Re: allergic to morphine/vicadin - update & info.

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice, every day is a tiny bit better. The

pressure I feel on my jaw joint and teeth and face is intense, but

I'm not ready to pull my hair out anymore. I'm going to try the

heat - that sounds good.

I am concerned about these allergies in the future though, in case

of accident or other surprises life always seems to have. My dear

friend who has chronic pain due to endometriosis and gall bladder

problems said that Ulatram is the name of the only strong non-

narcotic out there. She is allergic to everything elso but can

manage that. I'm going to ask my dr about it - not so much for now,

but in case of future problems. I took an ambian to sleep for the

last two nights and that helped tremendously! My friend has said

there are countless studies showing the need for sleep for proper

healing and the bodies ablility to handle pain. She was quite

surprised my dr.s were reluctanct to give something to help sleep. I

actually understand for the first few days- it is so hard to breath

and they need to make sure you are over all the anesthesia. If

anyone else has trouble sleeping be sure to ask for help - it made

all the difference in the world for me.

I'm a novice, but I'm also trying my hand at meditation - nothing

fancy just deep breathing and imagining the hot sand on south beach

and floating an afternoon away as the waves gently lift and lower me

in the sunshine. It works quite well when the pain gets to be too

much.

Tomorrow is one week post-op. I can't believe how good it looks even

though I appear to be hiding a pair of socks in each cheek and under

my chin. Mostly, I am excited that I didn't lose any sensation in

my lower lip/chin. I only seem to have some loss on my upper lip/

mostly where my moustache will grow when I'm an older lady.

Thanks so much for the support - What a great group of people!

> > Hi everyone,

> > I had my surgury on Tuesday (so now day 4 post-op) and we

discovered

> > that I am allergic to morphine and vicadin so they said no

narcotics

> > for me. The motrine works ok for about 2hrs. then it is four

hours

> of

> > struggle and I can't sleep much more then 2hrs. at a time. Any

> > advice? I am iceing as much as I can stand it and drinking as

much

> > water as possible but feel like my head is going to explode

> >

> > Also, have PUT ON 9 pounds since surgery!! How is that

possible?

> Do

> > the steroids make that happen?

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I am allergic to the meds you mention and some more as well. I use

Ultram post op. It is helpful, but now as impactive as the other

meds for pain. It works enough though. If you can use it, I would

get your PCP on board so it is in your chart.

I am fortunate in that I can use Demoral which is really helpful

immediately post op, though they are reluctant to prescribe it for

home. So that gets me through the initial day or so for most

surgeries.

What kind of reaction did you have? Did you have breathing problems

with the reaction? If so, you should ask your PCP about a

prescription for epinepherine pens. They are emergency treatment

for people who have ever experienced anaphalyxis which includes such

as the struggle for breath, blood pressure drop, rapid pulse,

confusion and other symptoms. I carry the pens with me everytime I

go to the hospital. Most often the hospital will keep some one each

floor, but once I had a reaction and they had to go to pharmacy to

get one!! UGH! So now I take my own just in case. It is an

emergency situation. If your reaction included labored breathing

(and I think you mentioned this), I would talk to your PCP about

it. Just a thought.

I am glad you got some sleep. I agree, it always seems like post op

from any surgery, that once you are home and have a few consecutive

days of rest, you wake up feeling more like your old self. That is

good news!

Hugs,

Fran

> > > Hi everyone,

> > > I had my surgury on Tuesday (so now day 4 post-op) and we

> discovered

> > > that I am allergic to morphine and vicadin so they said no

> narcotics

> > > for me. The motrine works ok for about 2hrs. then it is four

> hours

> > of

> > > struggle and I can't sleep much more then 2hrs. at a time.

Any

> > > advice? I am iceing as much as I can stand it and drinking as

> much

> > > water as possible but feel like my head is going to explode

> > >

> > > Also, have PUT ON 9 pounds since surgery!! How is that

> possible?

> > Do

> > > the steroids make that happen?

[Guest guest]

Hi again ,

I just saw my post and I misstyped " Now " for " Not " . So here is the

correction - I don't think Ultram is as effective for pain as the

narcotic pain meds, but it effective enough! It works, especially

if you stay on top of your med schedule. If you use Ultram, it is

really important to stay ahead of the pain by taking it on time. If

the pain gets ahead of you, it is difficult for Ultram to catch up

with it. I don't know if that makes sense. We are all different,

but that is how it works for me. Sorry for the typo. It makes a big

difference as to the connotation of the sentence!! lol

Hugs,

Fran

> > > > Hi everyone,

> > > > I had my surgury on Tuesday (so now day 4 post-op) and we

> > discovered

> > > > that I am allergic to morphine and vicadin so they said no

> > narcotics

> > > > for me. The motrine works ok for about 2hrs. then it is

four

> > hours

> > > of

> > > > struggle and I can't sleep much more then 2hrs. at a time.

> Any

> > > > advice? I am iceing as much as I can stand it and drinking

as

> > much

> > > > water as possible but feel like my head is going to explode

> > > >

> > > > Also, have PUT ON 9 pounds since surgery!! How is that

> > possible?

> > > Do

> > > > the steroids make that happen?