August 10, 2009 – My Hospital Stay
The last week has been the week from hell. Last time I wrote I was waiting to get on a plane in D.C. Now I am lying in a hospital bed back in my hometown. As soon as I landed my aunt picked me up from the airport and took me straight to the ER. They quickly admitted me and got me hooked up to some IV drugs.
You would think with all of my spare time I would be able to write more, but being NPO (nothing by mouth) has drained my energy. Constantly being in pain and subsequently on narcotics doesn’t help either. I have been on 2mgs of IV Dilaudid every two hours as well as 10mgs of Norco every four hours. The first few days in the hospital I was taking the Dilaudid every 2 hours, but now I am trying to only use it when I am in extreme pain.
The doctors are at a bit of a loss for what is going on with me. I have elevated pancreatic enzymes, which would indicate pancreatitis, but imaging of my pancreas has been normal. It has been a frustrating and painful week.
Do you get any relief from the nerve blocks? I have had them, but they don’t last long. So the pain doc gives me TWO lortabs a day..the lowest dosage too. Oh yeah…he gives me a robaxin too. And I just found out I am a diabetic too. Just ticks me off that people ruin getting real pain meds when they abused theirs. I am up for any help in controling this pain. I have L4 and L5 where the discs are herniated. I hurt constantly because I have no legs and must be wheelchair bound. So, give me your opinion. Thxs, Wanda
I am not sure how effective nerve blocks are for me. I have only had one and I had it right before I got pancreatitis and was hospitalized. I was also treated by a doctor who was inexperienced with the particular type of block that I received.
I have also tried Robaxin, but it only sedated me.
Pain Meds are great for short term relief, but the long term consequences suck. I am currently working to get off of my long acting narcotics as I think that they may be causing hyperalgesia (increased pain sensitivity).
The other thing I can recommend is acupuncture. I found it to be very effective.
I am sorry to hear about your problems. I hope that you can figure out a long term solution.
Thanks for reading,
Jesus