Hydrocodone tips

Hi, I (21f) have had chronic ear infections all my life (I sustained severe hearing loss and have hearing aids, but don't wear them because I need to upgrade them) so I am pretty well versed in telling when I'm starting to get one and what to do. But this one that I have right now is confusing me and making me worried and I need a doctor's advice to see if I need to go to the ER for it.
I will say that I have only been on antibiotics for two days and I know it takes time (I'm taking cefdinir 300mg every 12 hours) and the doctor I went to see also gave me strong pain meds because of severity, one of them being hydrocodone (which I take a whole pill which is 10mg) I just took one now and I've been sitting here for a good hour and it's not even touching the pain.
My head is throbbing, the side of my face near my ear is swollen, the inside of my ear is throbbing, the canal is so swollen you can't really push a q-tip in it at the moment, as well as the pain radiating down my neck and jaw and itchyness of the ear canal. The side of my face is also very hot to the touch.
I'm at a loss because I don't know what else to take for pain. Tylenol isn't touching it even at extra strength, my hydrocodone isn't touching it anymore and it's progressively getting worse even though I'm taking the antibiotics like I'm supposed to. I know that you usually take amoxocillan (I'm so sorry, I can't spell it) but my mom had to take it while pregnant with me and now I'm immune to it so it doesn't work on me.
My ear is making it hard to sleep as well. I have severe insomnia so I take medication that I use for my mental health that also makes me sleepy (I take Seroqil) so I'm no stranger to staying up for 3 days straight if I don't take medication if I forget or need to do some extra studying or whatever I need to do that night. It's usually not a problem for me when I'm not in excruciating pain lol.
I physically cannot sleep on the left side of my face and I tend to sleep on my stomach and then end up on my side and usually it's on my left side so I keep waking up. I seriously don't know what to do and I'm literally crying as I'm typing this. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and am trying my best to tough it out, but this is getting so bad that I just can't put on a brave face anymore. I can't think of anything else because it's just that painful.
I would be very thankful for the advice, so I'll say my thanks now. I guess my question is: what should I take to calm the pain down and should I go back to the hospital with the symptoms i'm having now?

It's Day 4 (E Day was Thursday) and I'm in so much pain. I only had four hydrocodone and I took the last one last night. My gums in the front hurt so bad, I can't even swallow water without it spilling everywhere. Does anyone have any tips?

Hello all. I am dealing with my first ever kidney stone. I went in Sunday with the worst pain I’ve ever had that progressively got worse as I was there. I was in ER for 10 hours waiting for surgery to have stent put in. They gave me morphine but that made me vomit uncontrollably and didn’t help pain at all. Little while later they gave me fentanyl and that didn’t help either, just made me feel very high…. Finally after my CT scan they saw I had a 9mmx4mm long stone and it was spiked. They told me I could go home with meds and try to pass but it was small chance or I could get stent put in now and come back in few weeks and have it lasered into dust. So I did the stent surgery, came out of it feeling way better and felt fine all day Monday minus soreness in neck and throat from breathing tube and on abs from so much puking. Today I woke up and had pain again, they gave me hydrocodone for pain, that is only thing keeping it away but I only have one hydro left. (I had a total of 5) Does anyone know if ibuprofen will suffice after hydro runs out or should I call and get a refill? Also is it normal for the pain to return after a stent? Any tips for my journey would be awesome as I’m new to kidney stones!

Hi all!! Consult is may 7th . I’m from Idaho and have to go to salt lake (Dr Chen) . When I get my date for the surgery and start to prep what are things I need to make sure of? I think I might have some side effects from hydrocodone as I threw up when I took them when I got my wisdom teeth removed and I’m EXTREMELY sensitive to any medication aside from over the counter . What are prepping tips ? Dealing with fear ? The fact of being under is incredibly scary for me . Pain management after ? Important tips ? I know my questions are word vomit I’m just trying to make sure this all goes as smooth as I can . Thank you all 🫶🏻

Our rescue Shih Tzu/Pug mix is having an extra hard time this week and it is freaking me out. My heart is breaking for him. He was with a friend for the last 10 days while we were away, and that friend didn't give him the cough medicine I provided. I also don't think he prevented him from playing when his cough was bad (part of his care instructions) because he has never been this irritated.
For those who've dealt with this, do you have any tricks or tips to recommend? Some way to help soothe his irritated trachea.
He won't eat right now, I imagine from a sore throat. Simply getting up to walk sends him into a cough/hack fit. If I pick him up and hold him vertically he stops coughing. I just feel so bad for him. The cough syrup from our vet honestly seems useless, but it's all we have for treatment.
I called his vet clinic today but his usual vet is now on mat leave and the other vet is not in until Thursday.
Species: Dog
Age: 6 (guessing)
Sex/Neuter status: Male, Neutered
Breed: Shih Tzu/Pug mix (guessing)
Body weight: 15lbs
History: rescued from a bad situation in Mexico Nov 1, 2023 (tied up tight on a chain outside his entire life). Has been diagnosed with severe tracheobronchomalacia, hip dysplasia, bladder stones.
Clinical signs: dry hacking/honking cough
Duration: since Nov 2023 (likely preexisting)
General location: Canada
Diagnostics performed: Fluoroscopy (airway): Severe tracheobronchomalacia characterized by: moderate to marked narrowing of the intrathoracic trachea; marked narrowing to complete collapse of the carina and both mainstem bronchi; and marked cranial lung lobe herniation
Treatments:
Current - a cough suppressant liquid hydrocodone
Previously
- cartrophen shots completely stopped his cough. This worked for 3 months (Nov-Jan) and then stopped working.
- Tracheal elixir for 1 month that didn't help at all:
Potassium Iodide 10mg/ml
Anhydrous Theophylline 3mg/ml
Ephedrine 0.83mg/ml
Phenobarbital 0.4mg/ml
Isoproterenol 0.004mg/ml
Absolute Ethyl Alcohol 3.3%

Okay, so you're out here, days..weeks..months prior to your surgery, right? You might be like me, browsing reddit, scrolling through comment after comment and freaking yourself out a little more with each hellacious story, trying to measure how your own experience might be. It was during this time I received some very sage advice from a friend of mine. Although I didn’t think much of it at the time, she basically said: “I think the Reddit reviews might be kind of like product reviews, and if somebody has a midrange/ expected experience … those probably aren’t the people you’re going to see commenting on their experience.” And now, 27 weeks post op I can say that she was definitely right. Best thing I’ve ever done, but the experience in itself; I realize I had worked worked myself up into a tizzy over it, after seeing so many horror stories online and in-person. All said and done, while being a major surgery and not very comfortable… Was far from the “worst pain I think I will ever experience in my life” I was warned about. I've always thought my pain tolerance was pretty low, and by the end of my recovery I was left wondering "wasn't this supposed to like... kill me or something?"
Now this post isn't intended to drag anyone down who had a really bad experience or anything like that! I just thought it would be good for some people scrolling through. Reddit to be able to see a positive experience. So it was not a comfortable experience, but all in all it wasn’t too terrible. I found the pain to be pretty manageable. Now I know every person is different and some of these techniques may not work for you; but I figured I would share some things. I learned over my experience that I think may have helped me have an easier recovery. This is going to be a VERY long-winded list, but I’m hoping this may put some more anxious people at rest to see all of the details and everything. So basically the following tips seemed to make my recovery more manageable:

1. Ice chips. It sounds silly, but I really credit these with being the unsung heroes of my recovery. They’re not as big as regular ice cubes which worked better for me because I could keep them in my mouth for longer and they dissolved very quickly for those of you living in the United States think of ice cubes you get in the drinks from sonic. You can buy the trays online, just make sure either you or or whoever is taking care of you keeps a steady supply. For me; basically the routine was: let the ice chips freeze, empty them into a container, grab a small amount into a bowl that you can suck on continuously & store the rest in the container while continually making new chips. This made it so I never had a moment where I ran out of ice chips and I could keep sucking on them throughout the day.
2. Decent & effective pain medication. For those of you in the US, I would ask about hydrocodone or something similar. I had a friend take something else that that wasn’t as strong and her experience was wildly different than mine in terms of pain. I had a good dose of hydrocodone, and I know it made all the difference because I accidentally missed a dose once… & then I realized just how much work this medication was actually doing to prevent me from being an excruciating pain. I cannot understate how much difference I think a good effective pain relief medication makes on this experience. Of course, use the pain medication as directed, and if you don’t think your dose is enough or you think you need something different definitely reach out. I was a little nervous about opioids, but it turns out all they really made me want to do was eat and sleep; which are two of the things that I needed to be doing the most of in order to recover. Best part was they allowed me to do so without severe excruciating unbearable pain! Which is all I could really ask for in a pain medication.
3. TAKE YOUR PAIN MEDICATION ON A SCHEDULE AND DO NOT MISS A DOSE!!! OK, I'm yelling, because this is crucial. Do not miss a dose. Do not. In those 1-10 days post op, this will probably involve you getting up once or twice at night/ early morning to take your medication. Set a timer or have a reliable caregiver Wake you up during those times. Word of warning; if you miss a dose, not only will it start hurting but the pain can almost ‘run away’ with you and then it takes hours and possibly two doses of your prescribed pain medication to actually bring the pain back down to manageable levels. Medically, I have no explanation of why it is that way, but I was warned about this and I found it to be true when I missed a dose.
4. Y’know those funny looking ice packs they make for people who get their wisdom teeth out that go around their head up to their ears? The face ice head wraps- absolute lifesavers! I would have some moments of breakthrough pain and this would always take the edge off and at least get me through to when my next dose of pain medication would hit its stride. These frozen gel inserts helped tremendously. Mine came with two sets of inserts so I could always have some hanging out in the freezer with my ice cubes. then I would just switch them out when the one I was wearing started getting warm.
5. There’s no rush to getting back on solid foods, everyone has a different timeline. Think of yourself like a baby learning to eat adult foods. I started out with liquid (broth, soup) then went to semi-liquid (puddings, mashed things) then transitioned to bland solids. Keep the food bland and texturally “boring”- like something a toddler would eat. For me the first solid meal I started to eat was chicken nuggets on day 10!
6. WATCH WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN YOUR MOUTH!! My last tip is watching what you’re eating. Which also might sound silly, but I really didn’t realize how many things contain acids or high amounts of salt until this surgery. Even some acids that are just used as preservatives that aren’t really adding anything to the food can still cause a major major burn back where your wounds are for the first 15 days or so. For example, I tried to eat some ketchup with my chicken nuggets, and that was the only moment I had pain so bad I thought I was going to collapse. I know not everyone is clumsy like me, but there are some foods I add to other foods without even thinking about it! So I just figured I would warn you that you might want to think twice about everything you're swallowing- even the sauces and condiments! :)

And there you have it! I would say by say 15 I was back up and running. The last thing for me was eating my normal diet- which might be harder for ppl like me; since I naturally crave very acidic and or spicy foods. By 15 days I had been on anti-inflammatories only for a few days, and was back to eating substantial foods and energetic. I'd say by day 25-ish I could no longer feel anything at all related to my surgery.
tldr: I had a positive... well as close to a positive experience post surgery as I think I could get. Not pain free, but certainly not life altering-ly bad either. I made a list detailing the things that helped me the most and tips I think that might help someone accidentally finding themselves doomscrolling only bad-experiences.

I have had a kidney stone for the past 3 days. I am on hydrocodone but can only take them every 8 hours but they only help with my pain for about 4 hours. I have been using a heating pad and trying to drink a lot of water to help but does anyone have any tips for pain management as far as making it between doses?

i got my surgery april 4th at 3-3:30PM ish, so today is day 6/7 of recovery and i have some questions: one, i have barely been able to eat or drink anything. my doctor stressed to make sure i stayed super hydrated and my pee stayed light yellow to clear and regularly, i drink SOO much water i did not think that would be an issue but omg i cannot barely get down 20-40oz a day right now- ice water or regular. i can barely eat anything because it all hurts so bad. my ears constantly feel like they are stinging/burning and im constantly wearing ice packs to try to help.
should i just go back to the doctor or something if im not eating/drinking enough and can't get myself to? i was given liquid hydrocodone-acemetaphine for the pain and i was alternating that and 400-800mg of ibuprofen every 3 hours like they suggested but now getting down the pills just hurts too bad. i am also on a lot of other daily medication that i pretty much cold turkied because it all hurt so bad. i tried smoothies but im allergic to a lot of citrus fruits and while normally i can handle a light reaction, because of the rawness, i just can't. i even have those lidocaine lollipops and they help a little bit but not enough to get me to eat.
what do i do? if i am not eating/drinking enough, wont that prolong/complicate things? maybe this isnt worth mentioning but i am also autistic and this has literally been hell. any tips? thanks in advance.

Shew! Y'all. I need to vent or I think my head will explode. I decided to change doctors back in December. It's a large practice, and they are excellent with my grandson, and everything is under one roof. Even pain management. And, I'm moving back in with her, when my other daughter gets her license. She's 28 and very skittish behind the wheel so it's slow going there. Anyway, I changed PCPs from an APRN to an MD. HUGE mistake. The man doesn't even want to continue prescribing the damn gabapentin. 600mg x4 daily. I wouldn't care if they lowered it to the 3 or 400s, just as long as I get them. They help me walk! Wash my hair. But, because I have a MMJ card (Ohio went recreational last year), he's balking. Wants to give me Cymbalta and other shit like that. I've been on all that crap. Doesn't help. And the Cymbalta makes that niggling voice in the back of my head . so dang much louder. So, no, thank you.
I have this rage. So much rage. In the back of my throat. The PM doctor that I've been seeing says they don't write prescriptions, only the shots. I KNOW that's a damn LIE because on one of my shot days, I heard the nurse ask this dude if he already had taken his pain and nerve meds that morning, so he could do the shot. They asked me once, first visit. They never wrote anything for me to take. So yeah,I know that's a lie. If I call them out on it, he says I'm being too aggressive. If I don't say much of anything, I must be depressed. WTaF! It's gabapentin 600mg. Tizanadine 4mg. Meloxicam 7.5. That is all I get. And they won't write thm either, because I have the MMJ card. I've let them know, I would gladly stop smoking it, if they would give me the hydrocodone back, Norco now, I suppose. I haven't been prescribed a narcotic (other than the few from a few ER trips because I either fell or was in a flare-up and could barely walk) since we moved to northern KY in 2017. I started smoking it then. I tried to make those last 90 pills from my previous PCP stretch, but I couldn't stretch them for the three months it would take to get to the PM appointment. Again, I would gladly stop. Just give me the prescription. But Nooo. He said I'd have to be clean from it and that could take 30 days. With nothing for even a little bit relief? Because thats it. It helps keep me calm, to eat. It will take my pain level down, on their chart, one degree. When its always an eight, I'll happily take that one decrease in pain levels. With a hyperactive grandson? He was a baby baby then. He's 7 now. Even moved across the bridge to Ohio, to get the damn card, like they told me to do. Still Nope. I want to cry. I want to scream. I don't know WHAT to do! I've been in pain since 2008. They told me to loose weight. I lost 104lbs. I lost a whole person!! I still hurt! I have every brace available. They don't help, and that one brace that's to keep me from hunching over? I despise that one. Want to set it on fire every time i wesr it. I have heating pads, rice socks. Kratom. CBD creams. Hemp lotion. Voltaren cream ( that actually helps the pain in my hips). I'm so TIRED of being judged by everyone because my body hurts. I have three bulging disc's in my lower back and three cervical. I have chronic disc herniation. I have spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, osteoporosis, arthritis in my hips. Neuropathy in my hands and feet. I haven't been able to feel the tips of my fingers for YEARS. The last two toes on both feet are numb, and the middle toe is starting to tingle and goes numb, like it's taking a little nap or something. I keep waiting for it to just stay napping like the others. I have fibromyalgia, chronic migraines. And three bone spurs. Anxiety and depression that comes with the damn pain! I know. I know there are people much worse off than me. I know it could be worse. I'm thankful for the days I CAN play with my hellboy. Clean my room. Do my laundry. Take a shower and NOT have to ask my 28 year old daughter to help me wash my hair. But hooo boy! Do i pay for it later. Doctors do not care anymore. Why do we have to live like this?? In pain and miserable. Anxious, depressed. Depressed/anxious. We shouldn't be treated with disdain, judged because we HURT. Why are they doing this to us??
Thank you for reading. Thank you, if you made it even a little bit through this mess of a post. I don't feel so much like I could spew off at any moment anymore, but I still hurt. I hope you all have a less pain day!!

Hello everyone....
As stated, Wednesday I had my 5th radiation treatment for Stage 1a endometrial cancer.
I had a total robotic assisted hysterectomy in November. Apparently, my doctor removed the 7cm tumor but a lymph node and a few other spots highlighted on the PETScan, and recommended brachytherapy.
I admit, it was okay, bearable, but having to ask my Doctor today for a Lidocaine numbing gel as my vulva area, all around is sore. Its painful to wipe myself and its all swollen.
Question 1: Anyone else have swollen painful lady--bits? Did you need a numbing medicine to ease pain? Hydrocodone-Tylenol nor Ibuprofen help.
Ive resorted to sitting on a cloth covered frozen gel ice pack with a washcloth around it IN my underwear 15 minutes to ease the pain a bit. 😳
Question 2: Were you told you have to use vaginal dialators once healed up, so future gyno exams are not painful, due to radiation tightens you up in there?
Have you SEEN what vaginal dialators are?
I told my Doctor, 'Ive not had anything there since before I got pregnant with my now EX when living in London UK, 21 yrs ago! Are you kidding me?'
Obviously not and he said it will make exams less painful. I said, so will my NOT going to any! 😅
Lords! So, now I have to wait until after the end of April to follow up my Gyno/onco who did my hysterectomy and then have a scan to see how treatment went.
Im already sitting on an extra pillow to cushion myself as the area is so tender. Not itchy or dry so much as sore.
TIA for any tips and I pray all goes well for each of you. 🙏

(26m)
Yesterday I went to the emergency room for what I thought was a kidney infection. Intense back pain and burning in the bladder.
Urine and blood came back normal, and the CT scan showed a 3mm stone in the final stages of being passed. Also a leak in my kidney.
I was prescribed cefdiner, tamsulosin, and hydrocodone.
I've been taking them as directed.
My back no longer hurts, and there was about 30 minutes where I had a sharp pain in my bladder, and it was hard to pee, and I peed very dark in spurts, but I didn't see anything solid come out.
I still have a dull ache in my bladder. Sort of feels like I have to poop, but it's not that. Could I have passed the stone without knowing it?
Also I have a itchy bump on my arm. It's a black dot surrounded by lighter skin, and around that it is surrounded by red bumps. It's 4 inches away from where I had the IV. The nurse dropped the tube that was in my arm on the floor and wiped the tip of it with an alcohol pad, but didn't wipe the tube itself. I'm wondering if I got a skin infection from the tube being on the hospital floor?

Hey all - I’m really struggling right now with horrible mouth sores on and under my tongue. The pain is excruciating to the point where I can’t eat and it’s difficult to even talk. I have been swishing with a salt/baking soda mixture, neomycin, and a different mouth wash mixture they gave me multiple times a day. I even use a q-tip to kind of paint the problem areas with the rinse to make sure it coats the hard to reach places. I also have been taking some leftover Hydrocodone as well for pain, but it only helps a little. Will my doctors be able to prescribe something stronger? Any remedies that I am missing or any advice? This has been my worst chemo side effect so far and I’m just so miserable 😩

I’m pretty miserable, I had all 4 removed yesterday and they were all vertical and ready to come out. I feel terrible and frustrated I cannot open my jaw very wide to even fit a spoon for yougurt. I get very fatigued eating and have been laying down afterwards. I’m not swollen like crazy. I did pass out yesterday and go to the er. Today I am feeling better with ibuprofen 800s and hydrocodone, but my jaw feels super tense and I am still tasting a little risidual blood. I am afraid of rinsing too hard with the syringe, so I’ve been spraying the saltwater rinse lightly.
Any tips to avoid dry socket other than regular post op directions?

Hey everyone, this here is Callie Bee (I'll try to get a pic/album of her posted in the comments). She's the best thing that ever happened to me and helped me through a lot of tough, rough, and difficult times. She's an apple headed, long haired Chihuahua. Unfortunately she passed away this past Sunday morning under terrible circumstances. She had such a beautiful personality and was so unique. She had all the best qualities of a Chihuahua, the personality, energy, loyalty, and compassion. All the "negative" qualities people associate with Chi-Chi's she didn't have at all. She was fierce and a total diva though lol.
She was born mid 2011 and was given to my family while I was in high school for us to foster while an adoptive family was found for her. I found my best friend then and there. I made it known that I wanted to keep her and be her owner. Everyone else in my family wanted to keep her too, she was just too special and unique to let go. She became what's known as a foster failure in the dog fostering world, though to me she was a foster success, she found her home and that's all everyone was after.
Many fun filled and happy years passed by until February 2021 where she was diagnosed with lymphoma. The form of lymphoma she had was extremely aggressive, but we were able to get her into an "experimental" chemo program (it wasn't really experimental, just recently approved and new, but not well known yet). This and Callie's toughness and fighting ability kicked that lymphomas ass back into remission for almost 3 years.
Unfortunately it came back with a vengeance last November just after Thanksgiving. It started with the lymph nodes around her neck. At that point my family didn't seem to want to try anything to help it as when we started the previous chemo they said that the max time you get is about a year or two at best before it comes back, rarely do dogs make it to 3 years and if they do not much can be done once the lymphoma comes back.
A couple months pass by and I say that's bs, we have to try something, Callie deserves that much at the very least. I felt I had to advocate for my best friend as she did so much for me. So I push and push for an appointment. We get one and get her back on a different chemo med this time along with an increased dose of Prednisone, which she had been taking since the lymphoma came back. It started to shrink and was working.
Then 4-5 weeks ago they stagnated in size and then continued to get bigger. While it started on the right side of her neck over the course of the next couple of weeks the ones on the left and middle started to grow in size too. At this point we knew we were at the end and were just trying to give her the best time while we could while also keeping her comfortable. The lymphoma spreads to the nodes on her chest, shoulders, and armpits. Then two weeks ago they started pressing on her throat due to how big they got, she started wheezing and breathing more difficultly, to the point where she sounded like a pug. She's on hydrocodone and pain meds at this point as to keep her comfortable and relatively painless as we could get her to be. Along with the final doses of the chemo meds and prednisone. Then slowly got worse to the point where last Thursday or Friday we scheduled for her to be euthanized this past Monday afternoon.
In a horrible, traumatic situation she wouldn't make it to that appointment. Saturday goes by and it's Saturday night, I've been trying to spoil her as much as possible this entire time. Cookies and treats at any possible moment. We're getting ready for bed after she's had her dose of hydrocodone to ease her into a more comfortable state. I try to give her some whipped cream, but she either smelled the propellant or the dried up stuff on the nozzle tip and proceeded to throw up. At this point a good part of the hydrocodone probably came up too as she stays restless throughout the night. After sleeping for a couple of hours I wake up at 3am Sunday morning and I try talking to my mother about it as Callie is still restless and she says to wait another hour. An hour goes by and I then I gave her another half dose of hydrocodone to try and calm her down. I stay up with her for another 30ish minutes, tear up a slice of turkey meat into tiny pieces and feed them to her, she eats about half the slice. I give her a kiss and I think it works and then go back to sleep.
Before I go any further Sunday was meant to be the day that I celebrated her life and went out with my ex-girlfriend, who loved Callie and Callie loved back, and got a bunch of treats for Callie and gave them to her. Overall it was supposed to be the day that I was by her side for all parts, sans getting her the treats. We were gonna get her a pup cup, some ice cream, french fries that we were gonna tear up for her to eat. It was supposed to be this big grand finale of her life with a ton of love and early goodbyes before her euthanasia.
At 8am Sunday morning, somewhere around then I'm awoken by Callie panicking and choking. I pick her up and take her downstairs and wake everyone up as he tongue has turned this purply blue color, she was suffocating due to the swollen lymph nodes cutting off proper air flow through her throat. I can tell she's scared and I get dressed and get her and my Mom and I get into her car with Callie to get her to an ER vet. I'm holding Callie in the passenger seat as my mom is driving. We drive for maybe five minutes before Callie stops struggling to breathe, at which point this is where I believe she passes away. We get her to the vet about 5 minutes later and they say her heart has stopped beating, they offer CPR, but we decline. There's no point in bringing her back to suffer anymore. The entire car ride to the vet, I was crying and just thanking Callie for being my best friend and for being so strong. I was telling her it's okay and that it's okay to go that you've fought enough. I told her over and over that I loved her so much and that I was appreciative of her helping me out through difficult times in my life.
I miss her so damn much, each day it hasn't gotten any easier to deal with. She was my rock and my support system when I had none. But I feel I failed her at the end of her life. She suffered for the final couple of days and died in fear. She died scared and afraid. I know that I held her as she died, but suffocating to death is a terrible way to die. After all she did for me it wasn't the ending she deserved. She deserved better and I feel like I failed her in that. I know she's not in pain or suffering anymore but I still feel so guilty. It was so traumatizing for me, I can only imagine how she felt. The image of her trying to get air while her tongue was blue will forever be seared into my mind. I'm so lost without her, like I said earlier she was my rock that I'd lean on in difficult times. I could just hold her and pet her and she'd give me dog kisses and I knew that I'd be okay. I know that I was with her when she passed so I hope that she knew how much I loved her and cared for her and how thankful I was for her in her final moments.
I just feel absolutely terrible about how she died. I question everything about it, did I accidentally OD her on the hydrocodone? Why didn't I wake up sooner? How long did she suffer? Was I quick enough, did I take too much time? Should I have taken her to be put down at 3am? Why didn't I get a quicker appointment? Did I shower her with enough love? Why didn't I spend more time with her on Saturday? Could she have had many more years if I had pushed enough earlier in this most recent bout with the lymphoma? Was I a good pet owner?
Anytime I'm not thinking of her it feels so wrong and I feel so guilty. I miss coming home and her being at the door or running up to it waiting for me. I miss the jingle of her collar as so ran around outside or in the house (didn't hear much of this in the last three months as we took her collar off so she was more comfortable). I miss holding her and petting her. I miss giving her back and ear scritches. I miss giving her treats and seeing her do tricks. I miss taking photos of her and the poses she would sometimes do for them. I miss my best friend.
Sorry for droning on so long, I just needed to get this out there in some way or form. I also wanted the outer world to know of Callie as she deserves it. She truly was special and a one of a kind dog. There'll never be another like her. Rest in peace Missy Mouse, my Callie Bee🐝. September 20th, 2011 - March 17th, 2024 ♥️💕♥️💕♥️💕

Hi all, I'm 26 F USA. I got dx with RA in April 2021 after onset of symptoms in October 2020, and I'm currently on Humira since June 2022. The Humira FULLY treats my RA in all my joints, including shoulders, knees (worst), wrists, fingers, toes, occasionally elbows. However- it does not help my SI joints at ALL!!!
TLDR: SI joint pain continues to be undiagnosable & untreatable going on 6 years: tips?! DESPERATE
I have had chronic lower back & hip pain since later 2018 which came out of nowhere and gradually got worse, and way before anything RA appeared. It started solely on my left side along with sciatica, then slowly started in the right side. Within a few months both sides of my hips (very deep in there) and SI joints were in a lot of pain. Prior and following the RA dx I had 2 MRIs done (2019, 2021), hip x-ray (2021), and tested for HLA-B27 -- all were negative and not indicative of any issue affecting my lower back, hips and respective joints. Before I started Humira my rheum suggested it could just be the RA and therefore whenever I started biologics the pain would be "cured". However, at almost 2 years on it and no change my rheum says it definitely is not RA related but he has absolutely zero clue what it could be. He did admit that it could still be early AS or nr-axSpA, but that the Humira should still be helping since it's also used as an unofficial med to treat AS.
My SIs hurt every single day at every hour no matter what I'm doing or where I am. They have gotten visually inflamed and swollen/raised many times, although majority of the time there is no swelling. I now admittedly live a sedentary lifestyle because even just the thought of being up and out, knowing the pain will worsen if continually walking or forced to sit in a hard chair, is too much to deal with mentally and physically. Like, I am so socially isolated and boring now. I know that exercise is supposed to help but too often my pain is exacerbated afterwards and goes on through the following day, including throughout the night. I will say that brief movement does alleviate but it doesn't last. I used to be a multi-sport athlete (my entire life until midcollege) and have always had a lean/fit/skinny body type, so exercise isn't perceived in my mind necessarily as a need in terms of my motivation to do it, and I don't have a heavier body weight so that isn't a factor either. (I'm working on getting exercise into a habit)
No NSAIDs (meloxicam, naproxen), pain relievers, muscle relaxers, steroid injections (twice tried) or any one activity treats the pain. It feels like constant burning and achey with some sharp shooting or electric zapping here and there. It is very tender to the touch. In the very beginning when it was just unilateral sciatica I was prescribed 5-10mg hydrocodone and that helped at the time but stopped working after a few months. Currently I drink Kratom 2-4 times a day (depends what I have to do -- if I have nothing to do I stay in bed all day long and drink only a couple cups; more physical or cognitive exertion = more cups needed). It is the ONLY thing that helps and it works best in the morning when the pain is worse after waking up. It doesn't help all day long though. And I don't know why, but the pain is 10/10 when I am doing something that requires mental energy like schoolwork/studying, and Kratom barely or very little helps in those instances. Likely stress-induced but don't know WHY? I use IcyHot & equivalent but it wears off quicker than I'd like.
Why wouldn't the Humira work for inflammatory pain in my SI joints, why wouldn't NSAIDs! How is this not being caught by any doctors!! (Drs I have seen: GP, orthopedic, rheumatologist, spine & pain specialist, PT, neurologist) Does this sound like mechanical pain or inflammatory pain?
What do you do for your intense SI pain? Anybody else's untreatable/unmanageable, or un-dx?
Any tips and advice GREATLY appreciated!
*Edit to add: I am highly seropositive for RF (83) and antiCCP (>250), positive ANA titer 1:80

Over 48 hours post op, the tip of my tongue is still numb. I've stopped taking the opioid (hydrocodone-acetaminophen) painkillers that were prescribed to me because I figured they might be causing it, but also because the pain isn't anything that acetaminophen and ibuprofen haven't been able to handle. About 24 hours after discontinuing the opioids, my tongue is still numb. Is this normal or something to be concerned about?
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Had PPH staple surgery on Friday 3/1, so I am just over 48 hours post surgery. Posting here for two reasons:
1) To let people know my experience 2) To see if anyone had a similar experience and might have some tips
Day 0 (Surgery day):
Aside from the nurse insisting to put the IV in my hand, and it subsequently blowing out, it went pretty smoothly. Like an idiot I almost got my surgery cancelled by eating red jello in my "clear liquid" phase (5-8 hrs before surgery). I had read that jello was ok, and apparently it is... As long as it's not red. Luckily my anesthesiologist was ok with going forward.
Surgery was really fast (~20-30 minutes) and I woke up in recovery with no pain or anything. A little groggy but nothing serious. I was given hydrocodone (narco) and Valium and was told to take ibuprofen/Tylenol as well. I took the OTC painkillers (avoiding the narco for constipation reasons). The pain wasn't excruciating, maybe a 3/10.
Slept off and on through the evening. Woke up in the middle of the night many times with fair amounts of pain (5/10). Was quite a miserable night.
Day 1:
Was very nervous about the first BM and kept feeling like I might need to go, but at best got a few small farts out. I was also nervous about hurting the incision (the internal staples one) so I really didn't push at all and if anything felt like it was coming I immediately flinched and it went back. Started feeling overall pretty decent by the end of the day, but still no BM so (per my Dr discharge paperwork) I took 30ml of milk of magnesia and went to bed. I had some spasms (like when I started/finished peeing, or when my son startled me) but it wasn't too painful.
I slept fairly well, waking up a few times but nothing too extreme.
Day 2 (Today):
Started off pretty great, but that was short lived. Had a small BM (3in log) early, but couldn't get more than that. It was fairly painful but not excruciating (4/10). Tried again mid day with no luck so I took another 30ml milk of magnesia. 3 hours later I had a significant BM (two 2-4in logs and a lot of liquid behind it. This is when the extreme pain hit (8/10), it felt like acid being pored over paper cuts in my rectum and then squeezed. This lasted for ~10 minutes. Then it's been a few hours of more manageable discomfort (3/10) with somewhat frequent spasms (pain shoots very briefly to between 4-8/10).
I'll try to continue to post updates, it's a nice outlet during this uncomfortable time.
Current question, did anyone else have spasms and was there anything to make them less painful/frequent?

On Monday, I had received the news that insurance had approved my bariatric surgery. Today, I was told my date is April 2nd. Eek! Excited? Obviously I’ll be asking my surgeon similar to the ones I’m going to ask here. I just want the honest opinion of fellow patients.

1. So, all my post-op says lap RNY. I thought we were doing a sleeve but maybe due to my BMI (over 50), the Duodenitis, and Gastritis he found during my endoscopy… maybe he changed his mind. I was open to both anyway. I kind of left it up to his discretion based on my history and blah blah. Does lap-RYN mean by bypass or did the scheduler make a mistake?
   
2. I know every doctor and clinic is different but how was your post op pain controlled? I am already on hydrocodone for SEL flairs. From my understanding, it means I have a higher tolerance than normal people who aren’t on opioids already. Will this make things harder for my pain control?
   
3. How long did you stay in the hospital. I read 2-3 days post a RNY. I’m curious if that is the average.
   
4. Is weight loss really that rapid? I’m still processing this whole thing. Not in a bad way but more of a omg it’s happening… it’s finally happening….
   
5. Lastly, throw at me your best tips and tricks for recovery! I do have a pregnancy body pillow I got for my hysterectomy. Will I be able to sit up? I’m a gamer and planned on passing my time healing that way.
   

Thank you all! Again, I’ll be asking my surgeon similar questions in 3 weeks at my pre-op.

ACL & meniscus repair surgery done today!!!✅ this is my 3rd ACL surgery and hopefully last, but the pain doesn’t get any easier! can already feel the pain coming through, hoping I can get at least some sleep tonight once the nerve block wears off. Anyone have tips for sleeping through it? My hydrocodone isn’t doing enough I feel like.

I am 24 and have read horrific posts about tonsillectomies and want to re write them in my experience. Dr prescribed an antibiotic and hydrocodone Tips that I’ve had myself do daily, drink plenty of water, sleep with a humidifier, try to take pain meds atleast an hour before my meals, showers help and I’ve found myself sometimes taking two a day. I fall asleep with an ice pack on my neck every night.
AND REST ASSURED MAMAS I HAVE BEEN HOME BY MYSELF WITH MY CHILDREN SINCE DAY 3 POST OP while my husband worked, they are 3 and 10mo I have still been able to care for them as well as pick up my house! I have had my aunt here every day to watch over me and help when needed, but for the most part I’ve done this on my own! I had my procedure done last Friday. I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM. When I arrived they had my strip my clothes off, wipe down my body with wipes to help prevent the spread of bacteria. They gave me a pregnancy test, a mouth gargling solution and 4 iodine swabs for my nose. I was out of surgery and in my way home at 9:30AM. When I woke up I asked for a drink, the nurse fed me ice cubes, I went back to recovery room where I was given a can of sprite and some peaches, which I eat and drank and was out the door. The surgery went very well. That day was EASY! I was able to talk and everything. After getting home I ordered mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese from kfc and was able to eat it. Day 1 post op: nothing really changed. I was still doing really well, still able to eat soft foods and wasn’t taking the narcotics the dr prescribed. Just ibuprofen. I was sleeping pretty alright too. I sweated a lot in my sleep and of course I did have pain in both my throat and my ears. Day 2 post op-day 3 post op was pretty much the same. Day 4 post op the pain did get a little worse but it was still manageable. I did try to eat mashed potatoes for dinner this night and started to cry in pain, I ended up settling for yogurt. I knew that the pain would be worse in the coming days. Day 5- the pain started to get worse, and I did indeed take Two (half) doses of the narcotics, and still had a major headache all day due to getting up too early.i still did eat Mac and cheese for dinner. I spent most of this day outside with my two littles, and the pain was pretty ok until around 3pm when I decided to take my second half dose of the medicine the dr prescribed. By this point I have drank 18 bottles of propel water. Day 6- this is where I am now and the pain is about the same as it was yesterday and did wake up at 6 and take a dose of the medication prescribed by the dr. I will update today’s experience tomorrow🙂 adding at 2pm todays pain is much less than yesterdays pain! I guess that means I’m towards the end (hopefully!) haven’t taken prescribed pain medicine in 8 hours! Only 800mg ibuprofen today🙂 Day 7- pain is still here! It’s 4:20 and I’m sitting in the tub. Been up since 2am finally gave in at 4 and took some medicine prescribed by Dr because I have to get my kids up and ready for school In an hour and a half. I cannot wait to be able to have a full nights rest again. I’m at the end of day 7 and still miserable! I haven’t been able to eat much and went to the walk in clinic today because the right side of my mouth and ear hurts like hell. I’m running on 5 hours of sleep and I’m fully regretting this decision.. I’m hoping I can add positive updates in the coming days.. Dr said that the ent Dr had to cut more into the right side and that’s why it’s taking longer to heal. Day 8- I took a hydro before bed last night and was able to sleep from 830-530 this morning. Still woke up in pain though. Through out the day I only took 800mg of ibuprofen because the pain was very little.. and that was a mistake because I was up at 12am, 2am, 4am. At 12 am I finally decided to take a pain pill. Day 9- here we are, and I’m starting to get really frustrated that I can’t sleep normal and that the pain is so bad I need the strong pain killers prescribed by the dr. I will update you all tonight. It has been since 12am since I’ve had pain meds and is 6:38am so we’ll see. I’m not feeling too bad right now but night time is hell and my right side of my mouth still doesn’t look right. Day 10- I went all day without pain meds til bed last night. Throughout the day it’s not bad at all, but at night I wake up in a lot of pain Day 11- yesterday wasn’t terrible. The pain was manageable without pain medicine. I did take pain meds before bed, but last night was different! I didn’t wake up at all throughout the night. This morning I woke up in less pain than all the previous mornings. Day 12- I’m not gonna say the pains honestly cause it’s still there when I eat and drink but it’s not too terrible, I haven’t taken pain meds in 31 hours. I still woke up a few times last night to check the time but wasn’t in bad pain!

Hello, first time ever post, made an account for this. I'm just a little scared of some interesting patterns I'm seeing in the surgeon care provider I got. I am 25M, 6", 250lb's, 1/2 German 1/2 Native American. I'm only on pain meds currently for this & zero Alcohol, Nicotine (Quit early December), or Recreational Drugs. Please understand I'm typing all of this with one hand.
So, long story short, grease fire, flammable floor, handled quickly & well. But right hand has Full-Thickness burn, along with 2nd Degree along wrist & stomach, but the 2nd-degree is all handled & healed by the time of posting with bacitracin. Anyhow, I went to E.R. when I noticed the white appearing on my hand after 20 mins of home remedies, realizing this was 3rd-Degree. After my visit they sent me home saying it just needs antibiotic ointment & hibiclens, Tylenol & Ibuprofen for pain, & cleaned/redressed twice a day. (Thank god for my fiance's help.). Also I was very lucky to get a surgeon to agree to help in my small town, rather than go a few states over to a burn clinic, but he's an interesting guy.. That was on Jan 11th, here is a link to the photo taken right before walking in to E.R.: https://imgur.com/a/qICfYYk
Also I poked a hole in the swelling of the burn immediately afterwards as an instinct after how quickly, big & fully it swelled up. I felt my hand was going to burst. However the skin practically fell off from the damage while I applied Aloe Vera.
Jan 15th comes around, between the E.R. visit & this 1st clinic appointment I've been in terrible, barely tolerable pain. I'm worried about costs & taking what I thought was the max dose of Tylenol & Ibuprofen in between each other. Anyways I get checked in & brought back by a nurse where she gets me in the system with the typical questioning, & she undresses my wound & after a couple minutes I meet the guy. He puts me on bacitracin rather than the antibiotic ointment, awesome, & after looking at it just says it should be fine with dressing it, & to add vaseline to moisturize it & to keep it clean & see how it heals. That was about 2 minutes of him asking the same questions as the nurse & looking at it, & he's done. I had to stop him halfway out the door to ask for pain medication, where he just said "alright" but with barely slowing down and barely acknowledging me at all, back facing me as he continued out the door. No big deal, super busy guy with super busy work. I recieved 5mg Hydrocodone/325mg Acetaminophen every 6 hours. It worked for about 5 days before I added Tylenol & Ibuprofen to help.
Anyways, 2nd clinic appointment, Jan 19th, the pain has become pretty much unbearable, with scabbing & trying to keep it comfortable, I've become bedridden with two positions that eliminate 60%-80% of the pain when meds are at full capacity. Anyways normal visit, but he comes into the room, asks me how I'm doing, & is out of there quickly. Luckily rather than increase my Hydrocodone dose I was put on Oxy. Back to the med working for almost 5 days before being left with it only helping for 3 hours.
This continued, I begun seeing him once a week, 3rd appointment, Jan 30th, with him was in a "Wound Care" unit. Wonderful nurse who explained I can take more than I thought of Ibuprofen (This saved my life) & they even took pictures. However my hand has begun to become a wavy mountain of dead skin that looked like beige leather but had very little drainage & more pale than my normal tone, with a wall of dead skin around the wound & miscellaneous small bumps that would grow & were incredibly sensitive to touch, like a stinging pain while cleaning it. But it was slightly soft & the "waves" were where my hand used to have natural concave creases, would tear & adhere to itself, just to tear again & again so painfully. (No photo available unfortunately, I avoided looking at it & can't access the hospitals photo online.)
Sorry for the long intro, I think I've been needing a vent, this is where his behavior doubled down though & begun to become more alerting.
So during the 3rd appointment, in wound care, he offered me surgery for an integra wrap that Friday, February 2nd. (The organic wrap that they put on before a skin graft) As I was just figuring out insurance stuff, I panicked a little and asked if we could wait until I get accepted on insurance (it was any day now at this point). This visibly bothered him and he stated aggressively that if it gets infected, we'd have to do it right away and left the room pretty quickly without another word. The nurse and I chatted and she said she completely understands, because you never know. She redressed the wound and he came in to give me an appointment for a checkup that Tuesday. I stated that I needed a doctor's note for the insurance, he said I need to walk to the other side of the hospital to a different unit for that. Upon leaving and scheduling my Tuesday check up, the nurse awkwardly stated how weird it was that she wasn't writing the doctor's note. She said she usually does. Anyhow, I got to the separate clinic, my hand throbbing in pain, I asked the nurse working the front desk if she can give me a doctor's note and that I was sent here. She was visibly confused and a little frustrated and had no idea what I was talking about. I had to hold up the line and upon receiving the doctor's note, you could tell it was made from scratch on some sort of document app. Anyhow, that Wednesday, Jan 31st I decided to go ahead with the surgery anyways and called to get it scheduled. They called back at 4:15 PM Friday, Feb 2nd and the next surgery he could give me was Feb 8th. I also canceled my Tuesday check up during this call.
One week later, I show up at 6:30 AM for surgery. The surgery was scheduled for 7:00 AM. Upon arrival, I was greeted with amazing staff, nurses, and a second surgeon who kept joking with me and explained very well the procedure and asked if I had any questions. He left, it was 6:51 and I'm just waiting now. This waiting continued until 7:06, when my surgeon care provider came into my room incredibly care free and wearing jeans, a t-shirt, his eyes were red like he had just woken up, and his keys in hand. He seemed to still be holding a grudge from the last appointment where I said no to the surgery, or maybe they didn't get the memo to cancel my Tuesday appointment. When asking questions about the surgery, he stated that he wasn't sure what he would do yet and that he would talk about it after, he didn't and he kept trying to be incredibly pessimistic, stating it would be an 8-9 month healing process no matter what. I stated hopeful thoughts and he remained silent and walked out.
I came out of surgery and had a nice cast on, this was a life saver, I was processed out, surrounded by amazing nurses and staff. I got home and crashed and ever since have been sleeping wonderfully with the cast keeping my hand still. On Feb 12th I had a redressing/check up, it was at this appointment, I hit him with positivity because I understand how hard this line of work can be, he seemed to really appreciate it. Then on Feb 15th I had another redressing with just the nurses, I was there for 2 hours as they had forgotten to give me an appointment and lost my prescription for pain meds (just some sick receptionist who had a bad day).
Anyways, I was home before I knew it and it wasn't until today, Feb 20th I was able to get the integra wrap removed. It was a normal appointment and when he walked in, I stated I've had little pain and I've been feeling more confident, he said that's good and even laughed at a nurses joke. I went on to ask him if he ever saw himself doing this one day, he chuckled and said "no." This is when he grabbed some scissors to remove the stitches, that were absorbable sutures. However, he only cut the top 2 nearest my pinky, (see photo below to see how large of a wound and how many sutures there were) and he grabbed what little of the integra that he could and began just pulling it upwards, causing me extreme pain (and I have a really high pain tolerance). I recoil in shock that this man is genuinely pulling this off me right now, after only snipping 2 of the sutures and the sutures are deep. At times, I could feel them get stuck and at very rare times they came out easy, but this was incredibly painful and didn't seem professional at all. If the nurse came near, as she was grabbing materials for the dressing, he would begin to use the scissors and remove the stitches that way, but was quickly back to ripping it out. There is no way my skin wasn't pulled at least an inch off my hand while he was doing all of this. He did my thumb which had its own wrap and luckily came off easily, however while doing my pinky, he couldn't snip 1 of the sutures and on his 4th try, he cut deep and I instantly began losing a lot of blood. He began to try to cover it with a pillow my hand was on and after that wouldn't work, he tried using pressure on the wound with a gauze pad after 1 minute and it still wouldn't stop bleeding, he asked the nurse for something and ripped open a big pack of single sided, gray q-tips? I'm not sure what this was, it was a pack of multiple of them and on the pack it said something that ended in "one", and he only used 1. The bleeding stopped and the wound was covered in what looked to be charcoal. After googling this stuff, it looked like Silver Nitrate Swabs?? I don't know the specifics though. He just quietly used it & never mentioned anything about it. I hope it's safe to leave on overnight. I felt rushed during this procedure, I'm hoping he just needs more practice, but it feels scary this is the only surgeon in my area who will work on a burn. While he was ripping it out and I was in shock, I made a few comments that the stitches didn't feel like they dissolved even a little. He said they should've in a week. The surgery was 12 days ago though and he told me to take the rest out on my own. Is that normal? Photo reference: https://imgur.com/a/pBlNBlS
I'm honestly just scared to go back because of my concerned comment about the stitches, I feel as though that's enough grounds for him to possibly target me and cause me more pain. He also stated I should bring my cast from the original surgery back to the skin graft I have scheduled around March 1st, is that normal?
Sorry this was long, I just want a professional opinion telling me that how he removed it was by the books and just forgot to warn me (and just needs more practice), or let me know that these patterns and fears of mine are justified. Also, do you think I should try another hospital and see if I can find another surgeon for the skin graft? Or just tough out my last couple appointments? Thank you.
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TLDR: Got a 3rd degree burn and my surgeon care provider has been pretty rude, rushed, inconsiderate, and dangerous. Just looking for advice only last big paragraph is mostly relevant.