I will be having surgery sometime in April. I have some questions:
1. Which muscle relaxer is the best? Zanaflex, Soma, Valium, or another one?
2. Which pain med is the best when you get home Oxycodone,Dilaudid, Morphine, or another?
3. Will cold compresses or warm compresses be better or both?
4. Which anti nausea medicine is better? Zofran, Phenergan, or another
5. How long did it take for you to be able to drive?
6. How long did it take for you to sleep in the bed instead of the recliner?
7. Was it hard for you to eat/swallow after surgery?
I think that's it for now. I'm sure I will think of something later, but my back is hurting. I took the zanaflex and topamax at 7. My head feels fine, but my neck, shoulder, and back feels like crap. Time to take a hot shower and shower and a vistaril which will make me go to sleep.
Hello, I just had surgery a couple of days before new years and was in the hospital for five days. The best muscle relaxer for me was Soma, Im still using it every once in awhile. I had a allergic reaction to the Dilaudid but if you can handle it my neuro said it works the best. Cold compress for sure. For nasuea meds if you want knocked out I would use Phenagrin but I was taking so many meds anyway I preferred the Zofran. My neuro said that I could drive when I was off of my pain meds…pretty much 4-6 weeks bc my neck was stiff but only bc I had a set back of staph. Im sure you will be fine. I slept in the recliner for prob three weeks bc I have a 5 and 6 year old that sleep with us in the night and I didnt want to risk them getting staph or accidentally hitting my incision. The swallowing was instantly better after surgery and I had lost my gag reflex too before surgery and when they pulled the tube out of my throat after surgery my gag reflex was back then. Good Luck with your surgery !!
-Brooke Morris
Unfortunately, I think these things work so incredibly different for different people. For me, muscle relaxer-Valium, pain med-Vicoden, compress-heating pad was lovely, anti-nausea-I didn't have a problem with this at all, drive-5 weeks (along with pretty much everything else too,) sleep-in the recliner at least 2 weeks (my NS said not to lay flat at all for 2 weeks,) eat-I ate great when I was awake despite the liquid diet they had me on for 24 hours.
I was given Dilaudid in the hospital and thought it was incredible. Of course, I was already pretty woozy and sedated anyways, so it didn't take a whole lot to knock me out. You may not agree or like what they say, but follow your NS's instructions to a "T." If he/she says not to do something for X days, then stick to that. They will know more about what they saw, what they did, etc.
I had my Chiari Type 1 surgery in Feb 2009 at age 58 but still have anxiety and very bad insomnia from the surgery. The neurologists and the neuro-psychologists I used to see have been giving me 30mg of Temezapam (Restoril) each night for sleep plus anxiety. It worked OK and I was able to live a somewhat normal life. My surgeon was one of the best in the southwest, Dr. Howard Yonis, also distinguished chair of neuroscience at Univ. of New Mexico Hospital who first approved the medication. We then moved to Missoula, MT and I get my care through the Veterans Administration (VA). The doctors here say VA no longer allows benzo type meds and are in the process of weaning me off. Trouble is my anxiety is increasing and I'm down to about 3 hrs sleep each night on 22.5 mg of Temazepam heading for 15mg per night, then 7.5mg then nothing. They have no plan for any other meds. They refuse to write anything for anxiety other than anti-depressants - a favorite med of the VA. Does anyone else suffer from insomnia and anxiety long term? If so what meds do you take? . Is this medical malpractice? I asked for a new doctor but they denied me. Hugs, Arthur M.
It is definitely harsh treatment Arthur, but I'm not sure about malpractice. Do you have any type of alternative medical insurance or just through the VA? Does your new VA have a Neurosurgeon or Neuropsychologist? Because you were seeing them and their specialty in the past, I can't see them denying you to continue with that specialty. I know many medical doctors who are reducing the practice of treating anxiety, depression, etc. Do you see a psychiatrist? If not, you should look into that as well. If that doesn't work, you can always check into sleep studies and specialists. In the mean time, there are several things you can do to try to naturally reduce anxiety such as deep breathing, dim lights, no TV or fast paced environments (it's reading for me.) Also make sure you don't drink caffeine after 6pm, no napping during the day, set your own rigid routine for waking. Don't lie in bed more than 30 minutes. If you can't sleep, get up and watch a boring TV show or read the paper. Lavender and chamomile are natural relaxing scents. Don't drink anything after 8pm to reduce bathroom wake-ups. I definitely want to encourage you not to give up with the VA. I know it can be frustrating and exhausting, but don't give up! And hopefully the little things you try can help in the meantime! XOXO
I just signed up for medicare and will be seeking private treatment in May. Senator Jon Testor's office here in MT said the VA is kicking all servicemen off of benzos and agree with me that it should be done on a case by case basis. VA is famous for throwing babies out with the bathwater. Thanks for replaying and yes I've tried just about everything incliding joining a gym, meditation, herbal teas, etc. Art M.
I’m 4 weeks post op and I was in hospital 2 days I was on oxy and valum and slept in recliner about a week and driving just now so 4 weeks… still have to be careful because I don’t have complete range of motion. Phenergan because it’s an anti nausea med and helps with headaches also. And my neuro took me off Topamax because she said it can lower the amount of csf fluid and that chiari patients should not take it just her opinion so I stopped it
I too suffered a staph infection. I am still on IV. How did you overcome it?
Brooke Morris said:
Hello, I just had surgery a couple of days before new years and was in the hospital for five days. The best muscle relaxer for me was Soma, Im still using it every once in awhile. I had a allergic reaction to the Dilaudid but if you can handle it my neuro said it works the best. Cold compress for sure. For nasuea meds if you want knocked out I would use Phenagrin but I was taking so many meds anyway I preferred the Zofran. My neuro said that I could drive when I was off of my pain meds....pretty much 4-6 weeks bc my neck was stiff but only bc I had a set back of staph. Im sure you will be fine. :) I slept in the recliner for prob three weeks bc I have a 5 and 6 year old that sleep with us in the night and I didnt want to risk them getting staph or accidentally hitting my incision. The swallowing was instantly better after surgery and I had lost my gag reflex too before surgery and when they pulled the tube out of my throat after surgery my gag reflex was back then. Good Luck with your surgery !! -Brooke Morris
I had a staph infection and my neck swelled up to where I didn’t even have a neck and fever went really high. I was in the hospital for staph for five days then on antibotics for a month. I took Ryfampin, Clyndamycin and Levaquin. Good Luck ! That was the worst pain I have experienced ! Hope ya get some relief
Thanks for the info. I am on IV meds and it is a drag carrying and sleeping with a bag. Hopefully it wont be too much longer.
Brooke Morris said:
I had a staph infection and my neck swelled up to where I didn't even have a neck and fever went really high. I was in the hospital for staph for five days then on antibotics for a month. I took Ryfampin, Clyndamycin and Levaquin. Good Luck ! That was the worst pain I have experienced ! Hope ya get some relief :)
I slept in the recliner for prob three weeks bc I have a 5 and 6 year old that sleep with us in the night and I didnt want to risk them getting staph or accidentally hitting my incision. The swallowing was instantly better after surgery and I had lost my gag reflex too before surgery and when they pulled the tube out of my throat after surgery my gag reflex was back then. Good Luck with your surgery !!