Hi Ladies, just wanted to share my problem with anyone who is having their operation soon. I had my op on 8th October 2 weeks ago today. Everything went fine and I came out on the fifth day. I expected to be in pain because of the extent of the operation so I took my pain killers regularly three times a day 2 paracetamol and 1 ibuprofen. The problem was for the past week my pain has been getting worse I was finding it hard to even get up from the sofa and getting out of bed was agony. I made an appointment with the practice nurse at my GP`s today. She examined me and said it was a gastric problem in my stomach due to the Ibuprofen. I have been told to stop them and I'm now on Omeprazole which I am hoping will work and get rid of the pain.
Just wanted to say if anyone gets a really bad pain in their left side get checked out it may be the pain killers you are on.
Hope all you ladies are doing okay
Love and hugs Babs x x x
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doreenharwood
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I have every sympathy as I am currently taking Ibuprofen, Paracetemol, gabapentin and Tramazole for the sciatic pain. I still have pain but if I cut out any of them it becomes unbearable. I take lansoprazole for the indigestion and have done since my last recurrence in 2011.
The trouble is that I am now experiencing the "lump in the throat" and difficulty in swallowing that I experienced when I was first diagnosed! It is worrying and my GP has done a CA125 test though I am due a review on 15th November. I am also worried that, if it has returned, they may delay treatment as our trust is £91 million in the red and a friend has been told he can't have his cancer op because it would be too expensive. My cancer is, I am told, aggressive and my periods of remission are likely to be under a year each time so I am busy focussing on other things until my review!
I hope you feel better soon. I found a hot water bottle with a furry cover helped the post op pain and I am still using thermal heat pads during the day and the HWB at night (thermacare, curaheat and voltarol are all good) as well as my microwaveable pad which can be used at night to reduce the back and leg pain. I was taking codeine but that made me sick. Tramadol makes me sleepy and both make me constipated (no good with the stoma so I have to take movicol!) and I am, on the whole anti pills and medication, as is my GP with whom I have regulatr discussions of the best route to pursue!
What a lot of tablets you are on. I have never been one for taking tablets, so maybe now I have stopped the Ibruphfren my pain will stop. I had the same problem with codeine they made me constipated for nearly a week. I hope things improve for you
I'm really sorry to read in the middle of this that you're worried about a relapse. Sorry to bring this up as you say you're concentrating on other things to keep your mind of that. At least you know I'm thinking of you and I'm going in the same direction as you at the moment - an aggressive cancer with the CA 125 having doubled in three months.
What you say about your NHS trust is really worrying. Is there anything to stop us all moving round the country to a NHS area we have confidence in? I don't have much faith in Wales though nothing to do with the people who work on the shop floor.
Apparently the weather is due to improve by the end of the week. Let's hope we have a week of blue skies so we might be able to get out and about.
I can't say I can offer much more in the way of advice on pain-relief. It must be so hard to cope with sciatica on top of everything else. I can only suggest a nice glass of red wine to cheer you up. xxxx
Oh the Sciatica distracts me from the worry! I am very pragmatic about the cancer! I have just heard that snow is forecast for us on Friday! That is all I need! No boots! LOL! Just my old walking boots!
just heard further from the friend I referred to! His cancer has spread. Liver, bone, kidneys and so i think the specialist was actually saying that the op would not improve things and softened the blow by saying that tratment for over 70's is restricted by the cost as younger people go to the top of the list because they are the future! Personally I think chronological age should be less relevant than quality of life and attitude.
I shall scream very loudkly if they tell me anything similar (and my voice goes through brick walls at 60 paces! LOL!) Luckily I had my first treatment at Leeds and, I think, I can opt to have any future treatment there! It is a centre of excellence!
Now what shall I do for dinner? I fancy pea and sweetcorn risotto!
.... soften the blow ... !!! more like stick a knife in a turn it round. What an awful consultant saying anything like that to your friend.
Let's hope you won't need your operatic voice and your treatment at Leeds continues well.
Risotto - ah delicious comfort food - and something I can make on my one burner. I'll try that tonight though will add some king prawns for good measure. xxxx
Isn't it just Babs! I also hate taking tablets! I have to set my mobile phone to remind me to take them! Until I got the sciatica all I took were my lansoprazole in the morning and statin at night. Those have been "by order" of my GP because of the diabetes. I control that so well with diet and life style that I do not need metformin! Disappointing as that might slow the growth of the OC.
I do take supplements to compensate for the fact that I do not drink milk or eat dairy and to keep the joints flexible because of the arthritis! I have added tyurmeric extract to supplement the turmeric that I use in cooking!
I never took painkillers even when I had bad migraines until I got this sciatica! I never believed anything could reduce me to tears but this did!
Still it does distract me from the cancer symptoms!
I'm echoing that Babs hoping the pain is soon under control now you've changed the medication. I'd do anything nearly to avoid taking tablets. How is the knitting going?
Well the knitting is going well I have finished the squares for one blanket just sewing it all together now and embroidering my granddaughters name on it. I have started knitting squares for the second one now. I had to buy more wool today while I was out so that will keep me going for another week. I feel quite pleased with my efforts and it gives me something to do.
Hi Babs! Hope the ibuprofen incident is calming down now? How are you feeling in general? Hope you're taking things easy. Your blanket sounds lovely. Looking at the weather reports for next week, your granddaughter will need it soon!
Hi Wendy, I have not seen you on Ovacome for a while hope all is okay with you. Well I have stopped the ibuprofen now, and that pain in my left side is getting easier. My husband always asks me to asses my pain 1-10 I think he heard the nurse say it when I was in hospital. The way I described the pain was, It felt like a sword sticking in my tummy and this morning its just a carving knife. So its getting better. I am sure all the painkillers were also making me tired. I found I was sleeping for 10 hours a night and still woke up tired. Today I woke up feeling wide awake.
I have been off 3 weeks now and it already feels like 3 months so I am hoping I can go back to work in December, So I will carry on getting better and resting.
I take ranatidine x2 daily for gastric problems after a long period on brufen type meds years ago for bad back. I can't take any associated meds now, and rely on codine derivatives when I need more than paracetamol nowadays. You could try the Zantac as you can get it over the counter, and I have tried all of them, its the only one that works for me.
Thank you for mentioning the problems you've experienced with ibuprofen, I'm having my op tomorrow, so any tips are welcome. Do hope your feeling a little better today.
Voltarol , which is based on diclofenac is also an anti inflamatory but has less tendency to stomach upset. I had diclofenac in hospital and will probably change to it when I settle with the Tramadol. My aim is to get the back psin and leg pain down to a manageable level without any tablets at all.
Hospital staff are too keen in prescribing painkillers. I would rather have a bit of pain and be otherwise alright - clear headed, alert and feeling like me, then totally pain-free, but zonked, no energy to do anything including reading with the days and nights confused, and no appetite. Once home after my op I stopped taking painkillers and was soon feeling much better.
A bit of pain is useful as it tells you when you're doing too much or things aren't quite right.
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Carboplatin/ Gemcitabine
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