Pain Meds after surgery

[smokebuds420]

Lately ive been noticing i am quicker to grave some pain killers like vicidoin then advil. Advil doesnt numb the pain as much but only dulls it. Im seven months post to my surgery. Is anyone having a problem with taking pain killers for this surgery? I dont know if this is normal or if i am building an addicition. please help. feedback would be nice :D

[Cakedec]

I am 5 months post-op and just able to stop my prescription pain meds and go on extra strength tylenol. There is a certain amount of achiness and tightness that goes along with stopping meds, but if you are having considerable pain that requires vicodin regularly yet, maybe you should talk to your dr. Of course everyone is different in their recovery but I would talk to him.

Have you done any physical therapy yet? That really seemed to loosen things up for me and help with the spasms and tightness. Then I was able to gradually go down on the medications. Your dr. could suggest a schedule to gradually wean down and then off.

Good luck.

Deb
age 47
surgery 7/24/06
T5-L5

[Shari]

Hi Smokebuds,

I was on heavy duty drugs for the first 3 months, percoset and oxycodone. Then they put me on the highest dose of hydrocodone for many months after that.

I was worried that I may become addicted, and when I asked my doctor about that, he told me that as long as I have pain the odds of becoming addicted were low. I was not sure if that was true.

But when my pain became less, I was switched to the lowest dose of it and had no problem at all.

Shari

[dawney]

I am on tylenol with codeine now and I usually take one or two at night but there are still times when I wish I had a vicotin. I was also worried about addiction because I was taking vicotin regularly before I had my surgery.

[fiddlestix]

I am just a day or so from being 8 weeks post op and I haven't taken pain meds for two weeks...very rarely even motrin probably only twice. But I do believe that I am an exception to the general.....but everyone is different. There are so many factors that can contribute to pain.

[Cena75]

I'm at 9 weeks post-op for a revision, and find that I only take coedine now in the evening, and not always daily. If I remember from my first surgery, I was taking coedine into my third month, but I had returned to school. I think it really depends on the individual, personal experiences, and the activities that he or she is doing.
The specialists have me taking Ibuprofen now on occasion, and this is because I have a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries and a car accident - it helps reduce it. It acts on the site of the pain, but doesn't block it like the opiates do. The opiates work on the pain receptors - blocking the signals, but the source of the pain is still there.
I also had a lot of pain prior to this surgery, so what I feel now is different - more stiffness, aches and a "thick feeling" than anything.
Maybe talking to your doctor will help your worries. Good luck!

[sweetness514]

I was off narcotics per doctor's advice at a month or so post op, and took my sleep aid at night or I wouldn't have slept at all.

I think the fact that at the time the doctors didn't want me to get addited and saying I was young to take meds was drastic measures and wrong, b/c it didn't help my recovery and I didnt do as much or walk like I should have, rest helped me a lot.

I think finding a middle ground is the best way to go.

[SandySo]

I seem to notice that the doctor only prescribes ten days worth of pain meds... (Or at least in my case...)

My first batch of meds after being released from the hospital was oxycodone hcl. Afterwards, my doctor prescribed percocet. I'm on my second batch of percocet...

Has anyone experienced dizziness from using percocet? Or any other side effects?

I seem to be experiencing heavy side effects (dizziness and extreme drowsiness, nausea, suppressed appetite, etc.), especially if you consider my weight beung under 95 pounds post-op.

[sweetness514]

Hi,

I experienced a lot of dizziness after surgery for weeks(anesthesia and blood loss don't help), and most pain meds especially Morphine gets me dizzy, so that's another one of the reasons I prefer resting more, and handling the pain without taking too many meds.

Codeine and Oxycodone were better for me, but I was still tired and out of it while taking them.

[twisterLA]

It's really good to read your posts and know that I am not alone in this. My epidural failed after the surgery and I was in agony post op. I also had a freak pneumothorax that required an additional painful procedure. For about a month, I was on Dilaudid but gradually worked my way down to 2 Norco q 4hrs. Walking- just little short walks- seemed to help a lot at reducing the swelling and speeding the healing process. At 3 months post op, I now take about 2-3 Norco a day. Personally I find that Valium is amazing for relieving my muscle spasms and doesn't have as many side effects. I get frustrated that my pain isn't resolving sooner but according to my physical therapists bone pain can be severe for as long as 9 mos to a year after a surgery.

[Shari]

Hi Twister,

I was on pain meds for quite some time, so don't judge your progress on any other one of us!!! It's seems to be all different, we have all had different types of surgery and I don't think that comparing recoveries is a wise thing to do.

Just listen to your body, and trust it.

Shari

[Joan50]

I am 11 weeks post op and I am still taking pain medication and muscle relaxants every four hours. I have tried going without for longer periods but the tightness and pain are incapacitating (does this forum have a spell check?) :o

[fitiani33]

i am about 8 months post op and i was doing real good for a while. In the beginning nothing could kill my pain, no percocet, oxycontin, oxycodone, norco, morphine, methadone NOTHING i tried numbing lidoderm patches you name i tried it. It was rough. Then as the weeks went on i was doing pretty ok and it stayed that way for months. There was a time were i took nothing. Then November and December rolled around and it got bad. I had to go back to pain management and start a new perscription program. I had completed 3 months of physical theraphy and felt i needed more but had to return to work. ( iwas off for 6 months) Anyway, for the past 2 months now i am back on pain killers ( Vicoden ES ) they help me so much i could not imagine not using them. I do not need them every day and when i do it is just one a day. Sometimes my pain is so severe it wakes me up out of sleep and i need a HOT shower and a pain pill. That usually keeps me good thru the night the next day. I do not think i have used 2 in the same day but maybe once in the past 2 months. Work is really hard on me and i think i will be quitting soon. Overall my recovery is good and some days i feel as if i never even had a problem other days my pain is unbearable. Not just in my back but in my hip as well. At first i was ashamed to return to the dr. and i felt i had no business using a perscription pain pill but when i hurt..i hurt. Moral of the story, we all feel differently and if you have pain u do not need to accept it. don't feel bad physically or mentally if you need it. My dr. wrote me 100 at a time with 5 refills. I am pretty sure i am set for the year! Good luck!

[Shari]

Hi Fit,

Have you considered that the cold harsh damp winter that you have up there may be a factor??? I know that I didn't believe that the weather had anything to do with my extended pain and my long recovery, but now that I am so many months removed from it, and as I look back, I never considered it, I just thought I was having pain.

Everyone used to ask me if I thought the cold weather had anything to do with my pain, and I said no the first year of winter after my surgery, which was at 6 to 8 months for me.

Now I know different.

Shari

[fitiani33]

I definatly believe the weather has a lot to do with pain and recovery. During the monts of July and August even though i was earlier in recovery i felt much better. Like you said the cold and stuff added to the pain. I justed was saying that even at 8 months i still use occasional pain meds and that i learned to accept that if i needed it i should not feel ashamed. But i am definitly looking foward to it warming up. But i do belive weather played a big role in my pain. ( i know when i get up if there will be snow outside or not without even looking out the window.....believe me my body has already told me! ) I just hope this gets better as time goes on and next winter won't feel the same as this one did. I had my days in summer too though the rain wasn't easy either.....just not as bad as this winter stuff.

[Shari]

Hi Fit,

There is no shame in needing pain meds no matter how far along you are in your recovery!!!

Some of us take more time than others. Listen to your body, and do what you feel is best.

Shari

[~beachbum~]

Wow i was so surprised to read all the posts about pain meds.
I agree that everyone's recovery is different but i was on high doses of oxycontin for almost 5 months! up until about 2 weeks ago when i was switched to oxycodone...and now i'm painkiller free. To be honest though, the painkillers were the toughest part of the whole surgery experience. I developed a dependency on them that i really worked had at fighting. The withdrawal symptoms were one of the worst things i've ever been through. i wish my doc had have given me a heads up on the subject.

[Shari]

I guess that's just another one of the differences we all experience. It still amazes me though. I was on percoset and oxy for a few months, then switched to extra stenghth hydrocodone for many months after that. I finallly asked my doctor to give me the lowest dosage of the hydrocodone, and I had no problem at all.

Although, looking back on it now, I did have hot and cold spells that made me think I was going through menopause. But now I wonder if it may have been from the change in my medications. Who knows???

Shari