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I feel helpless to help her, I can't stand to hear her in pain crying, knowing she just had her leg amputated. I want to call them regularly, and tell them to give it to her. I don't know what she is taking. I will find out, of course, she was admitted on a Friday, no doctors over the weekend. And - today started restriction on seeing her because of the COVID-19 virus scare. Terrible timing. I would think pain meds need to be more often that 6 hrs, more like 4.
Also, she is on dialysis. The pain meds didn't work while on dialysis. They didn't even give them to her, Anyone have experience with maybe intramuscular localized pain med for this? This is what I asked the nurse for, like she had in the hospital: shot first to work quickly, then pill. Help please. Thank you.

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The pain meds probably don’t work while on dialysis because the medication gets dialyzed out of the body by the hemodialysis process.
Ask her providers if they can prescribe a pain med in the form of a patch. A dialysis center won’t give IM pain medication shots.
Be aware however that getting pain medication these days is like pulling teeth. Usually the patch is prescribed for terminal patients so her chances may be slim for this as the side effects for her (somnolence, constipation, dizziness).
I would medicate her right after dialysis (if by mouth) so it stays in the body to help.
Be prepared because her doctors will be weaning down the pain medication soon.
God forbid a patient should be in pain and need, not abuse, narcotics for real pain relief. This opioid crisis royally pi*^es me off when I see folks ordered Tylenol for some painful or uncomfortable procedure.
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JoAnn29 Mar 2020
That makes sense. The dialysis maybe the problem. The Dr. and staff should be aware of this too.
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I am so sorry for the pain that your mom experienced after her amputation. I hear it’s pretty awful.

The pain after losing a limb is horrendous. When I was young I was involved with a guy who lost a limb after a horrible motorcycle accident. He became addicted to morphine while in the hospital due to the pain being so severe. He was able to overcome his addiction.

I did not meet him until years after his accident so I did not see him suffer, nor see him as an active addict. He was in recovery when I met him. He told me about the accident. It was at night. He wasn’t drinking or speeding. There was a knocked down utility pole in the street that he couldn’t see. He hit it and flew off his bike. Gangrene set in at the hospital and he lost his arm.

I know with my own accident and I didn’t even lose an arm like my old boyfriend, I had surgery with rods placed on my bones. I had an open compound fracture. The pain was so great that the morphine drip in the hospital barely took the edge off.

With my history of growing up with a heroin addicted brother I pretty much suffered on my own once I left the hospital because I am extremely reluctant to using even a moderate amount of opioids.

I was bothered by the muscle spasms that hit me out of the blue just as much as I was bothered by the pain. Again, I took very few of the muscle relaxers. I take the minimum amount of meds that I need.

I hope your mom will recover as quickly and as best as she can. I certainly feel for her and for you. Keep us posted on her progress and let us know how you are doing. We are here to offer our support. Take care. 💗
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
Thank you NeedHelpWithMom for sharing your story. It helps. It doesn't dismiss what she is going through, I have no idea what her pain level is.
Good news, for now, she spoke with her doctor in skilled nursing (again, he wouldn't talk to her family or even leave his business card with her), she did the best she could, but, he changed her medication from 6 hrs. to every 4hrs. We STILL don't know what medication she is taking, I can ask the nurse, even though some people told me not to bother them. I think it depends on who you get. Ben, her nurse, was so helpful and had her pain meds ready and waiting for her as soon as she got back from dialysis Saturday bc I called and talked to him. It's kind of scary. Tomorrow is another day of dialysis. They are supposed to give her pain meds 2 hrs before. Praying that they will remember. Thank you so much for your compassion and taking the time to respond. I feel the support from everyone.
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No person who has had an amputation should be in pain at all. I would ask how you would go about getting her pain management. Find out what Dr. is in charge of her care and call him. The Nurses should be giving her meds on time. If the meds are not working, the doctor should be upping the dose.
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worriedinCali Mar 2020
Are you serious Joann? My dad is an amputee and I can tell you that amputees feel a lot of pain PERIOD especially in the weeks after surgery. A stronger dose of pain killers isn’t going to keep an Souter pain free. And if she’s experiencing phantom pain.....that’s a whole other ball game.
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No advice, I just want to say how sorry I am for you & your mom. It absolutely breaks my heart when my mom cries. I know it's especially hard when you can't check on her in person.
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
Mollymoose, you're so sweet. thank you for empathizing.
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No, don't do that. The nurses have many patients to care for. They have a schedule they try to keep for dispensing meds. Your calls will only delay mom's meds and frustrate the nurses. You want a good relationship with them. Call the doc to ask about increasing frequency and or dosage or maybe try a different med. I am allergic to codeine and all the synthetic derivatives so they do not work at all for me, just causes rashes.
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
Yes, I always thankful and complimentary to the nurses and tell them how much I appreciate them. I know they hold ALL the cards for my mom's care. And pain. I asked her to let me talk to the doctor tomorrow when they come in. She can't remember names of medication. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
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Don't keep calling repeatedly, the phone lines are so jammed with calls that staff can't get their regular work done, not to mention they are all scrambling to deal with extra precautions just to get in to work😓
Your profile doesn't mention dementia, can she not ask for herself? In any case if the meds are not prescribed that often they can't be given, and her renal failure only complicated things. This is something that you need to hammer out with her doctors and her renal team, who can then hopefully direct the NH.
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
She can't remember the names of the pain medication and just aging, she doesn't have dementia. The nurse yesterday had her pain med waiting for her when she came back from dialysis, because I called and asked him questions. That was helpful. My mom called later, after her pain was under control. to tell me thank you. Parents need advocates. I know nurses are busy and I thank them profusely and am always complimentary and kind. I don't think they that are busy at 1:30AM, are they. I guess that's what I was asking. Thanks for responding.
Any thoughts on how to relieve pain from an amputation when she is on dialysis, Intramuscular shot?
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This is a horrible thing to be happening, and as you say the timing couldn't be worse.

I understand how strong the urge must be to do *something* to help your mother. But just remember - every time you pick up the phone, somebody has to answer it. If you speak for only ten seconds, they've still got to pick up the phone, note the contact, note what you said, go back to what they were doing before...

Or, if they don't answer, you're going to go spare with worrying.

With no visitors going in, all of the voluntary work and support that usually comes from them (extra snacks, changing drinking water, plumping pillows, laundry etc etc etc) will either be done by the staff or not done at all; and you can predict that at least some staff will be forced to go off work in the next few weeks. It's going to be extremely hard going.

You might be able to get better information about what pain relief was prescribed for her from her surgical team. Have you tried giving them a call?

"No doctors over the weekend"? At a post-op Skilled Nursing Facility??? Crikey.

Grit your teeth and hold on. It is horrible, absolutely horrible, to think of your poor mother being left in pain, but the pain relief will be attended to and will take effect - just not as fast as I'm sure we would all want to happen.
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
Thank you countrymouse. You're kind to empathize and for your suggestions.
Good idea asking the surgical staff!! I am sympathetic with how hard the nurse and staff's job is now. I appreciate them and I tell them.

Y'all, it's impossible to hear my mom crying telling me how badly her pain is, knowing she just had her leg amputated only a week ago, and NOT called and sweetly "bother" the nurses to give her pain meds right away. I can't just go back to doing dishes or trying to concentrate reading for work, like it doesn't affect me. Lots of praying too. Thank you for your sympathy and encouragement, talking helps.
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I don’t know the answer but I wanted to say how very sorry I am. There are nurses who participate in this forum so stick around for help.

Best wishes to you and your mom.
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gratefultoday Mar 2020
Thank you Needhelpwithmom. Nurses are amazing people. I took care of my aging inlaws until both passed away 2 summers ago. They were in skilled nursing at the end. We loved our skilled nursing staff. LOVED. and my in laws had NO money. They were 100% Medicare. This was not a fancy, or expensive place. They were given so much grace, and honest love and care from the nurses and staff. I appreciated them.
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