Question:
I do not want morphine!!!!

I have a history of panic attacks and have heard that morphine can aggravate them.What other strong meds can they use to control pain,will my doc go for this?    — natalie J. (posted on September 27, 2003)


September 27, 2003
There are several different pain medications that the doctor can use other than morphine such as fentanyl, dilaudid, demerol....the list goes on and on. I suggest that you speak with you doctor about your concerns PRIOR to your surgery. I am certain that s/he would not give you morphine if you express your fear.
   — tristahouse

September 27, 2003
Hi Natalie, Trista is right, you should talk with your dr about this. I'm allergic to morphine, it makes me very very sick, throwing up and stuff, I told my dr's office and they said there are other pain meds that wont make me sick after the surgery, good luck hun Hugs
   — Penny~ L.

September 27, 2003
I had morphine post op 10 years ago. I vowed never again. I felt as the others described. I also had a very adverse reaction to vioxx. SO, when it came time for my RNY I said I was allergic to both of them, and they put a warning bracelet on me when I checked in. I had delaudid in my pain pump, and it was ok, but the best for me was demerol. I had that 3 years ago post op (also not WLS). Some hospitals have protocols as to what they will put in a pump, and what must be injected. My WLS hospital would not put demerol in the pump so I managed w/ the other. Just be careful that whatever you do use, don't over use the narcotic pain medication, by mouth, pump or injection. It will constipate you and could make you pretty miserable. Best of luck.
   — Fixnmyself

September 27, 2003
I am sensitive to morphine and other narcotics so my Dr. prescribed Hydrocodone/apap 5/500 tab. I still had some pain but I would rather take this medication then the sicker than a dog from morphine
   — charanewme

September 27, 2003
Hi there. Morphine is not my friend either. I got Toradol. It helped my pain and didn't make me sleep all the time like the morphine did.
   — Kitty Kat

September 27, 2003
I had morpine after my rotator cuff/gallbladder combination surgeries. I hit the button only a couple of times. Each time I felt "spacy". I decided to do without pain meds and keep constant ice on my shoulder. (The LAP gallbladder did'nt hurt at all). Personally the next time I had surgery I'd ask them for something besides morphine. There are many meds they can give you. Personally I would never take darvacet (spellin?). I don't know if I've ever had it, but a friend of mine got hooked on it. It killed him. So as my own personal choice I'd refuse both morpine and darvacet. I've had demeral in the past with no problems. I also like the hydrocodine although I don't ever remember taking it in the hopital.
   — Danmark

September 27, 2003
I had a morphine drip and ended up having a bad reaction to it. I developed a rash all over and it itched terribly! I also had the scariest dreams and thought I saw figures in the dark. The dreams lasted for a few weeks.
   — Terri G.

September 27, 2003
My surgeon doesn't even use Morphine. I had Toradol and Demoral injections every 4 hours. My surgeon does not like Morphine..too many reactions and can cause naseau...we definately don't need that.
   — Karen Renee

September 27, 2003
Tell your doctor your fears so he can address them with the appropriate med.
   — ChristineB

September 27, 2003
Hi there! I'm allergic to Morphine.....awful hives! If your surgeon/facility uses a PCA pump (IV pain medication), then a couple other choices are Demerol or Nubain. Both are narcotics that work well. One thing to be sure to do -- tell your doctor in no uncertain terms NOT to use Morphine. I'm a nurse and know that they will frequently feel they know more than you and if you just say you don't think Morphine is right for you, they may feel that it won't bother you and give it to you anyway -- and most of the time they are right, the benefits of it is better than many small reaction you may have. But if you feel strongly about not using it, tell them -- "Do not give me Morphine, I want something else". If you say this, then they can't give you the Morphine. However, they more than likely will ask specifically why not and once you explain it to them, they may alleviate your fears and then you may decide that the Morphine will be OK for you. Good luck to you!
   — Lynette B.

September 27, 2003
I had Morphine for the first few hours after surgry, but I hated it, I felt spaced out and itched all over. The doc switched me to Fentenyl. That was a Godsend. No more itching and no withdrawl problems. I was lucky though, surgry on tuesday and they took me off the pump wednesday night because I wasn't hitting the button. I was switched over to liquid Vicodin and was off that by thursday night. I took one dose of Tylenol on friday morning for a headache and that was the last meds I took.~~~Amy LAP RNY 08-05-03 / -33 pounds
   — AmyLynn B.

September 28, 2003
If drugs are a problem, another possible option is an epidural. Many people who are in recovery from addictions choose epidural for pain control so they don't have any narcotics in their system. People who are allergic in any way to narcotics also do well with the epidural. There is no spacy feeling and you can get up and walk around after surgery without feeling like you are high. Just your abdominal area is frozen, not your legs. You could ask your surgeon if epidural is available for you.
   — mary ann T.

September 28, 2003
I got terrible nausea from the morphine (I was on it about half a day after surgery)...my pain was not bad at all, so they took me off the drip, let the option of using the morphine through the PCA pump, which I did not use again...and they put me on Toradol shots instead. The Toradol shots were GREAT! No more nausea and since my pain was minimal I was quite comfortable in the hospital. I took home a big bottle of liquid Lortab (which is liquid vicodin), and that I used sporadicly over the next two weeks at home, mostly for BACK pain. My incision did not hurt, and you don't feel pain INSIDE at the pouch area. I would say all-in-all, my pain was very well controlled both in the hospital and as a new post-op. I have no complaints on that score. Hugs, Joy
   — [Deactivated Member]

September 29, 2003
Tell your surgeon you do not want to use it and he can use an alternative. Make sure he understands your fears and history. DOn't forget - he WORKS for YOU. This is something you can have a choice in. If you decide to NOT use morphine you need to make sure you tell EVERYONE when arrive at the hospital. MAKE SURE THEY WRITE IT ON YOUR CHART! Good Luck and hope all goes well. HUGS< HUGS< and more HUGS!
   — Deborah F.

September 29, 2003
I am seriously allergic to Morphine (MS is the medical abrev.)but since I've been so sick and had so many surgeries in the past year I'm a pro at what to take instead. LOL, but it does vary by person. Dilaudid is basically synthetic heroin. EXTREAMLY strong! A little bit goes a long way. Just under that is Talwin, again VERY strong, but effective. If you decide to try the Dilaudid, be sure to request something for nausea, it tends to do that the first time it hits the system. I don't care much for Torodol, or Nubain. Demoral is a good choice for strong pain relief. Most of this is something you need to talk to your doctor about. And just because it's in your chart doesn't mean they'll read it. As I stated above I'm very allergic to MS, but for some reason unknown to me they decided to give it to me and I just about died. So, be sure you tell them before they put you to sleep and as soon as you wake up. I have found were I live anyway, that MS is the old stand by. OH well, the patient is in a lot of pain, XYZ not helping give 'em morphine. Take care of your self you are worth it. OH another thing. Take the name of the drugs listed as options and do a little research on them. Read as much as you can about them and then discuss them with your doctor. Together you two can make the right choice. 9/25/02 down 140 lbs and still going.
   — Rachel W.

September 30, 2003
I am a Registered Nurse. Morphine, if dosed properly should not cause or aggravate panic attacks. It is true that an Overdose of morphine could cause that. Demerol would probably be your next best choice. I had a morphine pca after my lap rny on 8/25/03 - down 31 lbs.
   — Lisa Marie C.




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