6 months post op..pain meds?

[fitiani33]

i am now about 6 months post op and for the most part i guess i am ok. ( i think ) anyway, i have been in therapy for the past 3 months and it has helped but now i have to stop and go back to work next week and i am scared. For my physical therapy kinda helped me not really use pain meds. The heat, massages and hands on stuff the therapist did really helped my pain and i could go a week with no pain meds and then have one bad day and take on vicodin that day and then nothing again for about another week. Anyway, about a month or two ago my dr. said i should no longer use pain meds (even at that time i thought he was crazy cause i still had a lot of pain)
Anyaway, i'm going back to work and no longer have therapy or pain pills and i am afraid to ask for a refill. is it ok to have some pain at 6 months? By pain i mean in my lower back i get extremely stiff,achey,sore,( i can't stand up straight from it), my ribs will ache and my hip kills me ( and i DID NOT have a hip bone graph). I can not take that pain. Usually one vicodin ES will help it. Some days i still need to use a Lidoderm patch ( well i use 3,2 back 1 hip). The pain i can handle but do not like is in my left thigh. The outside of it feels like a bruise and the top and side are extremely sensitive and i can not go over it with a razor in the shower ( it stings, zaps and tingles even though it is half numb). Any comments will really help. Thanks!
Stephanie - Surgery 6-5-06. T11-L3, rib removal

[Joan50]

Hi Stephanie,

Maybe you are having pain that is not related to the scoliosis surgery that the orthopedic surgeon would not expect. Prior to my surgery I had hip pain and aching that felt like a bruise inside and the orthopedic surgeon said it was not due to the scoliosis. He sent me to a pain management doctor that sent me to physical therapy but also gave me shots in my hip for what he diagnosed as bursitis and shots in my lower back for sacroiliac issues. He said these may have been caused by walking weird to compensate for scolliosis all these years but were not direct scolliosis pain. After the shots, I no longer had pain in those places once the shot site soreness wore off in a few days. He said it would last several months. It has been about 12 weeks and surgeries later and those place still don't bother me.

Maybe the doctor can look at this pain as something differentsince it is not expected to long after surgery.

Joan

[Karen Ocker]

pain*!*>

I took Tylenol Arthritis as directed and it did help. Exercise, believe it or not, also helps. A heating pad, resting when needed and warm showers also help.

I went back to work one day a week(I stand all day as a nurse-anesthetist),
4 hours a day--gradually increasing.

I worked with a pain doc who stressed alternatives. I was off all narcs by 3 months but did use neurontin for 3 more months. It was good for nerve pain.
I also have a TENS device I used.

My surgery was mega(revision) and I was much older.

State of mind is very important; fear is a great enemy and one cannot dwell on every ache. Recovery IS long in adults but it does happen.