Oh No! No Morphine Pump!

I went to my hospital's class for hysterectomy. It was very informative. It was nice to hear about my hospitals policies. The nurse educator mentioned that they would give you something for pain every three hours but that you had to ask for it. I asked her about the morphine pump. She said that they were no longer using them as of 9 months ago. She said that the hospital was not getting paid for it. I am now horrified. I want to stay on top of the pain. How am I susposed to keep up with every three hours. I will be alone at night from 9 pm until 8 am.

Has anyone encountered this problem. My surgery is next Wednesday and I am starting to get nervous.

Trish

TAH/BSO 12-05-01

Not everyone uses the morphine pump. I have known others who did not have the morphine pump and got along just fine. I had the morphine pump but was developing a rash so they took me off the morphine pump and did something else for the pain. Just exactly what that was I do not recall. I was kept comfortable obviously if I can't recall what they did.

Many others have gone before you at this hospital. Keep that in mind. The nurses are really terrific at tracking your pain level. They will be checking with you ALOT. Easier said than done but please just know that the nurses will take care of you to keep you comfortable. Hope this helps you some.

Hugs,
Patty

Hi Trish!

I didn't have a morphine pump. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what they were giving me in the beginning. I guess I was too out of it to know, but in all honesty I was having some pretty bad cramping and I am very crabby when coming out of anesthesia so, unfortunately I did let them know I wasn't at all pleased with the pain I was having. I must tell you though that this is just me. It takes alot of pain killer to help me...don't know why...my dad, his mom and my brother and I are all like that. So, don't let that scare you. Around 4:30 they gave me Toradol, which is a non-narcotic analgesic, and it worked like a charm. It was wonderful! After that I can trully say I was not in any pain while at the hospital. They sent me home with 30 Percocet, and at 14 weeks post-op, I still have one left.

To reassure you, they will not allow you to be in pain for very long at all. I think you will be just fine without the morphine pump. I have heard alot of women say it made them sick anyways. You may want to mention Tobradol to your doc and ask him if that is something he might give you. Ask him what he thinks about it since you are kind of concerned about pain management. Of course, just because it was great for me doesn't always mean it's wonderful for the next person. I have seen more than a few posts by women who have raved about Tobradol though.

You will be in good hands in the castle! My very best wishes to you and a BIG !!!

Sherry

Do not worry about not having a morphine pump. I had one and wish I had never taken it. It made me feel very dizzy and have blurred vision even though I was not pushing the pump for more relief. I started to get pneumonia because with the pump I was not able to get up andwalking as I should have. Once the morphine pump was taken off within one hour I was up and feeling so good, walking around. I actually posted a caution to LIW to think twice about the morphine pump. I did not have any pain at all, just a lot of pressure, gas pains. There are shots the nurses can give you for pain. I would take those next time rather than the pump. The nurses are really good at what they do, they will check with you about your pain, and if they don't just buzz for them and ask for something for the pain. You will be just fine. I was truly amazed at how I felt only 36 hours after surgery. I felt great, just moved very slowly. You'll be fine. Try not to worry. Once you are done with the surgery you too will be surprised at how good you feel.

Amethyst1