A Med Question

[SheriALS]

I am 3 weeks post op RTHR. My pelvis got very twisted in the years pre-op resulting in some bulging disks in my back. I also have suffered a lot of muscle atrophy in my op leg.
I can't take vicodin at night because it wires me up and now I have been told no more oxycontin (on which I sleep like a baby and wake up alert)
Pre-op I tried Flexeril & Trazadone to help me sleep but both leave me barely able to form a complete sentence the next day and very groggy. I then tried half tabs of both but did not find that was enough for relief.
Now my OS office prescribed Tramadol and I discovered tonight that I have the same reactions to it as I do to using Vicodin at night...itchy, brain can't shut off. So although it helped to deal with my pain if you can't sleep life is not good. The instructions said take 1-2 tablets and I took one. I was thinking tomorrow I would try 2 and see if that worked better but I am a bit afraid of another sleepless night.
Does anyone have any sugggestions on a different med to try for night or perhaps an over the counter or prescription that I could use with the Tramadol to overcome this problem?
I am sorry if I have been posting about this too much but I feel so desperate. I am going to call a pain specialist tomorrow (I guess that is actually today) but may need some help until I can get in to see her.
Thank you,
Sheri

 

[Texas]

Hi there.for the fist few weeks i tool a sleeping aid prescribed by my Dr with a pain pill took the edge off and would help me sleep a lil longer i didnt do that for long just on the worst days....The hosp even gave me tramadol (for break thru pain) with a sleep aid ...just a thought good luck to you others will posts soon with suggestions.....i wish you the best...........feel better........)

 

[Pat29627]

I'll be interested to hear what you find out. In the hospital, I opted for Ambien the second night since I couldn't sleep. That left me in horrible pain, but they wouldn't give me anything since I'd had the Ambien. At home, the oxycodone and hydrocodone put me right to sleep. But they caused anxiety and depression so I stopped those at 7 weeks.

Tramadol (Ultram) makes me wide awake and antsy. My solution was to take a lorazapam (Ativan) an hour or so before bed, then right as I was getting into bed, take a tramadol. That way once I'm asleep, the pain didn't wake me up and I slept well. But, I was scared of drug interaction, and 1/2 tramadol (25 mg.) worked well enough, so that's what I'd use. That was about 10 weeks out so pain wasn't severe, just enough to keep me awake.

 

[JudyS]

I've been taking 100mg of trazadone for a few years now. Once i discovered that i was only sleeping 3 hours at nite. It does work wonders for me. Sorry it did not for you. i guess every body is different.
judy

 

[Josephine]

I think you should go talk to your GP about it. Surgeons don't often interest themselves much in the outfall of the meds they prescribe. Perhaps he'll prescribe you the oxycontin you need.