Am I nuts?

Ladies - help!

I know I am potentially hormonal (or anti-hormonal) and all, and I know that making your Dr. upset with you post-op may not be the best plan, but really - am I nuts? Here is the scoop. My doctor gave me 20 pain pills for post-op. I am generally really careful with pain meds, but I needed them post-op and I took them (prescribed 1 or 2 every 4-6 hours) I was out of them by Monday after surgery on Wednesday (which means I averaged taking them 4 a day). I continued to have pain which was keeping me up at night because I am peeing 30 x plus a day and I obviously have some bladder problem (no UTI). I told the nurse who called Monday with pathology that I had just taken the last of my pain meds and she said I would have to come in to get more. OK - well - it is an hour away with no bathrooms in between - I just had surgery - HELLO - but my doctor thinks - no problem, right? OK - so, I think - well maybe I would do better to go to my urologist who is in town. My urologist gives me an appt - but tells me on the phone (actually his nurse told me that he said this) that I should call my dr back and tell him I should have plenty of pain meds after a hysterectomy - she even said he said maybe I need a lawyer. Good grief. I don't want to make my gyn mad - but - come on - so, my husband calls nurse at gyn - she says she will talk to doctor and call back (this is around 4 pm). No call back at 2 next day - so he calls back. Nurse is busy with "real" (my emphasis) patients and she will call when she has a chance. At 5:01 she calls (as I am trying to call her) and leaves a voicemail that she talked to the dr. and to call her back -- she knows they have turned off the phones for the day. My husband calls back po'd and asks for the doc to call him. I just get a call from the gyn himself scolding me - telling me to not have my husband call - that I should not need pain meds - so I have to come in so that he can see what is wrong with me, etc. Doctor is now po'd at me. Great. I am off to see urologist in a few minutes - this should be fun. I think what I will do is write the GYN a letter explaining my frustration - I am a better writer than talker right now - but what I want to know is - is it that crazy out of whack to need more pain meds - I am NOT a pain med person - but I can not take Motrin because of hyatil hernia - BTW - this is my second surgery with this guy in 3 weeks (had explo lap/d and c hysteroscope 2 wks before from which I had excessive bleeding). Does anyone else hate doctors? Maybe I am the whiny, hypochondriac, pain in the butt they make me out to be? Very frustrated because in my real life I am actually - believe it or not a competent professional person - don't feel like it right now.

Oh, Windyhill, I'm so sorry you're being made to go through this. No, you're not crazy, and while I suspect you might have hormone issues, I don't think that's the problem here. A couple weeks ago, there was a lengthy thread about getting pain meds refilled. It seems some Doc.s are real pain in the about it and others aren't. My Dr. emphasized not being afraid to take them (even if I had been off them for a while) and I'm sure would have refilled mine easily. I had some left from another procedure I'd had done earlier and just used those when my first ran out.

I can understand the Dr. wanting to make sure nothing was wrong but he could probably do that over the phone (since it's such a long drive). In any case, he could have given you a script for just a few more days until you could get in to see him or see if the pain subsided then.

My only caution about the pain meds. The narcotics are known to slow the bowels down and THAT alone can cause more pain. Be sure you're taking lots of fibre, maybe a softener too. Keep your stools REAL soft. That may help lower the pain levels so that you can cut back on the heavy meds. I tried to use heavy stuff mainly at night and took extra softener if I took narcotic. But I was also unwilling to suffer. Suffering does NOTHING to help healing.

I hope the appointment with the urologist goes well. Good luck with the other doc.

LJC

No, you are not nuts. I had my pain meds refilled twice. I felt bad calling and asking but I told him I was in pain. My last refill was half strength and I am not needing it as much, but for the first 2 1/2 weeks I needed it. I wish you had my doctor. Mine has been so wonderful and caring and is one of my heroes.

That is terrible you are dealing with this...your body has been thru a lot and it is normal to be drained emotionally and physically. Make sure you get plenty of rest.

Hopefully you can get some relief soon.

I think your doctor is awful. Mine wouldn't have ever had me in a car that soon after surgery for that distance. He gave me a 7 day supply and refilled me for 4 weeks. I don't take them now. I am no druggie and I am certainly not a hypochondriac. I think your doctor doesn't understand because he doesn't have a uterus. I would print out all our responses and send them with your letter. The nerve of some people! I wish you comfort during your painful healing and I hope the urologist can help you.

I was denied a refill at 3 weeks (thankfully, b/c I think I was drug-seeking -- long story), but at 5 days? That's insane! I recall reading others' posts on another related thread that they called their GP, explained their symptoms and got a new Rx. Narcotic pain meds can't be called in, I've learned, so your local GP might be a good option for your if your urologist doesn't turn out to be.

Hang in there... you are in my prayers.

colls

Thank you so much for your post - actually, I have had diarrhea for 4 days straight so constipation - not a problem! And I am actually not taking the pain meds that much anyway - BUT - I just got back from my urologist - I may be in love ;-)) - he was so kind and asked me if my other doctor gave me pain meds - I said no - he asked if I needed them - I said yes - he said - here they are - and wrote a scrip. Now understand - I really don't want to sound like a pathetic junky - it's just so frustrating to be made to feel like such a pathetic loser for being in pain! I appreciated the respect my urologist gave me. I am writing a letter that I am going to fax to my GYN - a nice but honest letter - I just really think he is way out of touch - I have to try to remedy our "relationship" at least until post-op! But I also want him to at least "hear" my side of the story.

You might want to hold off on writing that letter, at least for a while. Any written communication about requesting narcotics can be viewed as drug-seeking behavior, even if that is not your intention. Let your emotions calm down. You got your pain medication and you should have some relief soon.

If you do write a letter, be clear that you are upset about the way it was handled, not the fact that you were denied medicine. Be clear that you are seeking pain relief, not medication itself.

Some doctors are more strict than others, and some are, themselves, on "watch-lists" with local pharmacies and state pharmacy boards.

Depending on what pain med your doctor originally prescribed, it might not be legal to call in a refill. Oxycodone cannot be refilled by phone, but hydrocodone can.

Windyhill, I am so sorry you have such an *** for a dr. Mine has never had much trouble ordering drugs for me. Any real dr would understand that you just had a "major" surgery and cannot expect you to be pain free only a week out. I'm glad your urologist cared enough to help you. It may be time to find you a new GYN. Keep us posted on the situation.

windyhill I am so sorry you have had problems dealing with medical staff.

While we all can understand they are worried their patients can get hooked, they need to understand not all patients are looking for a "fix".

I am not sure about the laws in your area, but down here a doctor can no longer call in a narcotic.

I had enough pain meds to get me through a week. My doc assured me the majority of the pain ought to be relieved by the time the meds ran out but if it wasn't then to call her.

She had no problem giving me a new prescription, even changed the med to one that works better for me, when I had to see her.

pfffttt I'd give that doctor a piece of my mind.
How dare he tell you to not let your husband call.

I hope you get relief soon and someone listens.

Well, it is 24 hours out and I woke up still po'd. Honestly, my doc is a pompous *** and that is really strong language for me. The thing that really ticks me is the part about my husband. I am going to do some research on that legally - I had already signed off to have my husband have full access to my records - isn't there some health advocacy clause that let's him call for me when I am a hormonal mess on the phone? I also don't ever talk on the phone because of a hearing problem. I'm going to check on it. At very least, he is unkind. I can tell you this, my husband wasn't happy, but he is the most polite, congenial, even-headed (more than me) person I know - so the doc was way out of line.

I feel lousy today - worse day since I've been home - and blood sugar is up - I know it is the stress (and probably hormones). I will drop this doc like a hot potato, but think I have to go to him for post-op - then I enter the HRT jungle on my own, I guess. Not that he has even MENTIONED it to me. I admit, I got tired of the pain, the specialist referrals, the tests, etc. and didn't want to look around for one more doctor - so I stuck with this guy - he was referred by my GP (who is a friend of mine and is going to hear from me ;-)) and I didn't have the energy to switch once the ball was rolling - it would have taken too much time. I adore everyone on this board - you are getting me through - if my Dr. knew that - he would probably have a pompous cow ;-). As soon as I get my disability check I am upgrading to crown jewel.