Pain Med Dosages

[Guest guest]

By the time I was hospitalized and put on TPN for 3 1/2 months

leading up to my Whipple surgery, I had gone from 2mg every 6 hours,

to 4 mg every 4-6 hours, then 6mg every 4 hours.

When I had my surgery, I woke up from the anaesthesia in Recovery to

the worst pain that I could imagine. Any slight movement sent

jarring pain through my body. I asked them why I wasn't being given

pain meds and they told me they were giving me Dilaudid.

It honestly felt like it wasn't working at all. When they were

taking me to my room, the orderlies accidently bumped my gurney

against the back wall of the elevator...They weren't expecting the

noise that came out of my throat I tell you for one of them jumped

and panicked that something was seriously wrong...my big toe knocked

the end of the bed, and that was enough to cause excruciating pain.

It was so bad that when they got me to my room, I begged to be put

out when they had to lift me to my bed...of course, they refused...I

sent my family out of the room, and they said they could hear me

screaming from down the hall. I had tears flowing for hours. My

nurse got angry with me and refused to give me any more pain

medicine, and just told me to calm down and they would check back in

a couple of hours.

I have to admit that when I did calm down, it was a bit easier, but

not by much. Of course, that's when they found the tumours and just

closed me back up because the Whipple was unable to be done.

They kept giving me Morphine, even after I told them repeatedly,

that morphine wasn't good for me, didn't help with the pain and made

me very sick. They then tried me on Demerol, and I had Oxycontin??

(slow release one) 20mg every 12 hours, and Fentanyl Patches 50mg.

That helped some (the patches). 4 days after my surgery, I was able

to bear with the pain, and kept off the patches for they were

causing me to be very drowsy...but I went back on them before being

discharged, just went to the 25mg ones.

I found out that in the recovery room, they had given me 18mg of

Dilaudid and were worried about giving me anymore.

I have been off pain meds except for when i've had to have further

surgery for 20 months now and my last hospital admittance the other

day..I couldn't believe it when I found out they had me on .2mg

every 2 hours. It took the edge off the pain but I was still having

pain, but the residents wouldn't increase it. At least being off the

pain meds all that time has lowered the amount my body needs to keep

any pain under control again.