forginon

mnmama,

I also take MSC, every eight hours.

Your prior dose of oxy (both LA and BT) converts to morphine at about 150mg daily. So your doc has essentially doubled your dose. That's one heck of an increase, and I imagine that he wants to be very careful with short acting meds until he sees how you are doing.

You mention the lack of a BT med, but you did not mention how well the MSC is working. If it is delivering adequate pain relief then you probably don't require BT meds. What is your average daily pain using the 0-10 scale, where 0=no pain, and 10=the worst pain imaginable? If you are experiencing BT pain episodes, what level does your pain reach during a breakthrough pain episode?

I don't believe your bypass will have any meaningful effect on your absorbtion of meds, since the opioids are taken in while passing through the small bowel for the most part. If there is any reduction in absorbtion, and your doc knew about the bypass, that may be one reason for the large increase in dose.

Best of luck to you.

steve