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Erko_Girl_68's avatar
2 years ago

Reacting to prescribed painkillers: Alternatives?

I am struggling with pain management during my B/C treatment. Yesterday I went to day surgery for port insertion and the procedure was fine. To manage post op pain, they sent me home with Palexia (Tapentadol) which is an opioid. In the past, I have taken Endone (Oxycodone), Tramadol, and Panadeine Forte, and all of them have made me vomit a la The Exorcist. I was told that Palexia was similar to Endone but it is less likely to cause vomiting or nausea. However, two hours after I took the tablet I vomited four times and was very dizzy  :(  I was told to take Olanzapine beforehand for nausea and vomiting. It stopped the vomiting but I had to lie down for two hours because the room was spinning and I felt waves of nausea. 

My experience does not bode well for my surgery (lumpectomy, lymph node removal, and partial reconstruction: seeing my surgeon again in October) in November. Does anyone else find they react badly to these types of drugs? If so, how does your team manage severe pain? 

15 Replies

  • @Erko_Girl_68, I was given Oxycodone for painkillers at the hospital. It make me nauseous and also wanted to 🤮 vomit. To add icing to the cake, I also become constipated!  Best part of the deal: I wasn’t informed of these side effects. I’ve never had surgery of any sort previously so had no idea how my body would react and didn’t know what questions to ask as well. Lessons learnt the hard way!
    Hope you find a suitable painkiller.
    xx
    Gin
  • Yes I need to have a chat with mine before surgery. Anaesthesia makes me vomit as well. 
  • No my anaesthetist. We had a preop chat about my intolerance of pain meds and anaesthetics. I've never woken up so good before,  post op
  • Thanks @Aska. Wow, did your surgeon prescribe that? Thanks, still doing chemo at the moment. 
  • Yes I can't tolerate endone and PF. I had fentynl recently which worked well without side effects. Good luck with surgery.