No Pain Medications

[Matt Z 4,139]

On 11/7/2018 at 5:47 PM, Swanton_Bomb said:

That surgeon should lose their license to practice medicine. That is positively sadistic and cruel. I know that there is a lot of legal pressure on doctors to not prescribe opioids but this is for surgery! I am having my surgery in the morning, and I am relieved that the instructions I was given specify that I will be sent home with Percoset.

First off, you don't know the surrounding circumstances to the patient that didn't get the meds. We all go through a pre-op screening, if that patient was flagged for previous abuse issues, that would be just 1 reason why they would not be given opioids.

On 11/7/2018 at 4:07 PM, Orchids&Dragons said:

I'm curious. When I had my surgery, there was another bariatric patient a few doors down. We had different surgeons (thank God!)

Anyway, her surgeon would not prescribe anything other than Tylenol for post-op pain. This is his normal practice, not an unusual case because she was an addict or something. My nurse told me that the woman wouldn't get out of bed to walk or anything because she was in so much pain. This seems cruel to me.

My question is: Why would anyone go to a surgeon like this? Do you think that patients just don't know?

As someone in the medical field myself, there are a few issues here. That nurse disclosing another patients care, pain and prescriptions is a major violation of their HIPAA rights. There is no way to know or verify without reviewing that patients medical chart to know if there were other reasons why they were not given opioids. There are quite a few reasons why someone would not be prescribed opioids.

This whole ordeal is hearsay and rumor spread illegally about another patients private, protected information.

[Swanton_Bomb 522]

I got a local block, Toradol around the clock and Dilaudid the first night, Percoset after that.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Swanton_Bomb

[Born in Missouri 1,264]

This topic makes me crazy. I was a chronic pain patient BEFORE my bypass surgery. To my horror, I was not treated for my existing pain but given such a low dose of morphine that it did nothing for me. My surgeon left for Sweden right after my surgery, his assistant never visited me, and the hospitalist failed her responsibility toward me miserably.

Leaving a patient to suffer needlessly is just wrong. And there's a big difference between being an addict and being dependent on opiates for pain relief. If I'm addicted to anything, it's not being in unrelenting pain. Pain medication allows me to lead a semi-normal life without feeling out of control. Only someone who has chronic pain can understand this. It's a horrible cycle. And for the record, pain medication does give one a "high"; it merely takes the edge off so that you don't feel the pain as much.

Nothing makes me crazier than being treated as a drug-seeking, attention-seeking hypochondriac. Some people in the health care field have become cold and indifferent to the suffering of those who live with chronic pain. They assume everyone is abusing.

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

47 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

First off, you don't know the surrounding circumstances to the patient that didn't get the meds. We all go through a pre-op screening, if that patient was flagged for previous abuse issues, that would be just 1 reason why they would not be given opioids.

As someone in the medical field myself, there are a few issues here. That nurse disclosing another patients care, pain and prescriptions is a major violation of their HIPAA rights. There is no way to know or verify without reviewing that patients medical chart to know if there were other reasons why they were not given opioids. There are quite a few reasons why someone would not be prescribed opioids.

This whole ordeal is hearsay and rumor spread illegally about another patients private, protected information.

I agree that the nurse shouldn't share personal information. However, I was in a large hospital and do not know to which patient she was referring. However, this doctor performs surgery regularly at this hospital, and it is (according to the nurse) his standard procedure to use no pain meds stronger than Tylenol. I do know of at least one other surgeon in this area who does the same. I was told by a Co-worker who was his bariatric patient , but that was about 5 years ago.

[MIZ60 1,291]

I took tylenol with codeine a few times in the hospital and when I got home. Had an allergic reaction (hives) to it on post op day #2 and poured it down the drain. Did not ask for or need any alternative pain medication at that point.

When I went for my 6 month post op last week my surgeon told me that they are starting to do the sleeve as an outpatient procedure (home the same day) and only using tylenol for pain based on some current research. Pain tolerance is variable from person to person and I would prefer not to take it. Additionally, my friend had bladder cancer surgery (11 hours on the table) a few months back at a well known cancer hospital in Houston and she received IV acetaminophen for pain and it seemed to work fine for her. Doctor did not want her to have anything else due to the long anesthesia and risk of bowel obstruction--her daughter (an RN) and I both asked them about this and could not believe that was all she was getting after some major surgery.

[Coexister 114]

I am on day 2 post - op. I was sent home with Tylenol 3 and it was like pulling teeth from the pharmacist to get this. I am in a lot of pain as I had pain issues previous to surgery and was taking some gabenpentin and celebrex on a daily basis and they had me stop those with this surgery. The T3 doesn't do much for me. This is my 11th surgery and never have I had to suffer so needlessly during post- op. Surgeons have always given something reasonably stronger. I am regretting this surgery as I didn't think I would be made to suffer so cruelly and needlessly afterwards . And to top things off, I can't even get a hold of the person I need to talk to at my Bariatrics doctors office to get some advice..

Felt like I needed to add to my earlier rant. The Nurse did call me back and the Dr. added 1 to 2 Tramadol to my liquid Tylenol. Hoping this will work. They do care and they did answer my call back.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Coexister

[Frustr8 7,886]

Glad you finally got a satisfactory answer to this,