6 wks postop questions

[laf3030]

I had posterior spinal fusion with titanium implants surgery on May 14th. The surgery lasted 10.5 hrs. T4-L5.

Now I’m at 6 weeks post op and I have my first followup with the surgeon tomorrow. Just in the last couple of days I’ve been experiencing more and more pain. It’s not unbearable, just very uncomfortable. I’m super worried that when I see the surgeon tomorrow he’s going to actually want to start weaning me off the meds. I’ve found that if I accidentally sleep thru a dose of meds that I’m in terrible pain for hours after. It takes two or three more doses (which is spread out over several hours) before I have the pain back under control. This obviously tells me that I’m not ready to be weaned down.

My questions are simply this: Did anyone use oxycontin and/or perceset and find that after a several weeks the meds seemed to not work as well?
I’m taking 20 mg oxycontin 3 times a day and 5/325 perceset 3 times daily as well. I alternate them so that I never take them at the same time.
It’s just so disappointing to be feeling so good and up and moving around and then suddenly feel like I’m back at week 3 with all of the pain returning.

And finally, I had staples to close my incision. My back has healed wonderfully except for one staple hole that seems to have some of the bandage grown into it and into my skin. It won’t come out and I believe that it will need to be cut out. Has anyone experienced that?

I appreciate any advice anyone can offer. This website has helped me deal a little better with one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I love you all for taking the time to respond to all of our newbie’s questions.

[Houston Curves]

Forgive me as I have not had surgery yet, but I believe the process you are talking about is habituation. You become habituated to a medication the longer you use it and it becomes less effective. When my daughter was in the Level III NICU, she became habituated to Fentynol (sp?) and had to receive increasing doses. I wouldexplain to the Dr that it isn't helping as much and about the waking when you miss a dose. He should be able to help. However, please aslo wait for others to post who have already had their surgeries.


Ann

[suzyjay]

I was on hydrocodone every 4 hours from when I came home from the hospital for 3 months. Then he doctor changed me to oxycodone 10 mg 3 times a day and hydrocodone (for break through pain) no more than 3 times a day. After I reached 4 months I lower the dosage of oxy to 2 times a day and cut the hydrocodone pill into pieces from 3 pills a day to 2 3/4 pills a day for two weeks and after that I lower it to 2 1/2 pills a day. It's important to come off the pills slowly because you will get bad withdrawal symptoms. The doctors try to take you off pain med as soon as possible but you tell them you have pain and you need relief. I was told by the doctor's nurse that most patients reduce their pain meds after 2 months and was surprised I was still in a lot of pain. Everyone is different and by reading posts in this forum you will find some people need their pain med for at least 3 months or more. Don't feel weak for needing pain med you went through a big surgery.

Sue

[laf3030]

Update!

I did visit my family doc today (per instructions from the surgeon's nurse) and he said that the "thing" that looks like some bandage that has grown into my back is probably an internal stitch that was working it's way out of the staple hole. So it's a good thing I didn't try to pull on it too much!
He told me that it will probably disolve on it's own but that since I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday that I should address it with him.

As for the pain meds. I agree that there is a chance that they are just not working as well as they used to, like I'm getting used to the dosage. I'm going to look it up tonite and make sure I'm prepared when I see the dr tomorrow. There is no reason why I should suffer (especially after what I went thru in the hospital) and I'm going to make sure they know I've done my homework. I don't expect to be pain free, but I don't feel like getting out of bed if I'm hurting alot ...so I know I'm not going to continue to progress if that's the case.

Thanks!

[twisted07]

I did visit my family doc today (per instructions from the surgeon's nurse) and he said that the "thing" that looks like some bandage that has grown into my back is probably an internal stitch that was working it's way out of the staple hole. So it's a good thing I didn't try to pull on it too much!
He told me that it will probably disolve on it's own but that since I'm seeing the surgeon on Tuesday that I should address it with him.

As for the pain meds. I agree that there is a chance that they are just not working as well as they used to, like I'm getting used to the dosage. I'm going to look it up tonite and make sure I'm prepared when I see the dr tomorrow. There is no reason why I should suffer (especially after what I went thru in the hospital) and I'm going to make sure they know I've done my homework. I don't expect to be pain free, but I don't feel like getting out of bed if I'm hurting alot ...so I know I'm not going to continue to progress if that's the case.

Thanks!

hope u feel better

[Shari]

I found that when I missed a dose of my meds while sleeping or for whatever reason, it seemed like the pain always increased. And it did take some time for it to lessen.

My home PT told me that it was important to take the meds at the proper time and I would set the alarm so I knew when to take them. When I first got home, if I was sleeping no one wanted to wake me up to give them to me and then I would wake up in twice as much pain as I should have.

Once that message was passed on to my caregivers at the time, and my meds were given to me at the right intervals, I felt so much better!!!

I understand that they wanted to let me sleep, but I paid for it.

Shari

[abhbarry]

Yes, waking up during the correct intervals in the night is extremely important to pain control, as I have also discovered. I am three weeks post-op today and doing better, but still in constant pain. My doctor's office wants me to go off of the oxycodone next week and go on Vicodin (sp?) I hope that is ok, but it seems like people are staying on pain meds longer. This was a huge surgery and I also went through so much pain in the hospital that I am upset I have to worry about controlling my pain meds when doctors are trying to get us off of them so quickly.

Best,
Anya

[CHRIS WBS]

Anya,

I am so sorry to hear about all the pain you are experiencing. It really saddens me to hear how much some of you suffer following this surgery. I’m surprised that part of the pre-op planning does not address this and make plans accordingly even if it means aligning yourself with a pain management specialist. Hearing about all this pain is enough to frighten anyone away from even considering this surgery. Anya, I hope and pray you will find relief soon.

Chris

[abhbarry]

Thank you Chris for your wishes. As far as the pain goes, it is terrible, but even at three weeks post-op, I have made improvements and see the potential for a better life style. I hope the pain does not scare anyone away from surgery. I do, however, wish for better pain relief. Yes, I am surprised that this wasn't addressed in pre-op planning. I was just told that I would be taken care of.

Best,
Anya

[Kari]

pain meds

Wow, I guess I have been very lucky with my pain management. I was on the Fentaly patch for about 4 weeks and then just took it off. What I did not know was how much it was helping and that I would go through major withdrawal (sick to my stomach, gas, did not feel like eating, dizzy,etc). This lasted for over seven days. During this time I increased my vicodin (sp), but I am still on a lower dose. I also notice during the day I can stretch my doses out longer, but at night I wake up at the schedueled time. I must say as the weeks go by, I sleep long stretches which is very nice!

Hang in there! Also, changes meds can be benificial. In the hopital it took several different trials to get the right combination for me.

Kari

5 weeks post-op