Setback: HELP Wife in post-op PAIN and nausea

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Well, Amy had a setback today and ended back in the hospital. She had her

decompression on Monday 8/14, came home Wednesday and didn't drink or eat much

since she has been home. Because pain and nausea were problems, the NSG

prescribed

hydrocodone with acetominaphen liquid. Well this made her throw up Friday night

and Saturday morning. The doctor wanted me to get 2 liters in her by Sat

morning,

but I was only able to get in 1, but she threw up. A call to the doctor resulted

in

me taking her to the emergency room today. He could have easily prescribed a

stronger pain med and kept her home, but he wanted to rule out a brain hemmorage

and/or menengitis. Well, in the ER, she had a CatScan which looked good. I was

able to see the C1 laminectomy with my untrained eye. They then did a lumbar

puncture (spinal tap) to check for menengitis. I watched the entire procedure

and

they couldn't get too much fluid out, perhaps 3/8th to 1/2 inch in two vials and

1/4th inch in the last vial. It was enough though to perform some tests. It was

amazing seeing the procedure and praying that the flexing 4-inch needle didn't

break (it didn't).

Results show some blood in the spinal fluid as well as elevated protein and

glucose. The white blood count was 20, where it should be 3 or less. The red

blood count was 23,000. They feel that this is most likely due to the surgery.

They did say that it could possibly be a case of viral menengitis, but the cure

for

that is rest and hydration. The blood in the spinal fluid actually irritates

the

brain and causes more pain. She was re-admitted today and now has steroids to

reduce inflammation and swelling, anti nausea medication in the IV and a

continuous

feed of Morphine as well as a button to push every 10 minutes if she needs it.

We

asked about a collar to support her neck. He said that it would definitely help

in

the short run, but hurt her recovery in the long run and therefore advised

against

it. I imagine she will be in for a couple of days for her to at least be able to

drink and keep it down. They did weigh her again and she has only lost four

pounds. Not bad since she hasn't eaten much in the past six days. She doesn't

really need to lose any more weight though.

Again, thanks for all the great, lenghty and detailed replies. I am sorry that

I

cannot (at this point) reply to all.

Craig

ceborden@...

for wife AMY

ACM1, 10MM, SM, Decompression 8/14/00

Previous thread:

......................................................:

> Hi All,

>

> Thanks for all the wonderful replies and suggestions. Of course, I now have

> learned of MANY options for pain, nausea and constipation. I apologize for

> not responding to all of you individually. I will post to all and try to

> keep " HELP WIFE " in the thread.

>

> I called the doctor today, he perscribed hydrocodone and acetominaphin

> LIQUID for the pain and some trimethobenzamide nausea suppositories. He is

> not too worried about eating, but more on hydration at this point. He also

> said that if I can't get 2 liters down her by tomorrow, she will have to go

> back in to the hospital via emergency and the following would happen:

> 1) CT scan of head for hydrocephalus

> 2) Spinal tap looking for menengitis

> 3) IV for dehydration

>

> She tried the hydrocodone today at 5pm. She threw up twice this evening

> (first time since surgery). Not sure if it was the medicine, 0.25 liters of

> water, small amount of sprite or the small amount of mashed potatoes she

> ate. Around 9pm tonight she took the suppository and now at 9:45 I gave her

> more hydrocodone. For hydration, she has had .25 liters of gatorade since

> 5pm. It will be a long night, but I will do my best to hydrate her. We are

> trying many things to hydrate her, but it almost seems that gatorade is the

> best we've found so far.

>

> She is walking up and down the stairs ok, but mainly stays in bed. Noise,

> light, sound and odors affect her. In addition, she has had some very

> strange almost hallucinogenic dreams with colors and being able to fly. The

> doctor said that she didn't have to worry about the stockings for clots

> anymore. Her procedure was routine, uneventful and basically textbook

> according to the doctor. She has a 2-inch incision area and is healing

> nice. All was done under the microscope, there were no adhesions and the

> tonsils were left intact. We just have to get past the hydration and

> hopefully things will fall into place.

>

> OH! I almost forgot, Amy did have a small BM this evening. Never thought

> I'd ever be announcing something like that to the entire world, but it is a

> step in the right direction.

>

> Thanks all again for the many replies. Your feedback truly is appreciated.

>

> Craig

> ceborden@...

>

> for wife AMY

> ACM1, 10MM, SM, Decompression 8/14/00

>

>