Community Chat

[Trinity11]

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@151949 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

As a nurse we were taught that when a person is in pain the opiates will be used up by the pain receptors and the person will get pain relief but will not get "high" . If the patient appears to be high then they are getting too much medication - the pain receptors are full and the remaining med is making them high. So the solution is to give a lower dose of pain med. Doctors and nurses  have means of assessing the need for pain meds - for instance pain will increase the heart rate - meds will lower it, pupils will respond to light differently, BP, reactions to stimuli, respiratory rate. It isn't all just about the patient saying they are in pain , when they are in pain they will show other signs and a good nurse will assess the total patient & if there are no involuntary signs of pain the nurse should try to hold off on the meds for a while. of course , that's a good nurse - it is certainly easier to just give a pill and so that is what some nurses do - and that is what a patient likes - but that is not good care.

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Thank goodness I had nurses who gave me morphine when I was having my heart attack back in June. I am not a complainer and the nurses I had were insistent I take the morphine every 4 hours whether I wanted it or not. They did not go by my appearance because they all said I looked like the picture of health. Appearances can be deceiving.

Holding off on pain meds can also make break through pain worse where a patient needs a lot more medication than if they were being treated every few hours under the guidance of the prescribing physician.

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So even though you were not having pain they were giving you morphine? How odd. Doctors order pain meds Every 4 hours AS NEEDED - that is not thew same as every 4 hours.

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Where did I say I was not having pain? Have you ever known as a nurse anyone without pain having a myocardial infarction? And no, the morphine was ordered by the cardiologist that was attending.

[Trinity11]

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@momtochloe wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

As a nurse we were taught that when a person is in pain the opiates will be used up by the pain receptors and the person will get pain relief but will not get "high" . If the patient appears to be high then they are getting too much medication - the pain receptors are full and the remaining med is making them high. So the solution is to give a lower dose of pain med. Doctors and nurses  have means of assessing the need for pain meds - for instance pain will increase the heart rate - meds will lower it, pupils will respond to light differently, BP, reactions to stimuli, respiratory rate. It isn't all just about the patient saying they are in pain , when they are in pain they will show other signs and a good nurse will assess the total patient & if there are no involuntary signs of pain the nurse should try to hold off on the meds for a while. of course , that's a good nurse - it is certainly easier to just give a pill and so that is what some nurses do - and that is what a patient likes - but that is not good care.

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Thank goodness I had nurses who gave me morphine when I was having my heart attack back in June. I am not a complainer and the nurses I had were insistent I take the morphine every 4 hours whether I wanted it or not. They did not go by my appearance because they all said I looked like the picture of health. Appearances can be deceiving.

Holding off on pain meds can also make break through pain worse where a patient needs a lot more medication than if they were being treated every few hours under the guidance of the prescribing physician.

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@Trinity11 I hope you are getting better and better each day as I know you went through a lot . . . good thoughts to you my friend . . . 

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Thanks so much... I have my days but I think the recovery is longer because I have an underlying illness that worsens everything. Hanging in there but I really appreciate your good thoughts.

[feline groovy]

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@151949 wrote:

@GenXmuse Generally they are seeing a speciality called Pain doctors. They are anesthesia doctors who have an additional practice where they treat people with cronic pain.

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Some pain docs are also physiatrists (physical medicine & rehabilitation specialists) and many often further specialize in sports medicine.

They're a good pick if you must get temporary help pain-wise (meds/injections/physical therapy/other) but in a short period of time, since they often work with all kinds of athletes who must get back on their feet ASAP.

[151949]

@Trinity11 Didn't you say they gave me morphine even when I didn't need it -- the only reason you didn't need it would be if you weren't having pain. It was a perfectly reasonable assumption. 

Also - yes - many people have myocardial infarctions and don't have pain . They have arrythmias and that is how their MI is detected. Some people have routine EKGs and old MIs are detected that they were not even aware ever happened. 

Just because you were a patient in a hospital does not qualify you as an expert.

[hckynut]

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@goldensrbest wrote:

Between drugs,and guns  killing so many ,it is frightening.

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@goldensrbest

You left out "cars", which was included in the statement by @momtochloe who started this thread. I wonder why.

Drugs are a choice one makes. Excluding sober drivers being killed by a drunk or drug impaired driver, the one driving "under the influence, be it "legal or illegal drugs", is also a choice that person made.

Numerically speaking, gun deaths are a minutia, in comparison to drugs and motor vehicles. Drugs are close to 40,000, as are motor vehicles. Guns? Not even 13,000, of which 64-70% were self inflicted. So my math shows roughly 80,000 by cars and drugs, and less than 13,000 by guns, of which the above percentages are those that MAKE THE CHOICE to end their lives.

Guns do not even belong in the same category as the other 2, because of the differences in numbers, and drugs ARE A CHOICE, people make for themselves at some point.

hckynut(john)

[Zhills]

I was in the hospital recently and none of my nurses had the time for such an evaluation.  They know why you are there and pain meds are in order.

[raven-blackbird]

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@151949 wrote:

@Trinity11 Didn't you say they gave me morphine even when I didn't need it -- the only reason you didn't need it would be if you weren't having pain. It was a perfectly reasonable assumption. 

Also - yes - many people have myocardial infarctions and don't have pain . They have arrythmias and that is how their MI is detected. Some people have routine EKGs and old MIs are detected that they were not even aware ever happened. 

Just because you were a patient in a hospital does not qualify you as an expert.

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@151949

@Trinity11

the fact her doctor had her on a pain medication, rather she needed it or not, falls under pain management......also, nurses can't order medication, they can only follow doctors orders.....the idea of managing the pain before it gets to a point where all the pain medication in the world can't manage it, is prudent actions by her doctor/nurses...........it will also, like aspirin, thin the blood which is extremely helpful on someone having cardio problems..........which is also another reason why they would want her on the medication rather she felt she needed it or not.


now the fact SHE HAS PERSONALLY faced this issue...........makes her more of an expert then someone who has not.........even doctors learn from their patients...............................................raven

[JaneMarple]

As I've shared earlier, I have two autoimmune illnesses and I have an older sister with MS. Both of us hate any of the opiate drugs that are offered for pain and instead most of the time use over the counter remedies. Neither one of us has reached the pain level where any of the stronger medications are needed. 

[depglass]

One of my best friends is a pharmacist and one of her best friends is an oncologist.  They claim the drug companies bear more responsibility that anything else.  The old standard of care was relieve pain at any cost.  Drug companies did a poor job of educating health professionals on the dangers. The bottom line was most important. 

[Noel7]

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@raven-blackbird wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

@Trinity11 Didn't you say they gave me morphine even when I didn't need it -- the only reason you didn't need it would be if you weren't having pain. It was a perfectly reasonable assumption. 

Also - yes - many people have myocardial infarctions and don't have pain . They have arrythmias and that is how their MI is detected. Some people have routine EKGs and old MIs are detected that they were not even aware ever happened. 

Just because you were a patient in a hospital does not qualify you as an expert.

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@151949

@Trinity11

the fact her doctor had her on a pain medication, rather she needed it or not, falls under pain management......also, nurses can't order medication, they can only follow doctors orders.....the idea of managing the pain before it gets to a point where all the pain medication in the world can't manage it, is prudent actions by her doctor/nurses...........it will also, like aspirin, thin the blood which is extremely helpful on someone having cardio problems..........which is also another reason why they would want her on the medication rather she felt she needed it or not.


now the fact SHE HAS PERSONALLY faced this issue...........makes her more of an expert then someone who has not.........even doctors learn from their patients...............................................raven

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Right, and it works the same for headaches: we are told to take a regular pain pill like Tyleol when the pain starts.  If we wait and let time pass, it will be harder to get rid of the pain.