pain

glinka65
glinka65 Member Posts: 132
in Colorectal Cancer #1
hope all of you are well.....if anyone can help??? i do not want to take the pain meds all day they prrescibed me, at night its ok, but alive and such is not doing it during the day, the chemo has helped with the small tumors in my abdominal wall, but the one left on my hip bone is so painfull....waiting on scans to start radiation but im in so much pain on my right side if any over the counter stuff has helped that i dont know about please let me know!!! this 4 year journey is taking its toll on me... i guess im lucky after 2 colon resections and 2 rounds of heavy chemo, but this side pain is bad,,the doc says take the pain meds...but like i said would like to not do that during the day...any tips would be great...love you guys!!!! and one day this will be beat....sorry about the rant, but im at wits end!!!

Comments

  • Doc_Hawk
    Doc_Hawk Member Posts: 685
    #2
    Pain
    Hi Glinka,

    I'm so sorry that you are having such pain. I wish that I could offer a suggestion, but all I can do is sympathize with you. I have pain in my fingers and feet from the chemo (it makes the skin there crack and split terribly, as well as the neuropathy.) I don't like taking pain meds either because they make me feel slow and stupid, but at times I just have to take them. Like you, I try to reserve that for night time and that's mostly so that I can finally get to sleep.

    You'l be in my prayers tonight.

    Doc
  • glinka65
    glinka65 Member Posts: 132
    #3
    Doc_Hawk said:

    Pain
    Hi Glinka,

    I'm so sorry that you are having such pain. I wish that I could offer a suggestion, but all I can do is sympathize with you. I have pain in my fingers and feet from the chemo (it makes the skin there crack and split terribly, as well as the neuropathy.) I don't like taking pain meds either because they make me feel slow and stupid, but at times I just have to take them. Like you, I try to reserve that for night time and that's mostly so that I can finally get to sleep.

    You'l be in my prayers tonight.

    Doc

    pain
    thanks so much Doc....seems we have the try to normal thing,,,i hate the meds during the day, if i can offer any sleep advice try ambeian,,,,with the steroid with the chemo i couldnt sleep, it helped!!!! thank you so much for the response!!!! means alot,,,,this battle sucks!!!!
  • glinka65
    glinka65 Member Posts: 132
    #4
    Doc_Hawk said:

    Pain
    Hi Glinka,

    I'm so sorry that you are having such pain. I wish that I could offer a suggestion, but all I can do is sympathize with you. I have pain in my fingers and feet from the chemo (it makes the skin there crack and split terribly, as well as the neuropathy.) I don't like taking pain meds either because they make me feel slow and stupid, but at times I just have to take them. Like you, I try to reserve that for night time and that's mostly so that I can finally get to sleep.

    You'l be in my prayers tonight.

    Doc

    pain
    thanks so much Doc....seems we have the try to normal thing,,,i hate the meds during the day, if i can offer any sleep advice try ambeian,,,,with the steroid with the chemo i couldnt sleep, it helped!!!! thank you so much for the response!!!! means alot,,,,this battle sucks!!!!
  • Doc_Hawk
    Doc_Hawk Member Posts: 685
    #5
    glinka65 said:

    pain
    thanks so much Doc....seems we have the try to normal thing,,,i hate the meds during the day, if i can offer any sleep advice try ambeian,,,,with the steroid with the chemo i couldnt sleep, it helped!!!! thank you so much for the response!!!! means alot,,,,this battle sucks!!!!

    Sleep
    The best thing I've found for a sleep aid is reading Shakespeare lol. Seriously tho, it seems like every time I settle down in the living room and start to read anything, within half an hour I'm out like a light for at least an hour.
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #6
    Ouch
    Hi Glinka,
    Have you tried a heating pad on the area? Maybe it could help the tensed up muscles relax a bit.
    Alternatively, an ice bag might help too.
    Also, I've take 800 mgs of Advil before when the pain got to be too much and I didn't want to be flying from the prescription meds.
    Good luck~
    TommyCat
  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #7
    For me,
    the only thing that helped with tumor-related pain was Vicodin and oxycodone, both rx pain meds. They are addictive, of course, but with tapering (and the helpful advice of members here) I was able to quit taking them when they were no longer needed. I had a wise doctor tell me (when I was freaking out about addiction issues) that as a cancer patient I need to use all the weapons in my arsenal, and that pain medications are an important part of that. Pain impedes healing and steals away the strength and energy we need to stay in the fight. He said that I should take whatever helps, and worry about getting off them when I reached NED, which is exactly what I did. I would encourage you to talk to your doc about getting better pain management...imo, no one dealing with pain from tumors should have to rely on the OTC stuff (unless it happens to really help, but it sounds like that's not the case). Good luck, sending hope for relief your way-Ann
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #8
    annalexandria said:

    For me,
    the only thing that helped with tumor-related pain was Vicodin and oxycodone, both rx pain meds. They are addictive, of course, but with tapering (and the helpful advice of members here) I was able to quit taking them when they were no longer needed. I had a wise doctor tell me (when I was freaking out about addiction issues) that as a cancer patient I need to use all the weapons in my arsenal, and that pain medications are an important part of that. Pain impedes healing and steals away the strength and energy we need to stay in the fight. He said that I should take whatever helps, and worry about getting off them when I reached NED, which is exactly what I did. I would encourage you to talk to your doc about getting better pain management...imo, no one dealing with pain from tumors should have to rely on the OTC stuff (unless it happens to really help, but it sounds like that's not the case). Good luck, sending hope for relief your way-Ann

    there;s also the Fentanyl patch of varying strengths that you
    apply on your arm,like a bandaid,for three days,then replace;you can ask one of your docs about this......
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    #9
    Pain
    My GP is also a believer in good nutrition. Pain can be a sign of the body's lack of balance of nutrition. The Omegas naturally fight the body's pain. I took the pain killer and also worked on my diet to balance my Omegas. Then I could limit the use of pain killers and get less fuzzy.

    Walking helped me a lot. No matter how crumby I felt, I always felt better after a walk. I forced myself to walk at times. I never regretted the walks, they increased my heart rate, muscle mass, fresh air, etc...

    The changes in my diet have continued.

    Best Always, mike

    PS I did not even take aspirin previous to cancer.
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #10
    Meds
    Can relate to you not wanting to take them but until you can get this pain under control maybe take 1/2 one in the morning and 1/2 in evening. Maybe even cutting it to 1/4 in morning and evening and then taking regular dose at night. No one should live in pain. Even OTC meds are really no less harm on the body than the prescribed ones. At least the ones that are a script are controlled by your doctor. Hope you feel better soon.

    Kim
  • glinka65
    glinka65 Member Posts: 132
    #11
    Annabelle41415 said:

    Meds
    Can relate to you not wanting to take them but until you can get this pain under control maybe take 1/2 one in the morning and 1/2 in evening. Maybe even cutting it to 1/4 in morning and evening and then taking regular dose at night. No one should live in pain. Even OTC meds are really no less harm on the body than the prescribed ones. At least the ones that are a script are controlled by your doctor. Hope you feel better soon.

    Kim

    you guys are the best!!!!
    you guys are the best!!!! thank you so much for the advice!!!!! again thank you!!!! meet with my doc tomorrow!!!!

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