Absorption of pain meds

Does anyone know where I can find information about gastric bypass patients perhaps not absorbing pain meds well? The reason I ask is because I have sever disc disease which is now affecting my sciatica and is causing me horrible pain to the point i can barely walk. I have been given norco, lortab, morphine, dilaudid and valium - none of which even touched the pain! I tried to tell the doctor that I dont think I am absorbing the pills well but he insisted I could. So here I am - still in tons of pain and nothing seems to work for me. 

I have severe disc disease as well. The sciatica pain is horrible and I have numbness and nerve pain down the front of my thigh. I have had 2 pain injections in my back already and I am scheduled for another procedure this month. I take nucynta 50 mg for pain 2 - 3 times a day sometimes. I have found that I absorb pain medication faster now. It starts to work sometimes within 15 minutes! This medication has been better than percocet, or morphine. Valium is not a pain medication though so that wouldn't help you very much with the pain.

Yeah the valium was supposed to help relax me enough so I could sleep. Everything they have given me to take doesn't do a single thing, its like I didn't take anything.

Can you ask for liquid?  I got liquid percocet after RNY.  That stuff hits FAST and works wonders! 

Have you asked your doc about using a pain patch of some kind instead of oral meds?

How much does the doc prescribing the pain meds know about RNY?  Can you talk to your bariatric surgeon about the absorption issues and perhaps have him/her talk to the doc managing your pain?

I"m not positive about this, but I am thinking your doc could test your urine for narcotics, which would show if you are absorbing the morphine or not.  You might wanna ask about that.

I can attest to the pain meds problem! I was on heavy doses of Percocet, like 20 mg at a time. I had to have urine testing to cover the protocol of being prescribed the pain meds (to be sure that I wasn't selling them I guess). Well, I came up negative 2 hours after taking a dose. Because I had discussed the RNY issue with my doc, he asked the lab to do the further testing that usually isn't done and they found that I was taking them, duh.....

I am not taking them at all anymore (thank goodness!) but it really is an issue. It makes me wonder should I need antibiotics or other meds if a normal dose will work.

I agree with Kelly that you might want to try a pain patch.

I got the best relief with pain patches.  Oral pain meds don't do much for me either.  They work for maybe 20 min and that is it.

I don't take anything but OTC stuff now but the patches worked much better.

They referred me to a pain clinic and they seemed to know so much more about how medication was absorbed by WLS people than my GP did.

I take oral meds. I take oxycodone, at a level that is like percocet without the Tylenol. I'm allergic to Tylenol, and can't take ibuprofen/nsaids because of the RNY. I have absorption issues as well. I take it, and it hits real fast, like some others have had happen. Usually within 15 to 30 minutes, and cuts off sooner than it should. Usually by 2.5 hours I'm like I've never taken it. That kinda sucks. Ambien, which I take for sleep, usually helps me get 2-4 hours, and it's like I haven't taken it.

As for antibiotics, I had my first experiences since my RNY with them (almost 2 yrs ago), and they seemed to work just fine. My abscessed tooth was pulled a few days after starting them, with no signs of remaining infection.

teri

Wow sad that so many of us are in the same boat!!  I have been on pain meds since my surgery (over 2 months) so I totally understand what you are going through!!  I have tried them all like you!  Nuycenta helped for awhile but now I am on Oxycodone and a patch to help with the pain from degenerative arthritis that I have in my hip.  I have to use a cane to walk with sometimes even a walker and I am only 52!!  This all flared up after my surgery??! I really feel for you, I hate when the doctors don't listen!!   I have seen 3 doctors for my hip pain and finally the last one is going to do a steroid injection on the 26th, I hate that I have to wait so long because that means that I am on pain meds till then!!  I want off them so bad, they make me so crabby and not always a nice person!!   I am normally a very nice person!!

If you ever need to vent or just talk send me a private message..  I promise I will be nice!!   Good luck and keep us posted... We do care here!!

I ditto most of the previous replys. I too, take pain meds for OA, bilateral knee replacement residual pain and some back issues. Sometimes its like I didn't take anything. If I don't take my percocet for a day or two, it seems to work better, even if it is only 30-60 minutes. Then boom, its like taking a placebo. I have to change up my regimen frequently to get any relief. As far as sleep meds go, they put me to sleep but wear off quickly and am awake within 3 or 4 hours and wondering what I am going to do for the rest of the night. I wonder if I should see a pain specialist for their input. Looking forward to see what other people post.