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Posted 4/24/2011 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tiger. Was reading your post earlier and am sorry you have so much chronic pain. I too have migraines and take Zomig which seems to do well it I take it on onset. I also have Fibro and back problems. I want to tell you what happened to me about 6 or 7 years ago. I went to a doc in my area for back pain and migraines. He started me on 5 mg percocet. In no time it did not work so he upped it to 10mg. That also didn't work well so he put me on 20 mg of oxycodone. It helped but I needed to take it every 4 hours or was still in bad pain. Soooooo the doc upped me to 40mg oxycodone and told me to take percocet in between the 4 hours if I was having pain. I ached severely from my elbows to my fingers and my knees to my feet. I wrapped heating pads around my calves to try to get some relief. Went back to the doc and told him that I don't see why people want oxy so bad and that I didn't think it helped me at all. I was so drugged and my daughter was worried I would fall asleep while smoking. I had to stand up to smoke. I complained to the doc and he said the oxycodone wasn't working well because it is a generic of oxycontin and wanted to double my 40mg. I said no and stayed in pain all the time. I felt like I was real close to being bed ridden. I was strongly considering finding a new doctor when the evening news said this doc was shut down because undercover people went to him and he didn't even xray for back pain. Three people had died because of all the oxy he prescribed to them. I still had about 200 10mg of percocet left until I could find another doc. I wanted to find a doc to help me wean off the oxy since it wasn't helping much and my pain kept getting worse. I had heard there was a medication you could take to get away from the narcotics so I went to a doc who could give this to me (suboxone). He wanted to put me on another kind of narcotic. I told him I don't want anything narcotic because I was too drugged up and that my body ached and my stomach ached and I felt terrible. That's when he told me that I was experiencing "withdrawal" and that was the reason for my pain and that my body kept wanting more and more of the oxy and that was the cause of my pain. So I wouldn't let him put me on another narcotic but wanted off all this stuff so bad so I could tell where my pain is really coming from. I was upset by the doctors and felt they wanted to keep people dependent on the drugs for more money in their pocket since you had to see the doc each month to get a new script. I decided to do it on my own. I unsuccessfully tried cutting the dosage down by half and felt like I was having a mental breakdown. I had quite a few oxycodone so I started by using a knife and cutting a tiny piece off a 40mg pill every day for a week. The next week I cut a tiny bit more off. I finally got down to the 200 percocets and got a new doc that was supporting me. I told her I never want to take strong narcotics again. I continued to wean myself off the percocet the same way I did the oxy. I was right at the end but figured I need 20 more percocet to finish. The new doc believed in me and gave me the last 20. It took me 9 months but I successfully weaned myself off with no side affects. I am so proud of myself. The terrible bone pains went away and no more stomach pain. I still take zomig for the migraines and tramadol for fibro pain but only when really needed. I found that most of my bad pain was actually from the narcotic drugs I was taking and my body wanting more, more, more.
I know this is lengthy and I apologize but thought if you ever try to get off the opiods this is a way you can do it without all the withdrawal. Don't get me wrong, there are days that my body is in a lot of pain but nothing like the pain when I was on the opiods.
I wish you so much success going through this procedure and only hope I can do as well as you. God bless you. I hope you don't take this message as me preaching. Just wanted to let you know that the medicine made me feel worse than the original pain. Some people need this medication all the time and maybe my body reacted different than others. I am by no means judging you for taking pain medication. We all know our own bodies and I feel bad about your pain. Take care and I look forward to your posts.
Kathy
Posted 4/24/2011 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kathy,

Thanks for sharing, I didn't take it as preaching at all. I'm on a bunch of medications for my various illnesses. I have: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, OsteoArthritis, Osteopenia, Sleep Apnea, Chronic Depression, PTSD, Chronic Pain, Occipital Neuralgia, and of course, no longer the GERD or Hiatus Hernia. I'm sure there are a couple more there I am forgetting. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters - and most of the illenesses are spread throughout them - I was the one who got them all. Ah well - excrement transpires. :)

I'd rather not be on the 80mg per day of the oxycodone or any of the other medications I take, but I do at least have a cocktail that works the best anyone seems to think I will get. I will say though, the one medication that helps me the most is medical cannabis - it helps counter some of the side effects as well as helping with pain and appetite - I'd prefer that over the opioids if I could but hey - I've had to accept that I am a complex case - I certainly get told it often enough by the docs.

I am luckier than most in the area I live in having a GP - they are hard to come by here - a lot of folks use walkin clinics. My GP is a great guy - always prepared to listen to problems.

Anyway, time for dinner. Thank you for your supportive and kind words.

Have a great day,

Tiger
Posted 4/25/2011 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
Tiger, I am glad you have found some relief for some of your pain. I will wish all of your pain away. Hang in there. Looks like you're doing a good job of it. It must be hard not being able to eat solid food. Thankfully it is not forever. Take care.

Kathy
Posted 4/25/2011 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Morning All!

When getting the swelling that peaks at 14 days, is it normal for the swelling to be causing general pain in the area?

Tiger
Posted 4/25/2011 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tiger,
Yes, of course...since the wrap is still healing, as it swells it will put pressure on the stitches and push against other things that are nearby. Ouches are in order!
Grab some liquid Tylenol, or if it's bad, some of your narcotic pain med...You might try some ice directly on the site...I found ice to be my friend during the recovery.
It will get better!
Take care,
Denise
Posted 4/25/2011 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Denise,

I figured as much. Thanks for the tip on ice - I will try that shortly. I take the pain meds every 3-4 hours normally. They are often the only thing that will kill the severe headache I've had daily since around '03 after a massage treatment on my neck went bad. Most days I generally sit with pain levels floating between 1 and 3. I'm kinda used to that. Thankfully the chest pain is also something I've gotten used to over the years from the spine injury with I was 16. This is only slightly different feeling to that and none of the pains now are going much over 5. The medpot helps bring that down further thankfully. Maybe with the ice I can get it down further though. I really appreciate the advice and support - it's always good to not feel like you're the only one feeling this way.

Take care,

Tiger
Posted 4/25/2011 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tiger,
Sorry to hear you're having so much pain. Here's hoping you find an answer, and can become more pain free.

Hopefully the ice will help the pain at the wrap site. It was a big help for me. Of course, you know that anything that really bothers you should be reported to your surgeon. I'm no doctor! I can just share my own experience, and tell you that it's common to experience some pain at the wrap site while it is healing.

The swelling will be subsiding now, so things will get easier in the future.
Hang in there!
Denise
Posted 4/25/2011 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Denise,

I am already feeling better after the surgery - I think time will show it was a sucess and I will be rid of the reflux - and that itself was a large contributor to my pain levels at times.

Yah - I've been watching out for things that just don't seem right, or paying attention to the pains and where they are - today is day 12 - so I know it is still very early in the recovery for me. Reading several of your postings before I actually registered here gave me some pretty good ideas of what to expect - and what not to go freaking out about. One of my personality flaws I am working on has me always worrying, always expecting that something bad is going to happen. Sadly this is a result of having been born into and raised in a cult and the long term effects of that. But knowing the problem exists is half the battle. I am doing very well in balancing worrying and just letting things happen with my recovery - a big step for me - how well the surgery and recovery went has helped with this a lot.

Take care,

Tiger
Posted 4/25/2011 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
Tiger, sorry to hear you are in pain and I hope your pain meds help. Thought I would let you and Denise and anyone else who have been giving me great advice, that I have decided to postpone my doctors appointment. Guess I haven't suffered enough yet. I will still be following everyone's progress so that when I am ready I will be well informed. I've been tossing it back and forth for a while and must be in somewhat of a remission because lately I haven't had the gasping coughs as bad as they used to be. The short education I have received on this site is awesome. I respect how courageous all of you are and will talking to you soon.

Kathy
Posted 4/25/2011 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kathy,

Thanks for the kind words. Words of support from yourself and Denise have helped me tremendously. Other than my husband and one very close friend of ours, I don't really have much of a support network in general in place, so finding here was so great. I look forward to hearing your progress.

Take care,

Tiger
Posted 4/25/2011 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kathy,
I'm with Tiger, wishing you the very best. I hope things continue to go well, and you experience long-term healing.
I hope you'll visit us again when you need support or information.
Tiger, I think you're doing just great. The main thing is to be patient. If you can relax into your recovery and follow it where it leads you, you'll find it much easier.
You know we're here for you!
Denise
Posted 4/26/2011 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Denise,

Thanks. I'm trying my best to do just that - relax into my recovery - trying my best not to be the worrier I am. I ended up going to bed early last night. I was feeling a little queasy, just generally tired - I am not sure if I slept well the previous night. I have been feeling a little more sore/tender in my abdomen - I find it hard sometimes to tell if it is cramping from IBS (I wonder if the surgeon was right in having me stop the Domperidone - 20mg bid), or pain/twinges at the incision sites. I had trouble sleeping from about 0100 (after going to bed at 20h) as my bloating was down, and I'd not eaten for at least 12 hours as I either wasn't hungry yesterday or by the time I was, food wasn't feeling like a good idea. I think that my empty abdomen cramping was maybe causing some tensions in the abdomen in general causing a little pulling on the incisions. I was having trouble finding a position to sleep in that was comfortable as it was feeling like my empty belly with the help of gravity was pulling my empty insides enough to cause the tightness and tension I was/am feeling - I still feel it a little, but I am slowly getting a morning juice into me and hopefully something else once that settles. Only the right most incision and the one above my belly button have had the steri-strip come off - the others are still attached and I think that the tightness and tension I'm feeling could be pulling on the strips a little causing them to get minorly upset with me. Oh well, another day of just riding the healing wave, trying to avoid the bumps.

Take care,

Tiger
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