frustrated with meds-- 1 week post op

[SASSY178]

I am one week post op laminectomy/discectomy and then another explorative surgery to relieve extreme inflammation from the previous procedures. Now my docs want me to start decreasing narcotics. I have been doing this all along but they want me to take tylenol-- which does absolutely nothing for my pain. I'm not trying to be a baby and I know the downfalls of narcotics as I am a social worker but going from Morphine to Oxycodone to Tylenol is somewhat extreme. There must be another option?? Sorry to moan but I still have pain (yes it has decreased and I have decreased meds). Does anyone else have these experiences or suggestions on how to manage the pain?? Thanks for all the help as I am still new to this site.

Sarah

[Nairek]

Sarah,

I'm a bit surprised that your doctor is cutting you back on pain meds so quickly after surgery. I was on Oxycontin & Percoset for 3 weeks after my fusion surgery. I'm off of the Oxycontin now but still on the Percoset & using a pain patch.

Do you have a pain management doctor? If not, perhaps your surgeon could refer you to one? Or maybe you can get a prescription for a Lidocaine patch or Codeine?

I don't see how they can expect you to recover comfortably if you are still in such pain. I agree that Tylenol just doesn't cut it.

Karin

[SASSY178]

Thanks Kim I thought maybe I was just being a baby about the pain but Tylenol never has worked for me for anything. Thanks for making me not feel like I'm crazy

[runner]

Sarah,

It is a real red flag when i hear doctors trying to get patients to go down to a medication like Tylenol one week post-op. My spine doctor (neuro) let me taper off pain medications slowly and when I started getting an increase in pain at six months post-op ADR surgery, he said I could start taking narcotics again. I haven't had a problem with medications with him which really makes me more relaxed knowing that I don't have to justify my pain levels to my doctor.

I read that only three percent of people who take medications for pain have a problem with addiction. We might become tolerant to medications as a natural physiological process but we take medications for pain and not for the "high". Actually, pain meds do not give me a high at all, they just help the pain.

I did go to an orthopaedic surgeon before my surgery that told me he wanted me to get off pain medication 30 days after fusion surgery and that really made bells go off in my head, knowing that is kind of a blanket statement about pain and pain medication.
That turned me off that doctor. Plus the fact that he dismissed ADRs.

I would tell your doctor: "Don't you think I will heal better with my pain under control?" and "Isn't it important to taper off these medications slowly?"
These are two legitimate questions that a doctor should be able to address.

If he balks, maybe get some info off the internet about pain control and healing. Everyone heals on their own schedule and pain is subjective. Your pain is your pain and if you need to control it, that is your right as a patient. Any doctor that does not try to help you control pain, is not a good doctor.

runner

[Cindylou]

Amen runner. Everything you said absolutely is true. I already don't like this doctor. I think you should ask for a referral to a few pain management doctors, so you have a couple of options to pick from. Switching to tylenol one week after surgery is absurd. You're not crazy Sarah. Your doctor is.

Cindylou

[dshobbies]

Ditto everyone,

Get yourself a pain management doctor. Their concern is your pain!

Just for the telling, I was on Dilaudid for 6 months. I had no problem slowly getting off of it.