How long did you need pain relievers for TE?

Hi, Momaich...

I cried every day for a month after BMX, because the pain was so bad. But I brought a lot of that on myself. I refused to use the PCA in the hospital because Morphine and I don't get along. And they said the alternative - Dilaudid - was even worse. So I went home in severe pain, and once home, tried to be brave and be one of those women to take a Tylenol and run a marathon the next day. I wasn't.

Finally, the wise women here told me that I had been given pain meds for a reason - to STOP THE PAIN.... and if I weren't taking them as prescribed, they would not work.

So I started taking them (Norco and Valium) around the clock. DH even got up at 4 a.m. to give me my meds, along with some applesauce. (Whatta guy!)

A funny thing happened: when I started getting the pain under control, it diminished quickly to where I didn't need it as much. And by the time a month went by and I started getting fills, I really didn't need it on any kind of regular basis.

The way I measure the need for narcotics is my sleep - if I just hurt or ache, but can distract myself with some activity (good movie, book, etc.) then I don't need them. If the pain is so bad I can't sleep, then back to the Norco I go. My PS is the one who told me that he would refill my meds as long as I needed them.

He said that a body that is in pain is stressed, and a stressed body will not heal. Just knowing I had his support took away the anxiety of what will I do if the pain gets too bad!!!

By the time I started getting fills, I no longer needed the big guns. Fills actually started moving the TEs off the nerves they were irritating, and lessened the pain. Also, I was finally able to shower, and found that a nice hot shower before bedtime, on my back, followed by DH doing some trigger point massage on the origin points of the pectoral and anterior serratus muscles on my back was very helpful.

Are you getting fills at the same time you are getting chemo? Or is your PS going to wait?

Most of the time when women have a lot of pain with their fills, it's because the PS is filling too much, or too frequently.

In that case, your motto should be "Low and slow is the way to go." YOU are the one in control of how much saline is injected into your TEs at each visit, and how far apart your visits are spaced. Also, remember that the PS can remove saline as easily as he can insert it.

Wishing you the best as you go through all this at once. Just remember to take it easy as much as you can. This can be a stressful time, but I think most docs will agree that using narcotics for acute pain will not cause addiction unless you already have a predisposition to it. The TEs are temporary (and the process of filling them can actually move them into less painful positions), and there are other ways to deal with pain and discomfort. Please just stay in close contact with your PS and make sure he knows how much discomfort you are having.

Gentle hugs!!!