Questions about post surgery pain meds - Pain Management Message Board

trowftd3 · 11-07-2005, 10:47 PM

I know this has been covered before but...
I'm having surgery this month on my arm and I'm wondering about post surgery pain meds. I'm already taking meds for my lung. Am I supposed to just take more of my bt med for the extra pain?

Those of you who've been through this before...did you go to your pm or your surgeon for the extra medication? My gp prescribes my meds with approval from my pm. I've read so many horror stories about being undermedicated after surgery. Do you have any helpful hints for me? Do I just ask my surgeon what to do? Sorry, I'm just not sure how to go about this. And how much of an increase in your meds did you need? I know taking pain medication reduces you body's ability to handle pain so...how does this work??

Thanks so much...I'm getting scared now that it's actually been approved and I'm making the appointment in the morning. ~Mush

feelbad · 11-08-2005, 07:01 AM

Since all PMs really handle this in their own ways I would think the best way to go here quite honestly,in order to find out just what your particular PM does in this situation would be to talk directly to your PM.i wouldn't trust the advice of someone who is not involved with your particular clinic or it could cause you lots of problems down the road,ya know?i too am kind of in the same boat here or will be soon.i too need to find out what the actual deal is.I had discussed this with my NP the last visit as I do have to have surgery done on my knee here very soon.she said that when the time comes to just let her know and they(my NP and my ortho) would work out some sort of a plan.I would think that in the case of any surgery that they know is going to cause a definite and significant increase in your pain,that they would'nt let you suffer you know?Just make sure to really strongly voice your big concerns and fears about the possibility of being undermedicated,I would think they would be able to work out something that will work for you.good luck.marcia

trowftd3 · 11-08-2005, 09:22 AM

Thanks, Marcia and good luck to you too! Here I am whining about a litttle saw through my ulna and you're having braing surgery. When do you go in so I can cross the fingers in one hand at least.lol
~Mush

mshatch · 11-09-2005, 01:00 AM

Hi
My advice to you is this, if you are already seeing a Pain Management dr then chances are they will go ahead and let the P/M dr take care of your pain. On the other hand if you dont have a P/M dr I would imagine the neurosurgeon would take care for you post op pain. Do you have a P/m dr and if so did you discuss this with he/she. This is the thing, if you already see P/m dr you probably had to sign a pain contract and if you did the neuro surgeon should know and your p/m dr HAS to know about it or you could get kicked out of ur P/M drs door without anything. I know post op is rough but nuerosurgeons usually like to keep you comfortable. Different breed I guess. Well I hope all works out great for u.
MsHatch

chriztene · 11-09-2005, 03:40 AM

I just had my second lapro surgery and the post-op pain managemnt this time around was excellent! The first time I had surgery (a year ago) it was a total nightmare wherein the surgery center did not manage my pain at all.

This second time around I told the nurses, anethesiologist, and my surgeon of the high amounts of pain medication I had been taking for the past 3 years and pleaded with them to take this into consideration when managing my post-op pain.

You must have your surgeon document your current meds in his chart along with the surgery center. I told everyone who I came in contact with prior to surgery and they managed my post-op pain beautifully. I had little discomfort - until the next morning when all of the pain medications wore off.

My advice is tell everyone/anyone who is involved with your surgery about your current medications and the amount/length of time you have been taking them!