It looks like my surgeon wants to go back in and do more back surgery -details on back board if you are interested - would you go on the long lasting from the percocet if you know this is a strong possibility ?
If it works for you, then yes I would. I don't think the LA are nearly as effective as the SA, but that's just me. 40mg of LA OxyContin actually pales in comparison to 20-25mg of the SA Oxycodone for me.
But, like I have said in other threads, I have a pretty high tolerance built up too.
If you can get the LA with some break-through SA to go with it, then that would be the ideal route to go imo. It all comes down to what your doctor is willing to do for you though. Most people don't have much say in it, they just kinda have to take what they can get.
My primary told me that if my pain continues she wants me to switch next week to the long lasting oxycotin with percocet as a break thru. I am just wondering if that would be the right thing to do if one is facing surgery. I am hoping that I can get off meds totally.
You know, pepper, it just really depends on what works for you. With the surgery being fresh, I would think that the SA would be necessary to take with the LA, because lets face it, surgery is a little more serious than every day CP and it is to be expected that you're going to be in significant pain for a week or so (or more, I don't know)
The LA will act to keep your pain levels down and get a head start on them (as pain is treated more effectively before it gets bad, rather than when it is already full blown), then the SA will be there for you when the pain becomes even worse, like in the middle of the night or if you are doing some exercises or whatnot that your surgeon and/or doctor will have you doing as your healing process. I think on like day 4 or day 5 after my surgery I was supposed to be moving around more and doing some light stretching and rehabilitation exercises, but I also remember the pain being much worse after doing those things.
Now, when I had my surgery, I wasn't given anything LA. I was only given the SA, Hydrocodone, and was given 6-8 pills a day as needed every 4-6 hours (1 to 2 pills).
I wasn't even offered anything LA until my pain came back on an everyday basis and I'd been on the SA for well over a year and a half. My pain doc pretty much made me switch to the LA because she said the SA were just too risky with the possibility of addiction/dependence and habit forming when taken for such a long period of time as the only method of treating the pain.
She is very much in favor of the LA over the SA, and doesn't even prescribe the SA for breakthrough unless something serious happens.
I suppose the thing to remember is that the pain directly after surgery is ACUTE pain and it will be treated as such. So i would think if you make that switch before surgery they are going to compensate for your acute pain after the surgery. In time things should level out and you should return to where you are now. gl and let us know how it goes. I will throw some prayers your way. Morgyporgy
It doesn't really relate directly to the OP's original question, but when I had my surgery I had already been on Hydrocodone for quite some time and had as you can imagine built up some tolerance.
Well, when I came out of surgery, I woke up in the recovery room (looked more like a morgue, to be honest) and an older gentleman was standing there by my IV with a shot of morphine to drip/inject into it. He gave me I think 10mg and I was still in awful pain and when he asked if the Morphine was working I told him "not even a little bit".
So he gave me another 5mg, still nothing, then another 5mg, and it wasn't really getting me anywhere.
Then he turned just plain mean and rude to me. He asked, "Have you been taking narcotics for pain relief for a while!?!" I said, "Yes I have."
He scoffed loudly not even trying to hide it in the least. "Jesus... this is ridiculous... I'll be right back." After saying that he stormed off and went somewhere for about 2 minutes and came back and said that he could give me 30mg but that was the maximum dose.
He went on to say "people like you who take too much of the narcotics are just hard to work with and you shouldn't be getting this much Morphine..."
lol
It was as if he was genuinely miffed about it, and the Morphine was coming out of his own pocket expense or something. He made me feel like a real loser. I should have wrote the Hospital Administrator about it but I didn't even bother.
Anyway, moral of the story I suppose is to be sure to let the surgery and post op people know what you have been taking and the amounts so they have an idea before you have to work it out in a daze from the surgery itself and in a lot of pain.
I woke up from surgery crying...so they gave me a shot(I didn't even ask what it was)...still in pain...another shot...still pain...they asked if I brought any meds with me. They went and got my oxy out of my coat and gave me that and one more shot and finally the pain was tolerable. My primary was in charge of my pain relief and she made sure I was comfortable for the next couple of weeks.
It would be scary to not be given pain relief after surgery...I'm glad my nurses weren't stingy with the meds!!
__________________
undiagnosed lung and back pain after pneumonia in '03, tmj, migraines,(two failed surgeries for) Kienbock's disease
Morgyporgy
