Forum Discussion
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?
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
- Sadly @Erko_Girl_68, I don't live in Canberra, so i can't grow & make my own - tho I live in hope that eventually, EVERYONE will be able to grow a couple of plants for self use. I'm glad it helped your frozen shoulder, as that pain is excruciating too! Take care.
- @arpie lucky you living in Canberra! When the legislation changed, the world did not end, did it? You might be right about the cumulative effect of CBD oil and pain management. I used it for my frozen shoulder and belong to an advocacy group. As soon as I started ordering it, one by one the companies in Australia got shut down, it was so frustrating! Grrr
@Afraser I have had the opposite experience and have found practitioners very reticent to prescribe opioids because of their addictive nature. Recent surgery was the first time I have been offered strong painkillers in about ten years!
@Julez1958 and @June1952 I like acupuncture and massage as well, they relax me and help me sleep. I will keep these in mind for the post-operative phase but have to save my pennies because of the out-of-pocket costs, sadly. - Managing pain is really important, having cancer is enough of a worry without having pain as well. But I have noticed that, while well intentioned, prescribing really strong painkillers seems to be the norm even if you may not need them. I was besieged with painkillers after my mastectomy - I squirrelled them away until the nurses gave up, I wasn’t in pain. Same after a surgical intervention to clear up an infection - boxes of painkillers I didn’t require. Even my dentist once gave me a prescription for Endone in case I had some tooth pain (never happened). I’m no stoic but I’m happy to use something less strong, if I am in pain, to see how that works before requesting bigger guns. Serious pain of course needs appropriate treatment but there does seem to be a pattern of rolling out the cannons before checking if lesser firepower might do the trick.
- I am a fan of acupuncture, too, @Julez1958. I have a needle phobia but cope with this well. I have used it for many purposes over the last 30 years.
- Hi @Erko_Girl_68
i had bad reactions to opioids and eventually tried acupuncture which helped
Not for everyone but worth a try . - I agree 100% about the cost being expensive @Erko_Girl_68 .... but it needn't be - as it is not difficult to make ..... so long as you can source the product! It DOES take a little while to 'get up to speed' over a matter of days, to feel the effect (unlike a tablet which can be pretty quick) but you rarely hear of anyone getting ill from the CBD oil. ;)
If you live in Canberra, you can grow & make your own oil - shame the other states haven't followed suit yet. grrrr - Thanks @arpie I will ask about cannabis as well. We have access through our cancer clinic. One of the nurses I spoke to did not think cannabis would work for acute post-operative pain, it is better for long-term chronic pain. My only gripe is that the bottles are still a bit on the expensive side.
- Opiods make me throw up too @Erko_Girl_68 .... ask your GP/Onc about the use of Medicinal Cannabis Oil too for pain control - as it can also help with sleeping better too, as well. It can be ordered in different strengths ..... and can also reduce side effects from AIs too (aches & pains.). I take it 1/2hr before I go to bed .... My Onc has given me a letter that I have in the car in case of a road side test, 'just in case' .... but not all Cannabis Oil has THC content ....
Wishing you All the best - Thanks for taking the time to respond, everyone. I'm going to speak to my oncologist this week.
- Tapentadol made me sick too :/
Anti-Inflammatories may help too but you can’t take them while on chemo. You will need to chat to your GP about options. Maybe ask about anti nausea tab? Not sure sorry I can’t help
