Pleural effusion, then oramorph od !

[thecatandus]

Went in for my 6 week consultants review after my valve replacement and bypass on Wednesday (the first appointment was originally 12 weeks, but I got an earlier one so only 5 weeks 2 days....lucky I did). I thought I was not really improving on the breathless side, turns out I had a plural effusion (water surrounding my left lung), which explained the pain when I breathed in and yawned - bit of a shock when the radiographer summoned up a wheelchair to take me back to the clinic!

So, the registrar (lovely man, but I've forgot his name) who was doing the review suggested draining it that afternoon, with an overnight stay, so we went ahead....the procedure, sat on the bed in a side ward, was a bit uncomfortable, but once the local had worn off, I had 14 hours of the worse pain I've ever experienced (I was dreading having the drain taken out - turned out totally painless and the relief was instant), apparently it's the lung expanding and pushing on the drain.

So, I asked for maximum pain relief, which was oramorph squirted in the mouth every 2 hours...wish I'd just stuck with paracetamol (it didn't seem to do much anyway), at 9.30 next morning, half an hour after the last dose, I threw my breakfast up (I'd nearly been sick 2 hours earlier), And then about every 90 minutes for the next 8 hours I gradually emptied the contents of my stomach - wouldn't have been so bad if it had happened all at once (the drain had been removed by then). The consensus was that it was definitely the oramorph - I had a couple of antibiotics but I'd had those before with no problem.

So in future (hopefully never) I shall avoid anything to do with morphine.

They actually drained 750 ml of fluid, almost all of it as soon as the drain went in, and none overnight, and the xray shows the lung is now fully expanded.

[Cee-Cee1]

Hi thecatandus, glad you have the procedure over and done with and wishing you every success for a healthy future. I can't take morphine or any morphine derivatives (codeine etc.) at all - it gives me exactly the same symptoms that you had. It's now on my medical record that I'm not to be prescribed with any of them. That sickness and the lightheadedness is a dire feeling - they give me a shocking headache and major stomach problems as well. After a triple-bypass last year paracetamol did the job! Carol 👍😃

[thecatandus in reply to Cee-Cee1]

Hi Carol

I hope it's over and done with...the worry for me is that they didn't really know why it happened, the xray was ok when I was discharged a week after surgery, the assumption is that it was because of all the foreign bodies, drains etc that I'd had in me.

I'm ok with codeine, but I avoid it because it gives me constipation (so has the morphine) so like you I'm sticking with paracetamol and putting up with any pain it doesn't stop. Another one that I had a bad reaction to was cyclizine, prescribed by a GP for my nausea problems - took it 2 days, both nights lay in bed and couldn't keep still for 4 hours! Work of the devil that one.

All the best

Rich

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to thecatandus]

The amount of 'things' sticking out of us after these ops is crazy, isnt it, Rich 😅 my favourite day was the second one in ICU getting them all out! I'd pain with the one on the left side directly under my heart and the nurse (David) who removed it asked me if I wanted to look when we was taking it out - I'm almost sorry I did now - it seemed huge and he laughed his leg off 😂, but any wonder it was painful. As you mentioned he explained that it had probably been pressing into the bottom of my lung. I was able to come home after 4/5 days and, thankfully, recovered very well. It was uncomfortable for a wee while, but I took the maximum daily dose of 8 paracetamol per day, for a couple of days, gradually petering off during the next fortnight. The surgeon told me to try to take it before it actually became painful each time for the first few days, sort of sticking to an every four/five hours regime during the day. Luckily, it worked fine for me. Good Luck with your recovery and fingers crossed for no more set-backs - I feel like a new person a year and a half later! Carol

[Whippets-2]

My experience with oromorph is like yours disappointing. Stick to Regular paracetamol Enquire if your can add ibuprofen one-of each. Paracetamol is my choice pain relief taken regularly is the key to success.