A bump in the road to recovery

Hi everyone: At 4 months out, I was doing pretty well. I had been on major - MAJOR - doses of opiate pain meds for 3+ years. (I'm not very clear on this, but it turned out that my entire cervix was a fibroid. No test showed it, not one of a dozen specialists felt nor saw it, not even in prior recent operations.)

I'm down to 1/4 the pain med now. Every reduction is an adjustment, but I was doing fine until this week. In short, I'm hurting again and I'm very discouraged.

My digestion has been way off lately, so I wonder if that's it. My surgeon warned me that IBS, which I've had to varying degrees since my teens, can worsen post-hyst. It's probably too soon to look into...not that I want a colonoscopy at all but I guess it's in my near future......

Has anyone here whose hyst was mostly for pain experienced a setback in her recovery? I've been concerned with superficial things, now I realize how silly that was. Nothing else matters when you're doubled over! How easy it is to forget....

Painfree wishes to all!

Hannah

After 3 years of pain meds, waiting for resolution to the problem, your body has become desensitized to the effects of pain meds. Tapering off is definitely a bumpy road, because over the counter pain relievers will not serve you as well now.

The good news is that, once you get through this bump in the road, over the counter meds will work for you, again.

I've not had this situation, but am very close to another that has. What she found to be most helpful was learning some relaxation and behavior modification........she needed to seek counselling to learn these techniques . It helped her a lot.

I developed some really bad IBS postop........but, discovered the cause and have resolved that quite nicely. IBS seems like a nice blanket term that docs can use now when we have unexplained gizzard problems..........there are many causes, and just as many solutions. If you do have a recurrence, a lot of us here at HysterSisters can help.

Will pray that time flies for you and that resolution to your pain is in the near future.............s....Deb

I apologize for not replying sooner. It's still hard for me to sit up at the computer - that's how fatigued I am. I'm drinking peppermint tea for the IBS. It does help. I've heard capsules do, too.

I think a contributor may be the new estradiol that I mail-ordered through my insurance plan. Small round pink but thick pills; the first were flat round and blue. I won't name the brands; both are generic, both are scored down the middle. The blue ones I got from the local pharmacy seemed OK, but I couldn't keep buying them. Like so many people now, after 2 30-day vials, I'm obligated to order anything taken on a daily basis via mail. Looking back, the time of the switchover seemed to coincide with the onset of my symptoms. Who knows what additives etc. one has and the other doesn't...I've made an inquiry to the plan pharmacists. I'm sure I'll get the runaround.

Your advice makes a lot of sense. I'm happy to report that my body is already becoming unaccustomed to the pain medication, though the proof wasn't a very happy incident. Last Sunday, I took a higher dose by accident and was ill for almost 24 hours afterward. I cannot believe I walked and talked and drove on the higher amounts! My pain doctor did say that the bodies of people who are in extreme pain somehow absorb the medication, so that, aside from constipation and fatigue, they don't feel "high" or slur their speech or act wasted or anything like that - even on megadoses. That was certainly true of me.

Btw, ibuprofen does work for my headaches and the weird hip pain I've had since my hyst - thank goodness! That really is a comfort. At the beginning of the chronic pain, my rheumatologist had tried giving me every anti-inflammatory ever made, even the ones not in common use anymore like Ponstel (women like me, 40+, might remember that one - it was great for short-duration cramps)- the relief was so minimal, it wasn't worth risking the side effects.

I am still concerned about fatigue, however. This could be due to my thyroid. I've been researching it and - for the benefit of many here who have autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) - it seems that fatigue and depression can persist even if all the blood tests appear normal. In this situation, medications like psychostimulants may be an option. Of course, these have a stigma just like the ones I'm weaning myself off right now...so I'm not very eager to try it.

Anyone with thyroid issues....PLEASE don't settle for a physician who tests TSH only - this is not enough to get your exact dose right! Also regarding TSH: for women with aches, fatigue, depression, etc., 1.0 is NOT too low. I've learned a great deal from about.com's thyroid section and a specialist in NYC whom it took me ages to find.

Thanks so much for the good wishes and advice as well as your kind words!

Hannah