THR JB's (beachgal) Joyous Journey 7/25/14!

[beachgal]

Finally am able to have BMs. They are not normal yet but at least they've started. I must react to the anesthesia differently from most. I really am not having much pain around my incision but these sharp stomach cramps and gas pains have really caused my angst.

It's a cool morning here today, very unusual for the end of July. The groundskeepers are mowing and our dog is watching all the activity. It's nice to have something normal to see.

I was up most of last night. I couldn't get comfy in bed with a little muscle spasms just above my waistline. I spent three hours in the recliner and dreamed some of the craziest dreams! This medicine has taken a toll on my psyche. I find sometimes I try to speak and my sentences are disjointed. It's hard to keep my mind on anything for very long.


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[bottomshollow]

No one warned me about pain meds and constipation----so after one week at home I could honestly say that the constipation was worse than the post op surgery pain.

 

[Chessie]

Finally am able to have BMs. They are not normal yet but at least they've started. I must react to the anesthesia differently from most. I really am not having much pain around my incision but these sharp stomach cramps and gas pains have really caused my angst.

That's great @beachgal! I didn't have issues with constipation right away as they were giving me stool softeners in the hospital, and those seemed to do the trick for me, for the first several days. But man around day 8-9, things got really uncomfortable. Not sure what you are taking, but make sure you keep taking stool softeners or extra fiber, or something, as you'll most likely be on the pain meds for a bit longer.

 

[Jaycey]

My hospital asks patients to bring dried fruit to have as a snack post op. I plan on that and some of those get up and go cookies! Hope you are drinking lots of fluids @beachgal . You may want to discuss your meds with your family doc as well

 

[beachgal]

@Chessie, @Jaycey, I think I'm on a good schedule now. I had prunes, prune juice, MOM, before resorting to further measures. I was really surprised that I had so much trouble. As my appetite improves, it seems to be getting back to normal.

PT just left. She is a doll! I walked, did 20 of all the exercises she asked, and we changed my compression stockings. Ugh I really don't like them but I'm wearing them faithfully.

Sister brought home-cooked meal for lunch today and it tasted so good. What would I do without them?


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[Chessie]

@beachgal , yeah MOM was what finally had to use...not much fun but certainly not as awful as harsh laxatives. I am still taking a stool softener, but am no longer on pain meds. I will quit them as soon as I think everything is back to normal. Glad the PT is going well - I had 3 different ladies come, and they were all very nice.

 

[rans0m00]

@beachgal sorry about the opiate constipation... I know a little about this... Hope some of this helps.

So it depends on how much meds and how your body reacts but the way opiates cause constipation is drying things out and reduces the natural contractions of the intestines that keeps everything moving.

Fiber and stool softeners alone don't always cut it due to the lack of the intestines trying to move things.

A stimulant laxative will move things but it will be uncomfortably hard and probably abnormal amounts of cramping.

So when it comes to getting it done dol-q-lace, senna, and a healthy diet will almost always keep things within acceptable. Also the more leafy greens the better.

 

[MajorHeidi]

Yes, on my worst constipation day, two rounds of MOM finally did the trick. Whew......
Glad you are coming along, and everything you are experiencing is normal.

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

Hope you get that constipation sorted out @beachgal..... For me that was truly the worst part of my recovery ..... The pain and the toxins make you feel dreadful.... I took se very strong medicine to get it going .... Did the trick! Also that ' memory loss is part of the body responding to the trauma of the op,... It goes too! Xxxx


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[beachgal]

A bit of unfinished business from yesterday. I took one Percocet, one reg aspirin, and one Claritin yesterday morning at 7 am. Had my PT around lunchtime without beefing up pain meds. No problem. As the afternoon wore on, I realized I was having some side-effect issues with the Percocet. The usual constipation, dry mouth, nausea, was bad enough but I crossed over into dizziness, lightheadedness, jittery, slurred and disjointed speech, irregular heartbeats, and just a very anxious pervasive feeling, overall. I contacted my OS's office and was told to eliminate the Percocet and if I needed anything for pain, take Tylenol. I took two before bedtime at 10 am but still had the jitters. Slept pretty well until 1 am when hubby checked on me. He helped me to bathroom and I drank a small glass of milk. Went back to sleep quickly, but still was jittery. Woke up at. 4 am and the jitters were gone. Finally. I dozed back to sleep until. 6 am and feel so much better. Hip is ok for pain this morning and I'm waiting for OS's office to call me back with possible med change. I may just stick to the Tylenol. What a roller coaster ride. I'll update again after I talk to OS's office.


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[Chessie]

Glad you are feeling better @beachgal. The only issues I had with Percoset were the constipation, and a tiny bit of nausea - which was my own fault because I wasn't paying attention to the "take it with food" instructions. I slept blissfully with it, and actually took one a few nights ago as I was still just not sleeping well. But I have not had any since, and hopefully will not need it again.

 

[beachgal]

OS is prescribing ULTRAM (Tramadol) for pain mgmt on an "as needed" basis. He said I can use the Tylenol in morning and nighttime and ULTRAM for PT if that helps. So I'll give it a try. It's amazing how differently our bodies process these meds. No more Percocet for this gal.


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[CodeGirl]

@beachgal , my OS prescribed Vicodin and Ultram and I ended up not using the Vicodin at all because of the side effects. One or two Ultram seemed to work just fine for me. I hope they work well for you too! I wonder also if the Claritin could cause the jitteriness esp. in combination with the Percocet? Anyhow,hopefullly Ultram will provide you relief without side effects. Keep up the great recovery!

 

[Chessie]

OS is prescribing ULTRAM (Tramadol) for pain mgmt on an "as needed" basis. He said I can use the Tylenol in morning and nighttime and ULTRAM for PT if that helps. So I'll give it a try. It's amazing how differently our bodies process these meds.

I completely agree! I was taking the Tramadol the week before (when I had to stop NSAIDS) so that I could sleep. And it worked for that, but I started getting all these horribly itchy bumps that did not start going away until the day after I stopped taking it (surgery day), so Tramadol is off the list for me. Crazy.

I took Claritin a few years back for some allergy issues and I thought I would jump out of my skin. I can't take that stuff either!

 

[LoyalD]

I seriously think it is my stress level that is impeding my ability to reduce the pain. I am so bummed to read all these blogs about how people are on Tylenol, when at five weeks, I am seriously miserable. But, I jumped on to see how beachgal is doing. Back to miserable work, at five weeks, no less. By 2 p.m., I am almost in tears from pain, but don't have an option.

 

[beachgal]

@LoyalD, so sorry about your pain. There is nothing worse. Trying to come up with a combination that gives the needed results in the least - invasive way is a challenge. I was taking two Percocet every four hours orally and had Toradol in my IV in hospital and now understand why I was so out of it. I'm no hero here for pain but just cannot function with Percocet. We'll see how it goes. Keep working on it until you find your answer.


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[sophieZ]

@beachgal, I too had issues with Percocet. I knew I couldn't tolerate Vicodin, so prior to my surgery, the OS had me give Percocet a try. I took one pill and after an hour, broke out in a cold sweat, got shaky, and threw it up, even though I'd followed instructions and took it with food. SO, Percocet was out. I got Tramadol in the hospital and one night (while still hospitalized) I took two pills every four hours, so by morning I was so lightheaded and tired I could hardly function! At least I wasn't nauseated. I knew that to function normally, I was not going to be able to take a lot of Tramadol. I've been taking Tylenol (but not exceeding the 3000mg per day limit) during the day and will take one Tramadol at bedtime along with the Tylenol. It's been working fairly well for me, and sure hope you'll get the pain relief you need!

 

[NoraJ]

Hi @beachgal..it seems you have a good handle on sorting the medication. It does amaze me how different we are in our recoveries. Other than an anti inflammatory on discharge tge only pain relief I was prescribed was paracetamol (Tylenol) and had no issues at all with Bm's. I was fine from the beginning but I was taking tummy meds with the anti inflammatory which may have prevented that. At 9 weeks out I'm doing PT to sort my walk as I'm still on a crutch. So my early weeks were fine other than sleep and the emotional roller coaster. ..

@LoyalD I am lucky I'm not back at work yet. I've another three weeks...I am fortunate I know as even now whilst I could do a day or two I would struggle with a full week...

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

@LoyalD sorry you are still having such pain....I do think you are right...stress really impedes the actions of the pain meds and of course, working so early in your recovery must be a bummer. Just a thought....I used an app called ' headspace' which really helped me when I felt severely stressed early on in my recovery. It just helped my mind to stop ' chattering'. Hope you feel better soon x

@beachgal do hope you manage to get the med 'cocktail' right. I'm unfamiliar with some of the names of drugs...but I found paracetamol and codeine worked for me....as long as I took the liquid to keep the BMs regular. I took paracetamol (500mg) every 4 hours & codeine every 6 hours (30mg)....xxx


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[Chessie]

Hi @beachgal..it seems you have a good handle on sorting the medication. It does amaze me how different we are in our recoveries. Other than an anti inflammatory on discharge tge only pain relief I was prescribed was paracetamol (Tylenol) and had no issues at all with Bm's. I was fine from the beginning but I was taking tummy meds with the anti inflammatory which may have prevented that.

@NoraJ, just so you'll know, the constipation issue is caused by prescription pain medications. Normal over- the- counter stuff like Tylenol and Advil don't cause such problems, nor do NSAIDS in general. Its great that you were able to get away with taking so few meds!!