Still taking pain meds?

OrchidNancy
OrchidNancy Member Posts: 23
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Just wondering how long you all were taking pain meds after treatment finished. My husband had 2 rounds of cisplatin and 30 days of rads for tonsillar ca. He finished about 7 1/2 weeks ago and still has some pain for which he uses liquid norco - about equivalent to a 7.5mg Norco 3-4 times a day. He finished his rx last night and today the nurse said they won't refill it anymore. We're hoping he'll do okay with tylenol and ibuprofen, but I just wanted to get a feel for how long others continued narcs after finishing treatment. His pain was improving and then a few days ago his throat pain seemed to flare up again.

Thanks, Nancy

Comments

  • lornal
    lornal Member Posts: 428
    #2
    Hydration

    Is he staying/getting well hydrated?  Being dehydrated even a little bit will increase pain everywhere.

    I learned this when I was taking pain meds for a sore throat.  Once I got a feeding tube, and was able to get enough water- the pain diminished so that I could stop pain killers.

    Of course, everything went down hill from there - but they hydration helped a lot.

    Lorna  2007 & 2014

  • HobbsDoggy
    HobbsDoggy Member Posts: 276
    #3
    About Two Weeks

    I kept taking pain medication about a week to a week and a half after radiation.  I think everyone is different.  I tend to be leary of pain medication , but might have stopped a little early.  I was very lucky in that my pain started late and that was a mistake.  I found that going to a cancer support group and seeing a shrink helped my pain, I know that might sound nuts but it helped me.  Part of my "pain" was depression, which I still have although not as bad, and I mostly wanted the world to go away and I might have been depending on the pain medication to help that.  I still take anti-depressents which seem to work, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the day.

  • avisemi
    avisemi Member Posts: 172
    #4
    My husband just got

    My husband just got completely off pain meds 7 weeks after his last radiation.  I read another post a while back about acupuncture helping with pain.  hope his pain stops soon!

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #5
    avisemi said:

    My husband just got

    My husband just got completely off pain meds 7 weeks after his last radiation.  I read another post a while back about acupuncture helping with pain.  hope his pain stops soon!

    Pain

    ITook me awhile but I traded off the pain killers for magic mouthwash following my original tx. Recent surgeries and tx have me back on hydrocodone at night and tylenol during the day. I know there are risks with taking it too long but if he is in pain and continues to be when you try over the counter solutions, I would let the doctor know.

  • OrchidNancy
    OrchidNancy Member Posts: 23
    #6
    hwt said:

    Pain

    ITook me awhile but I traded off the pain killers for magic mouthwash following my original tx. Recent surgeries and tx have me back on hydrocodone at night and tylenol during the day. I know there are risks with taking it too long but if he is in pain and continues to be when you try over the counter solutions, I would let the doctor know.

    Good points about hydration,

    Good points about hydration, accupuncture and pain related to depression. Depression hurts and has body symptoms absolutely and I appreciate your sharing that. Also about the ibuprofen and magic mouthwash. All appreciated information and good things to consider. I scrounged up a few norco tabs from root canals/ other dental stuff years back to get him through - and the nurse at the radiation center said to see the ENT if there's still pain, so he has an appt for tomorrow.

    I am concerned that he has his PET scan on Monday 4/6 and I thought I read that if there's inflammation (as it appears to be with my husband) you can get a false positive on the PET. Not sure if that's true - if inflamed tissue takes up the sugar tracer more actively than regular tissue but I plan to ask the ENT about that and if I get any confirming information maybe we'll reschedule the PET scan for a couple of more weeks out. Anyone else who's heard that please let me know. Thanks again all, Nancy

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #7
    You gotta do what you gotta do...

    I was on narcs from the time I started the surgeries until 4 months post treatment, about 8-9 months in all. I was then given Tramadol which I have around at all times for when ibuprofen doesn't do it. 

    I started acupuncture in January and the pain has improved substantially. I rarely take the Tramadol anymore and only use ibuprofen when needed.

    Positive thoughts and prayers

    "T"

     

     

  • wmc
    wmc Member Posts: 1,804
    #8
    Sorry for the pain...It should be refilled.

    I have been on Norco 7.5 for two years. I was on it for bone spurs in my neck then for the cancer. I would say I will be on them for the rest of my life. Now it is from all the cutting in my neck to take out 86 lymph glands and my voice box. My heck always feels like it is being streached from the center outward in both directions.

    If they won't refill the Norco ask the doctor what he would recomend for the pain, would he recomend Ibuprofen like motron, or what would be the best, do to the pain he is still in. Remember to read the warnings and never go over the limits in a 24 hr peroid

    Bill

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #9
    Hi Nancy

     

    I am like everyone else, I just about live on pain meds, but my problem is late radiation side effects. I was able to do treatment with no pain meds but that all changes a few years ago. Like T just said you got to do what you got to do sometimes

     

    Tim Hondo

  • dharma19
    dharma19 Member Posts: 16
    #10
    Up at night with pain again.

    It has been years since my last treatment. Some of you won't believe this. My pain has increased. They found out that radiation shrunk my intestines so bad doctor can't do a colonoscopy. Went to bladder doctor and they had to enlarge urethra. Finally, my vagina and perennium is shrunken to children's size. Sex is too painful and that part of life is over. I get cramping a lot from intestines being melted into each other. If I wasn't Catholic and afraid of help,and afraid of hurting family and providers, I wouldn't care if I were here. I would never put family through that. Did they OD me on radiation?  I promise I,m safe and seeing therapist, so don't worry.  I had. Pain in left arm and ignored it, hoping it was HA. I am sick of pain and feel umbrage. My kids are grown up and never see them but truth is some days I am in restroom all day. I now wear diapers from rad I action. Can anyone see why it's hard to hang on? I have policy against increasing pain meds. I'm trying my best. 

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