RAH in hospital and maybe its good news
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: atlanta, ga
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RAH in hospital and maybe its good news
Pancreatitis flare up. Routine - but having some other issues.
The internist who we love happened to be there and was addressing the other issues and said most likely due to pain regimen. Fix one thing cause another. Long term pain management comes with problems.
RAH said - "Is there anyway I can come off the pain managment I'm sick of taking pills"?
I am hopeful but trying not to be too much. Not sure if the answer is yes of course he could come off it just not sure what the pain tolerance situation will be - and not really sure RAH will be willing to go to a detox there is no way he can do it himself. We are running tests today to see how is pancreas and kidneys are doing before internist will address the possibility as well as bringing in a neuro psychiatrist (he's bipolar) to talk about it.
He doesn't abuse his pain meds but they are part of the problem with his health. I would like to see the leash of pain management go away.
Anyway off to the hospital. Hope all of you are well and your families too - I have never seen the hospital so full, apparently Flu and Pneumonia are raging in my neck of the woods.
The internist who we love happened to be there and was addressing the other issues and said most likely due to pain regimen. Fix one thing cause another. Long term pain management comes with problems.
RAH said - "Is there anyway I can come off the pain managment I'm sick of taking pills"?
I am hopeful but trying not to be too much. Not sure if the answer is yes of course he could come off it just not sure what the pain tolerance situation will be - and not really sure RAH will be willing to go to a detox there is no way he can do it himself. We are running tests today to see how is pancreas and kidneys are doing before internist will address the possibility as well as bringing in a neuro psychiatrist (he's bipolar) to talk about it.
He doesn't abuse his pain meds but they are part of the problem with his health. I would like to see the leash of pain management go away.
Anyway off to the hospital. Hope all of you are well and your families too - I have never seen the hospital so full, apparently Flu and Pneumonia are raging in my neck of the woods.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: atlanta, ga
Posts: 3,581
Thanks all - Hopefulmom... sobriety on pain meds well its not sobriety is it?
I don't know how to respond to that question I am not sure what the answer is to it in the sober community or how it is viewed. RAH is addicted to these medications. I would be addicted to these medications if I were prescribed them. Anyone would be.
The question is is there a quality of life without them for him. Aside from his alcoholism which attributed to or caused his pancreatitis RAH has had digestive issues since birth. Eating for him has always been an issue with constant stomach pain and so forth as a child into young adulthood with no answers then of why other than he had a "sensitive system" whatever that meant. I don't know if it wasn't attended to by his parents or if the dr's at that time just didn't have the resources they do now.
Pancreatitis is rated as the second most painful disease next to bone cancer. Right now he is being given 4 mg of dilauded IV and he is still hurting. An elephant would be on the ground with that level of medication. He on the otherhand is wide awake and out of pain for about ten minutes at a time then a spasm will shoot through his side. The only way to make the pancreas calm down is not to eat. It takes a couple of days.
On a daily basis when all is well there is still pain. In '08 he had a surgery at the Mayo clinic where they removed his gallbladder, removed cysts and cleaned his pancreas, did a biliary bypass and removed a portion of his intestine. From that surgery he developed nerve damage and scar tissue surrounding those areas. Since that surgery is when his pain management got serious - he was on it before just for the pancreatitis but not at the level he has been on since. Eating is painful for him - pardon, not eating, digesting. As the pancreas is responsible for digestive enzymes and his fires on about 2 cylinders oftentimes it is extremely painful even though he takes supplements - the pancreas still tries to do its job and it hurts.
SInce I have known him there have been adjustments and some trials with non narcotic meds like Neurontin and Lyrica. These did not work, well they worked a little. He didn't have to take as much opiate pain killer he still had to take some - but this was not a quality of life as he could not stay awake and was in a fog for a month so they took him off.
He has managed to come down by half of what he was taking when I met him. He isn't always comfortable but its livable. He has a good quality of life - can do anything he wants to (except eat what he wants) and has bad days but they are far fewer that the good.
We met with his medical team yesterday to discuss it. Same as it has been everytime. Endocrinologist and GI said he can come off them. Neurologist, Neuro psych and and internist said its not possible. They are trying a new med that is an opiate but with less side effects. By side effects I mean digestive issues - there are no side effects as far as physical or personality issues if you met him you would never know he was on pain medication I have Never heard of this medication - so while he is there they are starting him on it to see if its palatable.
There were two other suggestions - a pain pump which would be surgically implanted and and islet cell transplant. RAH said no way to the pain pump and I agree. The islet cell transplant is new in the medical field. It was mentioned but suggested he look at that in 5 years - could reverse his diabetes and have significant change to his pancreatitis. But they said give it some more time to develop its only been around for a couple of years and is still in trial stage.
Anyway that's the status. Probably Wayyyyy more information than you needed but I am awake early, having my coffee and relaxing before work and hospital rounds.
Hope all is well with your family and you are doing ok!!
I don't know how to respond to that question I am not sure what the answer is to it in the sober community or how it is viewed. RAH is addicted to these medications. I would be addicted to these medications if I were prescribed them. Anyone would be.
The question is is there a quality of life without them for him. Aside from his alcoholism which attributed to or caused his pancreatitis RAH has had digestive issues since birth. Eating for him has always been an issue with constant stomach pain and so forth as a child into young adulthood with no answers then of why other than he had a "sensitive system" whatever that meant. I don't know if it wasn't attended to by his parents or if the dr's at that time just didn't have the resources they do now.
Pancreatitis is rated as the second most painful disease next to bone cancer. Right now he is being given 4 mg of dilauded IV and he is still hurting. An elephant would be on the ground with that level of medication. He on the otherhand is wide awake and out of pain for about ten minutes at a time then a spasm will shoot through his side. The only way to make the pancreas calm down is not to eat. It takes a couple of days.
On a daily basis when all is well there is still pain. In '08 he had a surgery at the Mayo clinic where they removed his gallbladder, removed cysts and cleaned his pancreas, did a biliary bypass and removed a portion of his intestine. From that surgery he developed nerve damage and scar tissue surrounding those areas. Since that surgery is when his pain management got serious - he was on it before just for the pancreatitis but not at the level he has been on since. Eating is painful for him - pardon, not eating, digesting. As the pancreas is responsible for digestive enzymes and his fires on about 2 cylinders oftentimes it is extremely painful even though he takes supplements - the pancreas still tries to do its job and it hurts.
SInce I have known him there have been adjustments and some trials with non narcotic meds like Neurontin and Lyrica. These did not work, well they worked a little. He didn't have to take as much opiate pain killer he still had to take some - but this was not a quality of life as he could not stay awake and was in a fog for a month so they took him off.
He has managed to come down by half of what he was taking when I met him. He isn't always comfortable but its livable. He has a good quality of life - can do anything he wants to (except eat what he wants) and has bad days but they are far fewer that the good.
We met with his medical team yesterday to discuss it. Same as it has been everytime. Endocrinologist and GI said he can come off them. Neurologist, Neuro psych and and internist said its not possible. They are trying a new med that is an opiate but with less side effects. By side effects I mean digestive issues - there are no side effects as far as physical or personality issues if you met him you would never know he was on pain medication I have Never heard of this medication - so while he is there they are starting him on it to see if its palatable.
There were two other suggestions - a pain pump which would be surgically implanted and and islet cell transplant. RAH said no way to the pain pump and I agree. The islet cell transplant is new in the medical field. It was mentioned but suggested he look at that in 5 years - could reverse his diabetes and have significant change to his pancreatitis. But they said give it some more time to develop its only been around for a couple of years and is still in trial stage.
Anyway that's the status. Probably Wayyyyy more information than you needed but I am awake early, having my coffee and relaxing before work and hospital rounds.
Hope all is well with your family and you are doing ok!!
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