Fun and Frolic With Long-Term Love

Bluebird said:
It was in recovery that the pain came forward. I’m glad he got ahold of it for me eventually. Now I’m pretty much at a level 2? Still noticeable but livable!
Click to expand...
They should be giving you as many drugs as it takes to control the pain. Ask for more. (Oh oops, sorry, my "should" statement is an example of an unhelpful thinking pattern. O-noes.)
 
Level 2 pain out of 10 is nothing. I've got arthritis and I live in 4-7 land on the daily. I take 2 tramadol and 4 acetaminophen a day just to get my 7 down to a 4 and I don't think I "should" take more than that! I don't think she "should" try and get down to a 0 lol
 
Magdlyn said:
Level 2 pain out of 10 is nothing. I've got arthritis and I live in 4-7 land on the daily. I take 2 tramadol and 4 acetaminophen a day just to get my 7 down to a 4 and I don't think I "should" take more than that! I don't think she "should" try and get down to a 0 lol
Click to expand...
There's a huge difference between long-term daily chronic illness pain management and post-major-surgical pain management lol.

ETA: Bluebird, there's no reason why you should be feeling any discomfort whatsoever with the medication available nowadays. This is what those meds are supposed to be for. It does not mean you will become addicted to opiates. When I had my hysterectomy, I had Percoset and she told me to take one as soon as I felt the tiniest ache coming on (I actually went on ibuprofen before I ran out of my final Percoset refill). This is not like natural childbirth pain or your body's way of telling you to take it easy because you've been overdoing it. You have had a piece of your insides cut out! Please don't hesitate to ask your doctor(s) for the painkillers you deserve.
 
Last edited:
I can definitely say there is a difference between long-term chronic pain and post-surgery pain!

I’ve had bad joints for years since I’m low on cartilage around my hips and shoulders. I’ve just adapted to living with it over time, so for most days it’s just background noise, if that makes sense. I don’t even medicate for it anymore - it’s just a part of being me.

This pain right now is new and it sucks! I’ve had constant level 4 since January, with days that were beginning to become consistent 7-8s with no relief. To have it at a 2 now is irritating, but manageable! :)

What hurts the most is when transitioning from laying down to standing, or standing to sitting. Then it’s a sharp burning spike that is altogether terrible that I can’t give a rating to at all. I just gasp, cry, and get to walking so I can get this recovery period moving forward!
 
So glad you're out of surgery and that it might not be cancer!
 
MeeraReed said:
So glad you're out of surgery and that it might not be cancer!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I pretty much came away with the best case scenario here! I can’t tell you how much anxiety I was able to release with this surgery. A smaller incision - not cancer - everything taken out - a chance to get rid of this constant pain - omg yes please!
 
Last night 8-10 pm was the WORST. Out of nowhere, my pain hit 9 and I was a mess. It took a while, but my surgeon finally allowed a shot of Toradol. I got surrounded by heating pads, which helped a great deal. Before that though, I really was a disaster.

I was able to sleep soundly between midnight and 3:30 am. I got up then to pee and take a walk around the care unit. Now I am back in bed, trying to decide if I should call and ask for oxy, which is what they’re regularly giving me for pain, but wasn’t helping last night.

I’m tired again, and hungry. Breakfast is 8 am and a long ways away! I might try and sleep more.
 
Last edited:
Bluebird said:
I can definitely say there is a difference between long-term chronic pain and post-surgery pain!

I’ve had bad joints for years since I’m low on cartilage around my hips and shoulders. I’ve just adapted to living with it over time, so for most days it’s just background noise, if that makes sense. I don’t even medicate for it anymore - it’s just a part of being me.

This pain right now is new and it sucks! I’ve had constant level 4 since January, with days that were beginning to become consistent 7-8s with no relief. To have it at a 2 now is irritating, but manageable! :)

What hurts the most is when transitioning from laying down to standing, or standing to sitting. Then it’s a sharp burning spike that is altogether terrible that I can’t give a rating to at all. I just gasp, cry, and get to walking so I can get this recovery period moving forward!
Click to expand...
I had similar surgery last November. Please be careful not to overdo it! With diabetes your recovery is slower, and it's still major surgery. Even if the incision is only 6 inches on this side, they took a huge chunk out of you (tumor/cyst?) and the ovaries/uterus/fallopian tubes. Let people help you get up and down, even if you don't feel pain for a bit. (Nerve blockers probably?) And don't be afraid to stay ahead of the pain with the meds. It took me 4 months to lift anything over 10-15 pounds. Please be kind to yourself and listen closely to your body and give it more time than it needs while slowly bringing it back up to speed. Even almost 1 year out of my chest surgery (August last year), I still have to build up muscles torn into and 6 months from my ovaries/fallopian removed and I still get random side phantom pains. So, please be kind to yourself!
 
My pain is pretty bad right now. It’s all gas related though, I think. I took 2 Colace and a GasX pill yesterday but no poop yet. My abdomen is rolling with pain - I can feel the gas bubbles and it is excruciating.

Since I got home yesterday I’ve been alternating between extra strength Tylenol and 800 msg of Ibuprofen. I have a filled script for Tramadol but I haven’t used it. Apparently when on oxy the last couple of days, my breathing would slow way down and I needed to be on oxygen. MisterMoonbeam said he spent the first night just squeezing my hand to bring me back to breathing. Yikes! So I want to use the Tramadol because this gas pain is horrific, but I’m nervous to use it in case it has the same result.

I think I am going to wake up DarkKnight and have him watch me sleep with it. If it lets me sleep. This is pretty terrible. I really hope I poop today. My kidneys seem to be excellent as my urine is fierce and flowing just fine!
 
Tramadol is much less strong than oxycontin. I've been taking it for many years and I am dependent on it, because it helps me. But I've never had to increase my dosage.

I've never had breathing problems from it, but of course, that's just my anecdote. You could cut one in half and see what happens.
 
Magdlyn said:
Tramadol is much less strong than oxycontin. I've been taking it for many years and I am dependent on it, because it helps me. But I've never had to increase my dosage.

I've never had breathing problems from it, but of course, that's just my anecdote. You could cut one in half and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. I took an entire one. Honestly, I don’t feel like it made a difference at all with anything. I probably won’t take any more of them.

The gas pains have progressed and are absolutely awful. My farts are smelling pretty ripe now. Still no pooping. Everywhere online is saying it’s usually 5 dpo (days past operation) when I will finally poop without pushing. So far nothing but stink. The pain is pretty terrible.

The incision mostly feels okay. I get sharp burning pain when sitting up or going from sitting to standing, as described online. However, it disappears once the transition has been made, thank goodness. If I didn’t have this gas pain, I think this would be easy! The Tylenol - Ibuprofen mix my doctor has me on is more than adequate, I think. Or it would be if not for the gas! Omg though, the gas pain is bad. I’m trying to type this while in tears. It’s constant, and it’s hurting really bad. The incision though is okay.

I did shower today and it absolutely exhausted me. The shower chair I bought doesn’t fit so I ordered another today that is narrower. I managed earlier with MisterMoonbeam showering with me, to be sure I kept steady. By the end of it I was really needing things to be finished. He got upset with me for trying to do too much. He admonished me for a bunch of things that I thought weren’t a big deal but apparently they are. (Reaching my hands over my head, etc)

I didn’t have any appetite last night but I ate the grilled cheese and tomato soup DarkKnight made me for lunch today. And he put together breakfast for my dinner - scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries and a slice of French toast.

BugGirl came over and French braided my hair so that was sweet. She visited for a bit and she just left.

I’m sandwiched between two heating pads right now, and I honestly can’t focus on writing anything more. Holy fuck it hurts.
 
For me, tramadol takes about 4-6 hours to come on, then I feel "trama-stoned" and about 18 hours to feel normal again.

Also, constipation.
 
After my hysto, I couldn't poop for a few days, even after taking a strong laxative, so I did an enema, and oh boy, was it worth it.
 
Evie said:
For me, tramadol takes about 4-6 hours to come on, then I feel "trama-stoned" and about 18 hours to feel normal again.

Also, constipation.
Click to expand...
I’m not used to medication. I just don’t take it. I have issues with swallowing pills and if I can do without, I will. I did take a Tramadol but it didn’t make me feel even a little bit different. If it had, I’d be taking more, for sure, as I can’t deal with this gas pain right now.

I just took two more Extra Strength Tylenol and two colace. I am begging my body to get rid of this gas. I’m exhausted from the surgery and the pain is making it impossible to focus on anything but tears. I am not good with this.

Mags, I had to take an enema on Wednesday night - it was a pre-op procedure. I have three more left. I am tempted, if I could be sure it was safe to do it. Anything to stop this pain! My surgeon didn’t list it as an option.
 
I ended up taking a second Tramadol with little to no impact on my pain. Last night I called the after-hours line and was actually connected directly with my surgeon. He suggested I try an enema and call him again this morning.

I pooped so much!

The smell after almost 5 days was quite horrific, I assure you.

Today I have continued pooping, so all seems to be well with just the Miralax and Colace now, thank goodness. I hope it continues!

The feeling in my abdomen is wrong and it feels loose and empty. The pain still takes my breath away. I am refusing the Tramadol so far and still just staying with the Tylenol and ibuprofen. I might give up and take another Tramadol though. I don’t know what else to do with the pain.

MisterMoonbeam took the day off of work, and DarkKnight is working from home. I purchased another shower chair and DarkKnight says it fits perfectly this time! MisterMoonbeam started washing my comforter, and at the moment he is about to start my bedsheets. They look fine but smell of noxious farts. 😆 I plan to shower again today once the bed is remade clean.

I did just get my surgery notes updated in the medical app. It said my uterus was enlarged (as the surgeon told me already) but one of the left side large fibroids was attached to the rectosigmoid, which the internet says is the bottom part of my intestine. Apparently there was scarring there but everything was removed easily. The notes say the bowel itself was intact.

I did have additional large fibroids on the outside of the uterus but everything was just attached to it and nothing else.

I also had hydrosalpinx, which means my fallopian tubes were blocked and filled, sort of like sausages?, the internet says. This is the first I had heard this. Anyway, everything is gone now - ovaries, tubes, uterus and cervix. I have a vaginal cuff now.
 
I had to have surgery where I was in a very tricky situation:

1) Recovery was known to be painful
2) I have a high risk of blood clots and the surgery was not short
3) I could not have anti-thrombosis medication because it would cause bleeding around the surgical site

So I would have to get active pretty quickly to prevent blood clots, but of course, pain would stop me from moving.

At my pre-surgery appointment, I was advised to take all pain medication routinely, regardless of my pain level, because they need it to build up and give me a consistent level of analgesia throughout my recovery.

They reminded me that a high level of pain increases recovery time and the chance of infection, so I am doing nobody any favours by not taking what they prescribe when they say to.

That meant taking oral morphine, codeine, ibuprofen and paracetemol every 4-12 hours, depending on how they were prescribed. Then after 3 days I dropped the morphine. I went home with codeine and the others and took that every 6-8 hours for about 10 days, when I had a post-surgery check-up. After that time, I took what I needed when I required it.
 
SEASONEDpolyAgain said:
So I had to have surgery where I was in a very tricky situation:

1) Recovery was known to be painful
2) I have a high risk of blood clots and the surgery was not short
3) I could not have anti-thrombosis medication because it would cause bleeding around the surgical site

So I would have to get active pretty quickly to prevent blood clots but of course pain would stop me from moving.

At my pre surgery appointment, I was advised to take all pain medication routinely regardless of my pain level because they need it to build up and give me a consistent level of analgesia throughout my recovery.

They reminded me that a high level of pain increases recovery time and the chance of infection, so I am doing nobody any favours but not taking what they prescribe when they say to.

That meant taking oral morphine, codeine, ibuprofen and paracetemol every 4-12 hours depending on how they were prescribed. Then after 3 days I dropped the morphine. Went home with codeine and the others and took that every 6-8 hours for about 10 days when I had a post surgery check up. After that time, I took what I needed when I required it.
Click to expand...
I was on morphine in the hospital - for 2 days, and then something else that I wrote about which I forget the name of. I see no reason to take tramadol now if it doesn’t have an impact on anything. That said, a nurse called me today and she said she will check in again on Thursday. She suggested I take the 800 mg of ibuprofen and the 1000 mg of Tylenol at the same time, which I have done once. It helped a great deal. I’m about to do it again. I can say it’s worn off so I am eager to take it.

I got the pathology report in my health care app. No cancer. Everything was benign! However the report is gross.

The first specimen was the right ovary & tube. The ovary looked normal but inside it was a mess of fluid-filled cysts. The tube was enlarged and also full of fluid and mess.

The second specimen was the left ovary and tube. The ovary was completely normal at a glance but it had a hemorrhagic cyst when cut open which had already ruptured? It was 1.6 cm and had a dark-red blood clot. (The ovary itself measured 3x3x2 so this cyst took up a chunk of it!) The tube also looked normal from the outside, but when sectioned, it was a mess. Apparently I also had a large “Uniocular paratubal cyst” as well.

Third specimen was the uterus and cervix. The cervix was completely covered in benign cysts. This I already knew from the ultrasound and exam later on in December. But it’s weird because never in my life have I had an off Pap smear! The uterus I posted a drawing of months ago - it had several large fibroids on it - and the largest was described as being on a stalk, larger than the uterus itself, and being “shaggy with adhesions.” (Fucking gross.) The endometrium is described as completely normal. The myometrium is “trabeculated” with a ton of nodules. Pretty much the entire uterus is a mess of fibroids - inside and out, and several are described as hemorrhagic or having focal areas of hemorrhage.

I am so glad this fucking mess of organs is out of me.
 
SEASONEDpolyAgain said:
That is kind of my point. You can't take it once and say it isnt doing anything in the same way you might a headache. You have to take different painkillers regularly to control the pain over the long term.
Click to expand...
Except that they told me to take the Tramadol as needed, when needed. I took it twice and didn’t feel it made any difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top