Chronic Pain

Hey guys,

I just had emergency surgery about 8 days ago, I almost died. I headed to the ER with a high fever and an incredibly swollen stomach (I looked like I was 7 months pregnant). They did a CT scan and told me that my small intestine had folded up like a telescope, and that if I had come in any later it would have started to die off. So they rushed me into surgery not even 7 hours later, and removed a foot of my small intestine.

I'm finally home and on lots of painkillers and just need to commiserate with someone. Anyone around?

-Stefany

Stefany,

Somehow I missed your post until now. Wow! You've really been through a lot. I'm so glad you got to the ER when you did. And I hope by now your pain levels have decreased significantly.

If you still need someone to commiserate with, just let us know. I promise I"ll watch for your post and get back to you much faster.

Take care and feel better soon.

Karen,

I was starting to think everyone was just passing my post by It's been a terrible recovery. As a matter of fact, I just got out of the hospital again the day before yesterday because I was having complications due to the surgery. It turns out, the surgery has caused me to develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the stress from the surgery caused me to develop a new stomach ulcer. Crazy! So I was sent home with a ton of prescriptions that I really can't afford, and I have to decide whether I want to fill my prescriptions and get some relief, or pay rent next month.

No one should have to make this kind of decision.

-Stefany

Stefany,
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I missed this post, too. I'm so sorty to hear about your surgery and subsequent complications. Wow. I know all too well what you mean when you say that you have to decide between medication or rent. Can you talk with the doctor that prescribed them and see if there are any alternatives? and if not, can you see if he will work with you and fill out the forms to get help from the drug companies themselves?
If you would like some help looking up prescription assistance programs and what forms to fill out for what medications, please let me know, I would be more than happy to do the research for you.
Anyway, I really hope you are feeling better and please keep us updated. I apologize again for not catching this post until now. I was thinking about you and wondering where you had been though.
I'm just so sorry to hear that you have been sick. Do you know what caused all of this in the first place?
Get better, girl!
(((gentle hugs)))
Love,
stacy

As far as the prescription assistance programs, I'm looking into that right now. Sometimes they'll pay for all of it, but you have to jump through hoops for that kind of thing. We'll see.

As far as what caused all of this, the doctors are pretty much thinking that it's complications from my Lupus, since it's incredibly rare that anyone my age ever has their intestines fold up like that. It usually only happens in infants and the elderly. Hopefully this will be the only surgery I'll ever have to have on my intestines, because it has been hell. I don't ever want to go through anything like this ever again.

Thanks for the support you guys

Stefany,
I’m so sorry to hear about your complications. And I completely understand your prescription dilemma. Since I don’t have insurance, I sometimes face the same kind of decision. Thus, I’m always on the lookout for ways to get prescriptions free or at least cheaper.

Have you asked your doctor if he has any samples he could give you? If you explain what a big problem the cost is for you, he should be willing to help you out if he has any available. I’ve done that several times. Some other options I’ve used include: I went through the PPARx program and got one of my meds free from the drug company. I get another through a program in my state (Tennessee) and a third through Wal-Mart’s $4 generic drug program .

You may already know this but I’ll share it just in case. If you go to the PPARx site, when you enter your state, the meds you need and some general income info, they’ll give you a list of any free or reduced price programs you may qualify for. Some of the drug companies require proof of income and others will take your word for it. You can tell from the applications provided on the PPARx site who requires what. Mine came from Merck and they took my word for it, which was good because, being self-employed, I can’t always provide the kind of proof they want.

Good luck with the prescription search. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can try to help you with. You’re in my thoughts and prayers.

The problem with samples is that doctors don't usually carry samples of the medications that I'm on (for example Plaquenil and Dilaudid). I actually found something pretty nifty on the PPARx site last time I was on there, and I'd like to share it with you guys.

It's a prescription drug discount card, and it gives AMAZING discounts, especially for generics. Big name pharmacies (Rite-Aid, CVS) take it as well as the smaller family owned pharmacies. Some of my prescriptions are actually costing less than the co-pay I used to pay on my insurance. All you have to do is go to the website, type in your name and email, and print off your card. You can do this at www.freedrugcard.us. I hope that helps you guys a little bit too.

Another problem I'm having since the surgery is that my stomach muscles have gotten extremely weak in the past few weeks. This is a problem because it makes my back worse if my stomach muscles aren't holding everything in place. Now, I know I have to wait until they are completely healed before I do any exercises, but do you guys have any advice as to what kinds of low impact exercises I can do? I can't do crunches or sit-ups or anything like that because of my back and neck, but I was considering purchasing that new exercise thing "The Bean". Has anyone heard anything about it - good or bad?

low impact for the tummy muscles ? lay in bed and do your head lifts , you can put your legs on top of a pillow or two as to not strain the back muscles .. i have 3 discs injuries in my lumbar section and found that if you just sorta modify the routines to fit your pain it can be done .. mind you not as quickly as using those big machines or stuff, never heard of the bean .. can you elaborate on that ?

I do most excersize sitting on or using a chair back to strengthen muscles in legs, butt, tummy, and arms ... most are doing yoga stretches .. so you aare holding a strectch gently in different positions , but not straining any muscles to get the same results .. I have chronic pain & MS and find that this works best for me due to balance issues .. hope this helped a bit .. good luck