you have to go not working for a longer time. Trust those of us who have not have successful outcomes! I'd give anything to have had my nerve pain go away after the fusion, so treat that as a precious gift that is not worth damaging, ok?!

And stick with us for support. Heaven knows most of us have been where you are!

Hugs,

PaLady
Posted 5/15/2009 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
anice
I am glad they got you your pain meds, I do hope you get to feeling better, but back surgery takes time, be patient with yourself! But like what all the others have told you, PALady and Pete and strayd and everyone else, you got to make sure the Doctor know what your pain is, and don't try being a super woman or something! You get no Gold Star for Gritting your teeth and putting up with pain! All you get is hurt an misery, and that isn't any good! So make sure he knows if what he is prescribing isn't enough!

I do wish you well!

White Beard
Posted 5/15/2009 10:30 PM (GMT 0)

anice, I'm glad you got your meds and hopefully can get some good rest.  What your surgeon just did reminds me of my early days on PM. I don't think the doctors should be able to change a script without talking to you first. Instead they just lower the dosage without even talking to you to find out what the situation is.  My docs used to do that to me all the time or they would lower how many they gave me. Like I had just gone through the stress of calling in for a refill praying they would refill it expecting the same amount only to find out it was cut in half so that I would have to go through the whole process of calling in again.  My first ortho who agreed to keep me on a regular dose of hydro made me call in every 10 days for a refill.  He allowed me 3 a day.

If the doc thinks it's time to lower an amount or a cut a dose they shouldn't do it on a refill, they should have you come in so you can talk to them.  I do have to say the one thing I do like about PM is that I know there will be no surprises at the pharmacy.  I go to my appointment every month and talk face to face.

Melissa

Posted 5/15/2009 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Melissa,
You know you reminded me of something. The pharmacist can call the doctor's office if he/she has questions on a medication, dosage, etc. I had this happen recently when I had to switch to a hospital pharmacy because my insurance mandated (insurance is through the hospital that laid me off). I was so ticked because evidently one of the pharmacy techs called the NS's office to ask about how the percocet was being prescribed. But they never said a word to me. Of course, they got someone on the phone who isn't the nurse I deal with. They changed the percocet script from every 4-6 hrs, to every 8 hrs! Now I already knew I had an MDD of 6 tablets/day, and it was understood clearly with my NS's nurse that I didn't start taking them until afternoon because that's when my pain starts getting worse, but then I need them every 4-6. I was able to straighten it out with my NS's nurse, who is an angel, and next time I got the script filled I made sure they knew to keep to the instructions as written on the RX. So that may be why we get some surprises, but I agree it shouldn't happen without our knowledge!!

PaLady
Posted 5/16/2009 4:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Anice;

                I just wanted to let you know about my experience with PT, I loved it and if my insurance would allow it I would go every other day, the ultra sound, heat ice, massage and stretching helped me the most, sure at first it was a little painful but after the first few sessions I was feeling better than I had in a very long time, so if your Dr recommends PT and your insurance will pay for it by all means go I am sure that you will love it as much as I did.

                                                     SAM

Posted 5/16/2009 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, everyone, You all had some great advice,it doesn't suprise me. I was a little aggravated about him changing the time from q4h to q8h. It was too late to do anything about it that day. However, I will make that call on Monday morning. I will just let them know that I can't go that long in between doses. But I have never taken one just because or when I wasn't in pain. I know he is trying to taper me off. And when I am not in pain, I won't take pain pills. I don't think I have a problem with that. It seems logical to me. I will pay close attention to my body this weekend and see how long I can go between doses without waiting too long to suffer. I don't want to suffer unneccessarily. I am slowly feeling better. And that is a good thing.
Anice
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