Doctors Refraining From Giving Patients Needed Pain Meds

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My son had a tonsiladenoidectomy yesterday, and rather than prescribing good pain medication, the doctor gave us a dosing schedule for Tylenol and Advil and said that if we needed something stronger to give him a call during business hours.

We got home early yesterday evening while the surgery meds were still in effect, and they wore off after the doctor’s office and pharmacy were closed.

Last night was a nightmare. My eight year old was up the entire night saying that he wanted to die even though I followed the doctor’s instructions religiously to try to make him as comfortable as possible.

It was absolutely heartbreaking. Looking back on it, I think it’s really strange (almost barbaric) that he wasn’t given appropriate pain medication. He shouldn’t have had to go through that. I was able to get oxycodone today, but it was only because I was having trouble getting any fluids into him, including popsicles.

There aren’t many things worse for a parent than seeing one’s kid in agony and being completely unable to help. He was so brave in the way that he cooperated with the staff when they were prepping him for surgery...

I’m guessing that my difficulty has something to do with the opioid crisis. It really sucks that kids have to suffer because of it.

This is more of a rant than anything. Not having had any sleep has probably interfered with my sense of proportion. But there’s nothing worse than having a kid in excruciating pain and being unable to give them anything to take the edge off for extended periods of time.

I've had my tonsils out as an adult - they were in terrible shape and rather hard to take out too. I didn't take painkillers because I'm terrified of addiction, but the pain after was awful and I've had broken bones and other injuries I would have thought more severe.

I'm really sorry, I have no advice for you, just wanted to express sympathy for you and the poor kid, I know what he's going through...

I was going to say I thought it was odd that they were trying to keep an 8 year old off painkillers like he'd be capable of abusing them, but then again a lot of people take pain meds they weren't prescribed. It's a thorny issue.

I had surgery on my nose a few years ago cuz the inside was crooked & I was given enough Oxycodone to last a couple weeks till I saw the doc again. I was also told to take Tylenol. When I saw him again I asked for more Oxycodone & he gave me another week's worth. I didn't really need anymore but I wanted to have it on hand incase something happens down the road in my future.

My girlfriend had her gull bladder removed a month ago cuz she had stones lodged in it. She stayed in the hospital the night after. They put her on a narcotic as well as Tylenol but didn't want to give her anymore the night after. They wanted her to get out of bed & walk but she refused till they gave her more of the narcotic. They put in a prescription of it for her the next day when she left & they only gave her 5 freaking pills that she could take every 4 hours. That's only about one day's worth. The paperwork for it said to be very careful taking more than 6 cuz they can cause addiction but she had got only 5. She was in a lot of pain for the 1st week after & Tylenol barely helped. Cass also has Fibromyalgia & the only pain meds she's ever been prescribed for it are Tylenol, Neurontin/Gabapentin, & anti-inflammatories which barely help at all. I think she really needs to see a pain specialist.

I think the concern over the opioid epidemic has gotten waaay to out of hand. I also heard & believe that most of the people who become addicted & abuse opioids were people who wanted to abuse em in the 1st place. They were not prescribed them when they 1st started using em. I've heard of people with sever pain issues buying narcotics on the street cuz they cant get good pain meds from their docs. All this over-regulation is doing is causing people who really could benefit from the meds to turn to the street which is more dangerous than getting them prescribed & also turns good people into criminals.

It's so poignant that I found this thread this morning. I have chronic pain (osteoarthritis, stenosis, scoliosis etc.) and am experiencing a terrible time. I went to the car races yesterday and spent all day on a metal bleacher seat. I forgot my folding chair. Anyway, I think my pain is being exasperated by my sensitivities to sensations, my inability to sit still, and my unending ability to get frustrated to the point that I want to start punching things. May 1st was my soulmate cat's anniversary of her passing in 2014, and May 13 is the anniversary of the passing of my best friend in 2013. I have to go Monday to decorate my best friend's grave for the day. How the heck I'm going to get down on the ground and up again should be interesting! And I live alone! Ah, I'm so pathetic. Thanks for reading this crap.

Hi Twilight,
He gives me a few tramadol a month and that don't do squat. I've been to PT, epidural shots, trigger point shots, heating pad, voltaren gel, .........etc. I'm so sick of being overstimulated by burning stabbing pain I want to just punch an area of my body so much that I focus on that than my back. It's just sh*t, sorry I'm just frustrated thanks for listening

Hi T,
Yes, thank god for med marijuana!!
It definitely gets worse with the tension. Just naturally one is going to constrict the muscles around the trauma so the anxiety makes that increase. I'll try to watch a movie later on, and listen to npr. I like their Sunday shows. I'll go feed the birds too. That will help because I will hear them chirping outside the windows.