I had a Triple Heart Bypass and Mitral Valve Repair and now have also been diagnosed with Heart Failure. Before my surgery I had a Laminectomy for Severe Spinal Stenosis. Unfortunately this failed so after a couple of months I was back to square one with my pain with the added complication that a lot of the normal pain relief is not available to me because of the Heart Failure. The Spine surgeon said he couldn’t offer further surgery due to my Heart Problems.
I was the put under Pain Management Clinic but after three years (and multiple trials of eg: Tramadol, Pregabalin) he’s discharged me and sent me back to the Spinal Surgeon (42 weeks wait.)
A couple of years ago I was taken into hospital as I couldn’t pass water. I think that was causing the bowel to not work properly so I had an enema and catheter.
Recently the GP put me on Oramorph. I was still in a lot of pain so they said I should have Zomorph a slow release morphine medication. They never mentioned for me to stop taking Oramorph.. I was, again having bladder and bowel problem so GP sent me straight to A&E and finished up on the Surgical Assessment Unit where they did an enema, a catheter, and another enema.
We then changed surgery and the new GP I spoke to yesterday, after being kept in overnight, I said I wanted to get off the Morphine. She said that really when I was put on Zomorph I should have been told to only take Oramorph for a short time and then stop taking it. I also spoke to her about a laxative I was prescribed which was Laxidol. She said that’s not the right one for me so has prescribed Senna.
Does anyone have any advice on Senna and has anyone been taking Oramorph and Zomorph together?
I don’t want another night in hospital with that kind of treatment it’s very uncomfortable and painful (not to say undignified).
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated, thank
Kind Regards
David
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Davewm
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Hi David, we’re all different and I found the senna gave me excruciating stomach pains so I now take Macrogol laxido stool softener which you mix with water. One or two sachets a night works wonders for me and available on prescription. Good luck.
So I do not have your condition but have been taking Morphine a long time . Different types by tablets and bottle.
When I was taking both I had a nightmare with constipation. I stopped eating breads and this helped a lot . When the pain specialist found out I was taking both and for a long time he explained, that morphine is not for long term and probably, I was not really getting much benefit.
I reduced it , until I got to zero. Not easy and
Took a while now a four years later from then I take morphine again only when and after all other medication is not working, and now it hits the pain . I must say back in the day when I took both I used to eat lots and lots of heaps of grapes and it helped as did it going for a 10min walk after a meal .
Potatoes for me did not work well.
The problem with morphine is the brain wants it even when not in pain , I am sure it used to give me pain , just so I would take it .
Trouble is we are all in some way having different experiences with our bodies .
You are welcome, I have been lucky to have been under a programme with the Optimise team at Oxford Hospital and we have been doing a lot of work on Chronic Pain, also Acute. Long term Chronic Pain, I have had four failed back surgeries' one a bit of a mess a lot of scaring tissue. The problem is when we are in pain and suffering the mental effects it can bring , different on all of us, it acts as part of the loop of the stress response system . I have been taught that when I am in a lot of pain that , I can prepare what I might take but wait twenty minutes before I take it , what's interesting is how my brain goes pain pain needs meds and I now go ok , I recognise you and I am not happy but wait. I find this helps me stop my preceptor's in the brain wanting and me telling the brain , I am in control not you, so some of the time now , I don't need to take it but it is there. This is frightening because it show's the power of the brain and how when it wants something it can get it if we are not careful .
I am not in a position to give you any medical advice when it comes to medications for obvious reasons. How -ever when I personally take morphine I shoot it under the tongue bank corner of the mouth, hold it for a few seconds and find personally it gives a better effect, I was show this in hospital.
Just remember the power of good distraction comedy TV, Push your self into a hot bath if you can with bubbles . sounds mad but if they smell , all the better, it is to do with how if you engage three senses plus, it is a great build in tens / distraction for the brain.
Hope what I have said makes sense and can help you in any little way.
Ho David,Senna was awful for me, it made me really unwell. Lactulose is best for me and very gentle on the gut and ok for long term use. I hope you find something that suits you
Hi I have been on both slow release morphine and oramorph and I was fine although I am now on fentanyl and oramorph for break through pain. I was given senna and it gave me excruciating stomach pain so stopped it and now I rely on grapes,lentils in a main meal once a week which sorts me out and duclax occasionally
Hi very interested in your pain meds. What conditions do you suffer from? I am experiencing catastrophic daily pain despite taking 25mg Oxycodone and 300mg Gabapentin daily. My GP is ignoring my requests for more effective pain meds.
Good morning, I am so sorry about your plight, i have a similar tale to tell. In 2012 i was diagnosed with Diverticular disease with complications. I underwent a resection of my bowel. A year or so later, i began to experience acute lower abdominal pain. Following various tests nothing specific could be found and i was discharged from the Pain Clinic on 40mg of Oxycodone daily with a request that my GP review this medication after 14 days. One year later, my GP is still issuing repeat prescriptions for Oxycodone which i later learnt was extremely addictive with numerous side effects, such as constipation. Having confronted my GP he referred me back to the Pain Clinic who were aghast that i was still taking Oxycodone one year after if should have been reviewed and in all probability stopped. The clinic referred me to the Pathway to Recovery Clinic to ascertain if i was now addicted to that medication. Following several consultations with doctors at this clinic, in tandem with other consultations with the Gastroenterology Clinic, it was agreed that i was probably addicted to this drug, however, the pain still lingering from an unknown cause, meant that i should still take it, but taper the dosage, which i have to 25mg a day. Thereafter, further attempts were made to discover the cause of my pain and following several more tests and scans, i was diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis. From my research of Oxycodone, i found that the long term use of this drug could result in Chronic Pancreatitis! Other side effects were also present, chronic constipation being the most severe. I was put on six laxatives daily plus a Lei carbon suppository. Recently this extended to home use enema's. I have also recently undergone a operation to open the neck of my bladder to allow me to pass urine without pain. Having had an operation to remove 20 stones from my prostate previously. Further to all of that, scans on my spine discovered degeneration in my neck disc's and lower back and hips causing me acute pain which is so bad it makes me vomit. To recap, i have pain in my lower abdomen, pain in my neck and lower back and hips, pain when passing urine having to self catheratise myself twice weekly, due to strictures in my Urethra, following damage to it during the operation on my bladder. My medication of 25mg of Oxycodone daily, 300mg of Gabapentin, plus top up pain relief using Ibuprofen and Paracetamol is now totally insufficient, however, despite numerous entreaties to my GP, the same one who failed to review my use of this drug 14 days after leaving hospital in 2016, he refuses to increase my meds. I have requested a review by the Pain Clinic and three months in am still waiting for a date. No information regarding how long i must wait is available. I am being forced to endure catastrophic daily pain by my GP which at time makes me contemplate suicide. I think you can understand why i can empathise with your plight. My physiotherapist has advise me that i need spinal injections and/or decompression and/or surgery on my back, neck, hips, but my GP will not refer me to the necessary clinic. Believe me, i truly feel your pain and hope you find a resolution soon.
Many thanks David. I have been with my surgery for the whole of my 75 years and am reluctant to change. But it might be the only way forward. Thanks again.
I have read your post three times and yes it seems always such a long wait between appointments especially when we are suffering. With my lower back failed surgery causing complications, FND , more pain and as we all know the word pain , painful is real , pain is real and effects each of us badly, for me over time both the body and mentally.
I think it is important you keep gently pushing for your appointments .
When I changed quite a bit what I eat, although I miss a few of them a lot , it helped my bowel.
I don’t eat bread of any kind if I can help it .
Don’t eat pizza , well rarely.
Cut down massively on sugar
Stay clear of milk , for me dairy when I can .
Hard but I drink a lot of water, both tape and bottle .
I try to drink at least two to three litres a day .
No biscuits , well again rarely.
I don’t eat things that have a long shelf life.
Hard to do but I walk for a while each day even though hard sometimes.
Stretching helps me.
I stick with my medication to taking in the morning two tablets to help line the gut. I make sure , I try to take my medication on time.
I don’t know half the time how good it is , distraction techniques help a lot, Music , favourite TV ! iPad.
I only joined this forum a short while ago , I learn from it and feel everyone gets each other , we also understand pain.
I hope you push and get some help . I might surprise you now , I have woken up twice in intensive care having taken my life through pain and suffering, The Bracknell mental health team have been incredible in understanding my suffering and helped me to recognise, I am not mad , the brain is processing pain in different ways and as we, sorry I get depressed , fed up , anxious, about the situation my pain gets worse.
I was sent on a clever course to understand pain , my body, Brain and now if we are not careful, it acts in a weird loop and intensifies the pain , it is sometimes not so easy to grasp it all .
I sometimes say well , as it is the brain causing all this pain , it would be nice if we could take it out for a while put it in a jar to give us , me a break.
Like tonight as the pain is high , the volume is up. I will put my ear phones on , put into google music for chronic pain sleep and play low , not always till I fall asleep.
You, we are not alone , I say now yes that difficult word hope is there. I cheat , not saying for one moment you should , but I take soluble Panadol extra , I shake it in a bottle a few times to get the gas out , when I drink it making sure I don’t take air in , I think it helps lower the pain a small amount , so mixed with some type of distraction it helps.
Naughty but if I am in a lot of pain , I do micro dose with the other medication. I have been there and back with life. I can say , definitely it is worth staying in this world . The brain is to responsible for my feelings, so I am still learning how I can distract it.
Having compassion for my pain helps , yes I was taught this and at the time I thought they were mad, quite a few things I was taught , at the time I kind of questioned, but I eventually got it because they also gave me the time at Oxford, to learn things that help cope with pain , pain that is real both chronic and acute, which can also be going on at the same time, the loop between , sleep , being fed up, anxiety, well not surprising , being , feeling depressed our just a few things that our like throwing coal on the fire. It is time to change tactics, try to think outside the box when you even contemplate life is not worth living anymore. Maybe tell the doctor , you have had enough and feel it is uncomfortable, unnecessary for you to be left in this way.
I hope I have not said anything wrong , it is late , I hope ,something I have said helps you, just know you are loved and understood by everyone on this platform , David x
I play guitar, banjo, ukulele and keyboard and I know that doing that will distract me from the pain. It’s that old viscous circle I find that on really bad days I’ve no motivation to do anything so I go the whole day without playing and I feel the worse for it.
When I can fight these feelings and actually bother to pick up the instruments I know it will help. But your brain, which you always think will guide you for your benefit, becomes like an enemy within and it’s so draining to have these internal battles to overcome.
I have to force the point to overcome it and having played 20 minutes or so I feel so much brighter.
With this pain I seem to be on a knife edge with everything and I’m sure other people reading this would just say “pull yourself together and play your instruments “. But as, I think we all know, on the times when the pain/brain is winning it’s vey difficult to overcome.
Thanks once again for your message and taking the time to engage with my post.
Good Morning, i sympathise with your plight. Having endured what i consider to be catastrophic pain since around 2016 my life have gone down hill fast too. I am separated from my wife of 25 years, also my only daughter, neither could understand or relate to the changes in my life, being unable to socialise in our usual way, holidays, meals out etc. My diet is mostly liquid supported with porridge, soups, yogurt etc. Due to Chronic Pancreatitis, i have to take pancreatic replacement therapy with every snack or light meal. I don't socialise well as that is very difficult when you are in acute pain. My wife eventually found this difficult and asked for a separation. All of this has driven me into depression and thoughts of ending my life from time to time. Having to tassel with my GP regularly in an attempt to obtain effective pain relief is also both tiresome and debilitating. I have an appointment this morning with my GP and hope that he will accede to my request for a medication review. I have been waiting for months for my Pain Clinic appointment but nobody can tell me how long the waiting list is. My GP insists he wants to await a report from the pain clinic before altering anything. Why, i have no idea, he insists on keeping me in acute pain until the Pain Clinic reports and some unknown time in the distant future. Thanks so much for your response i wish you well.
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